Unlimited Four – Slow Down from the Chanson 45

Aahhh the start of yet another week, and I can think of no better way than starting off the week than with some Funky Soul. Last week’s posts were all about the house band, and although I just kind of fly by the seat of my pants and pick what I’m feeling to review, I might just have to get with it and start to put some theme posts together one of these days. I want to shout out a bunch of new Flea Market Funk family, guys like Dr. Diggins and Joe Ro from On The One, who are doing it their own way. (Nice first post btw Joe!) Thanks for stopping by and welcome to the family. Also a shout out to Scholar from Souled On, who has been sending people over here to FMF by the bus load. Much obliged, and I’m hoping that they’re enjoying the ride. A quick update on the September 14th Asbury Park 45 Sessions, as we have added two guest selectors for the event, the one the only Vincent (or shall we say Soul Chef) of Fu Fu Stew fame, and a guy with some deep crates, hailing from the town of Providence, Rhode Island, DJ Save1. I know it’s a bit early to start promoting (or is it?), but I figured I’d get the ball rolling. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!. The lineup is strong, and mix that up with the residents, it’s gonna be a heavy affair, all on 45 of course.

I’m starting the week off kinda short and sweet, with another band who I couldn’t dig much up on, but just had to share with you all. It is a double sider, one Funky Soul, and the other a Northern Soul classic. I’m gonna stick to the Funky Soul, and throw out the side I’m feeling as of late: “Slow Down” by the Unlimited Four on Chanson Records. Like I said previously, I don’t know much about this record’s history, other than Chanson was distributed by All Platinum Records. All Platinum put out bands like Willie and the Mighty Magnificents, Dave “Baby” Cortez, The Moments, and Sylvia among others. ( I swear there is a surplus of Sylvia “Pillow Talk” records in this area. They’re like mosquitoes in the summer). The beginning of this side starts off with some quick harmonizing and a scream. As I listened to it more and more, the scream sounded familiar. It reminded me of Roger Collins, of “Foxy Girl In Oakland” fame. There is an H.Collins listed on the writing credits, but I can not be sure there is a connection at all. He’s yelling to her, “Slow Down long enough to find a friend”, all the while slipping into some falsetto voice and then switching back to normal. This aural concoction has all the right ingredients a good Funky Soul dish should have: a jangley guitar driven riff, a funky as three week old broccoli bass line, plus a drum beat that not only is on time, but really out of sight. It’s a two sider too, as the flip side, “Slow Down”, is Sweet piece of Soul that will make you fall in (or out of, depending how you listen to the song) love with the record instantly. I know I did. It’s the kind of record I find out digging, and win no matter what side I drop the needle on. I’d really like to know more about this record, so if anyone has any clue as to who this band is, drop me a line so I can share it with the people. I’ll be back later on this week with some more goodness. To keep you up to speed, I have two mixes that will drop shortly. One is going to be for Vault Magazine, called “Sumptin’ Heavy”. The other is called “Get Ready”, and it’s a guest mix for Mike, aka DJ Blueprint over at This Is Tomorrow. So keep your ears open for those two mixes to drop very soon. The Vault Mix will be an exclusive mix included in an upcoming issue of the magazine, while DJ Blueprint will be celebrating his first year anniversary on the intrawebs. Big up Luxembourg! See you all on Wednesday. Keep Diggin’!

**PS: This Wednesday on your local PBS Station, set your Tivo or DVR for this:

Great Performances : Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story

Wednesday, August 1, 9:00pm

I’ve been waiting for this for a while, and it should not be missed.