Marvin Holmes & the Uptights – Ooh Ooh the Dragon from the Uni Records 45

Here we are in 2008! We made it, and it was nice to have a few weeks off to gather my thoughts, spend some time with family and friends, and most of all just to relax. There is not much relaxing here at Fleamarket Funk. It seems like the weeks go by and it’s wash/ rinse/ repeat; trying to juggle a full time job, a full time blog, and putting together Funk and Soul nights in the local DJ scene. Let’s not forget about digging. True, it can be taxing, but I enjoy it completely. I don’t like to have too much idle time on my hands, as I’d rather keep myself busy with mixes, reviews, etc. I’ve got a few cool sides to whip up in the next few posts, so rather than get long winded, I’m going to push forward into a record that’s been on my want list for a minute. I finally managed to get a clean copy for cheap, and a full length copy just went for $100+ on Ebay. I consider myself lucky to get this side for what I did. Here’s Marvin Holmes & the Uptights with “Ooh Ooh the Dragon” on Uni Records.

Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Marvin Holmes was a busy man in the late 60’s and early 70’s. This side comes from his much sought after first release on Uni Records. Assembling a band which included himself on guitar and vocals, John Parrish on trumpet, Gaylord Birch on drums, Anthony Davis on bass, Everett Walker on tenor sax, Elza Davis on trombone, Patrick Hodges on baritone sax, and Godfrey A. Smith on bongos, to say this particular collaboration has put out a fun-kay side is an understatement. Holmes would put out records on Boola-Boola with “The Funky Mule Parts 1 & 2” ( later covered by Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm), Spotlight with “Oomph / Double Dose Of Soul”, and this side we have right here. Rubbing elbows with such Bay Area notables as Rodger Collins (I still need a copy of Foxy Girls in Oakland on Galaxy), Onyx, and Johnny Talbot, being a regular on the club scene in TBA would keep his sound in the words of Big Daddy Kane: raw like sushi. This side is definitely a burner and includes some great guitar work, JB’s style horns, and of course drums for days. You can’t deny these drums people. I can not recommend this side enough and why not ring in 2008 with an almost 40 year old piece of Funk that still holds it’s weight after all these years. Get yourself a copy of this monster, and if you can dig up an original Lp, you’re one up on me. A reissue is available as well, and no matter what form you get it in, I’m sure you’ll be happy. Let’s start 2008 off right, with some left coast Deep Funk. Keep Diggin’!

**PS: My Apologies for the Z Net link, Div Share crashed this weekend and I haven’t been able to upload anything. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.