Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers - The Flick Part I

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO mid december
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low
RATING

During the '60s, Earl Van Dyke was the organ man at Motown and he was bandleader of The Soul Borthers (usually known as The Funk Brothers) who were the house band. During their tenancy they played on 22 number one pop hits, 48 number one R&B hits and generated sales of over 300 million records. Through all of that they never received any credits as either composers/arrangers or musicians. However, they were given two album releases under their own name on Motown subsidiary, 'Soul'. (For more information about the Funk Brothers, allmusic.com have a brief history of them here and one of Van Dyke here. The documentary film Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, which was released in 2002, gave the remaining members a final shot at fame.)

The Flick was initially released about the time of their first LP in '65, but was to be included on their second LP in '70. It is one of the rarest moments in their career: a recording that bears their names as composers. It's a groovy soul number, featuring Van Dyke's organ as the lead instrument and showcases well the Funk Brothers tightness, with a number of climaxes and tempo variations throughout the track. Also of note is the prominent, funky bass of James Jamerson, who along with guitarist Robert White and Van Dyke were listed as composers.

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