Here’s a tasty treat: a double helping of seriously heavy ’70s funk from Memphis group, the Bar-Kays. The group was born in the 1960s and scored a hit for Stax Records with the immortal instrumental, ‘Soul Finger,’ in the summer of 1967. Sadly, a few months later, two of its key members perished alongside singer Otis Redding in a Wisconsin plane crash. Despite this tragedy, a new incarnation of the group eventually emerged and after Stax closed its doors in 1975, the group led by new vocalist Larry Dodson – who raspy drawl of a delivery inspired Cameo’s Larry Blackmon – signed to Mercury. ‘Too Hot To Stop’ was their Mercury debut from ’76 and gets reissued in tandem with its follow-up, 1978’s ‘Flying High On Your Love.’ The former is packed with tight, syncopated, horn-drenched grooves – like the hit title cut and ‘Shake Your Rump To The Funk.’ There are also some good down-tempo moments, too, exemplified by the slow-paced groove, ‘You’re So Sexy’ and the surprisingly delicate, ‘Summer Of Our Love,’ with its ethereal keyboard parts and helium-fuelled falsetto backing vocals. The set’s killer funk groove is provided by the provocatively titled instrumental, ‘Whitehouseorgy,’ which rides on a juggernaut of a backbeat. The second album in the package, ‘Flying On Your Love,’ follows a similar stylistic template and opens with ‘Shut The Funk Up,’ a slice of tight dance floor funk that’s slick but which still retains a hard edge. Other highlights include ‘Let’s Have Some Fun’ and ‘Attitudes,’ both US R&B chart entries in 1978. For ardent disciples of ’70s funk, this is an essential value-for-money purchase.
(CW) 4/5
