Westbound Funk | Soul 15 Items

Release: 1971 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Counts formed in Michigan in 1964 as the Fabulous Counts, releasing two singles, ‘Jan Jan’ and ‘Get Down People’ on the Moira label in 1968 and 1969 that became R&B chart hits. This led to the album “Jan Jan”, issued by Cotillion in 1969.

Snapped up by Westbound, the line-up that recorded “What’s Up Front That Counts” included Mose Davis (Organ), Leroy Emmanuel (guitar), Demetrius Cates (sax) and Andrew Gibson (drums). Although tenor player Jim White is on the front cover, he left the band shortly before the album was recorded. Extended, mostly instrumental tracks like ‘Why Not Start All Over Again’ and the title track are now recognized as some of the juiciest funk ever laid down in the studio. Shorter tracks like ‘Rhythm Changes’, ‘Thinking Single’ and ‘Bills’ are equally sweet. What gives the album such powerful musical chemistry was the fact that the Counts were jazz players weaned on the likes of Miles Davis who were also into the funk of James Brown and Sly & The Family Stone so every track features groove-driven interplay. One might argue this is the sound that Miles Davis was trying to find on his early 70s albums.

The Counts were to tour with Funkadelic and record more singles and albums but it is this 1971 offering that is, and remains, an all-time classic. Indeed, the track ‘What’s Up Front That Counts’ has been sampled by artists like Queen Latifah and Eric B & Rakim, keeping the music of the Counts firmly in the minds of a young contemporary audience.

Out of print on vinyl for nearly two decades, Ace is proud to reissue this beauty.

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Standing on the verge of getting it on

LP | 1974 | EU | Reissue (Westbound)

22,99 €*

Release: 1974 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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- "Sexy Ways" sampled by Fu-Schnickens for "Props"

- "I'll Stay" sampled by Crucial Conflict for "Hay",
De la Soul for "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" and
K-Solo for "Long Live the Fugitive"

- "Standing on the Verge of Getting it On" sampled by Ice Cube for "Endangered Species" and
Sons of Bazerk for "Part One"

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Maggot Brain 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

LP+12" | 1971 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

37,99 €*

Release: 1971 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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1971 and Black America was luxuriating in the soft soul of the O’Jays, the Temptations had just left behind their flirtation with psychedelia, James Brown was explaining Soul Power, Sly & the Family Stone were having a Family Affair, and Marvin Gaye was asking ‘What’s Going On’.

In their own inimitable way, Funkadelic were laying down their own statement about the ecology of the planet in the opening of lead and title track ‘Maggot Brain’, turning it into an elegy for the Earth in the ensuing heart-wrenching extended Eddie Hazel guitar solo – one of the most radical records of the period.

The album also spawned two Top 50 singles with the usual Funkadelic wry observational humour of ‘You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks’ and ‘Can You Get To That’. And just in case you think things have normalised, the set closes with nine minutes of the chaotic sound collage ‘Wars Of Armageddon’.

This 50th anniversary edition includes a second 12” with two versions of the title track. Side A features the live version from Meadowbrook from the same year that the studio album came out. Jump forward 46 years to the “Reworked by Detroiters” release and side B has the BMG Dub, showing the enduring quality of one of the great guitar records of all time.

This issue is mastered from fresh transfers of the tape.

Facsimile gatefold sleeve.

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2LP | 1972 | EU | Reissue (Westbound)

America eats its young

Release: 1972 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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- "Loose Booty" sampled by EPMD for "Who's Booty?"

- "Joyful Process" sampled by CPO for "Gangsta Melody",
Eazy-E for "Eazy-Duz-It" and
Smokin Suckas with Logic for "Uncle Tom Artist"

- "I Call My Baby Pussycat" sampled by De La Soul for "Area"

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Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow Blue Vinyl Edition

LP | 1970 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

23,99 €*

Release: 1970 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Also from 1970 is Funkadelic’s second LP.

In a thick card gatefold sleeve with 180g blue vinyl pressing

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Funkadelic Orange Vinyl Edition

LP | 1970 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

23,99 €*

LP | 1973 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

Release: 1970 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Funkadelic’s first album, eponymously released in 1970, gets the Hiqlp treatment to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

In a thick card sleeve with 180g orange vinyl pressing

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Ohio Players

Ecstasy

19,99 €*

LP | 1972 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

Release: 1973 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The final part of our vinyl trilogy of the Ohio Players’ Westbound albums is the “Ecstasy” LP from 1973.

A gatefold sleeve featuring one of photographer Joel Brodsky’s famous photographs. This time a bondage woman is chained to two scantily dressed men.

The music was brilliant. The mix of funk, soul and sheer joyous invention found its outlet in what is probably the strongest overall set by the band. ‘Sleep Talk’, ‘Food Stamps Y’All’ and the title track all pack a mighty punch, while songs such as ‘You And Me’ show the band’s deft touch with the more soulful material.

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Ohio Players

Pain

19,99 €*

Westbound Super Breaks Essential Funk, Soul And Jazz Samples And Breakbeats

Release: 1972 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The first in our programme to release all three Ohio Players Westbound albums on vinyl.

“Pain” was their first for the label, released in 1972. The album charted relatively modestly at #21, but it was the six months that it spent on the charts that was the surest indicator of what was to come. The band was touring heavily and was just a hit away from a breakthrough. This would come with their next Westbound album, “Pleasure”, and the hit, ‘Funky Worm’.

Featuring the first of Joel Brodsky’s series of iconic covers.

Regular weight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve.

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V.A.

2LP | 2018 | UK | Original (Westbound)

LP | 1975 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

Release: 2018 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Celebrating its 50th birthday this year, Westbound Records is the Detroit institution that discovered Funkadelic and the Ohio Players, with a rich catalogue that is probably amongst the most sampled in the world.

Our “Super Breaks” series makes a welcome return, throwing the spotlight on the records which have been sampled on both Westbound and its Eastbound subsidiary. These come not only from the more obvious names such as the Detroit Emeralds, Denise LaSalle, Junie Morrison, Funkadelic and Ohio Players, but also the lesser-known Pleasure Web and the Magictones.

The list of artists who have sampled these records reads like a Who’s Who of the hip-hop and dance worlds. These tracks will be recognised from well-known records by Kanye West, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Fatboy Slim, and many more.

The double vinyl comes with extensive sleeve notes and a breakdown of where each track has been sampled.

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Junie

When We Do

LP | 1975 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

Release: 1975 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Never before reissued debut album by hit-making member of the Ohio Players Junie Morrison - the first of his much-sampled Westbound recordings. Junie is best known today as Funkadelic's late 70s keyboard player who wrote their worldwide hit 'One Nation Under A Groove'. "When We Do" was released on his departure from the Ohio Players, who decided to leave Westbound after the success of 'Funky Worm'. "When We Do" features Junie's unique mix of funk and soul, including the classic 'Tight Rope' and the title track as sampled by Lyrics Born. Junie, who died in 2017, was celebrated by Solange Knowles and Andre 3000 of Outkast on the track 'Junie' on her "A Seat At The Table" album from 2016. "When We Do" is reissued on vinyl for the first time since it's 1975 original release.

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Junie

Freeze

Release: 1975 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the wake of their hit, 'Funky Worm', the Ohio Players quit Westbound Records and keyboard and vocal wizard Junie quit the Ohio Players. He immediately set out on a solo career that was less commercial than his erstwhile colleagues, but musically intriguing. He recorded three solo albums for Westbound, with "Freeze" being the immediate follow up to his debut "When We Do". Recorded at the world-famous Ardent Studio in Memphis, it saw Junie play every instrument, from a traditional rhythm section to a barrage of the latest synthesizer technology. The result was an avant-funk masterpiece that ranged from the sublime 'Not As Good As You Should' to the wild 'Granny's Funky Rolls Royce' which reprised the worm character and was later sampled by DJ Shadow. Junie would later join Funkadelic, originating their biggest international hit, 'One Nation Under A Groove', and touring the world. He died in 2017, a year after Solange and Andre 3000 from Outkast lauded him on the track 'Junie' from Solange's Grammy winning album "A Seat At The Table". The album is reissued in a facsimile of it's original cover, and is reissued for the first time ever

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3LP | 2017 | UK | Original (Westbound)

Reworked By Detroiters

32,99 €*

Release: 2017 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Funkadelic were the most influential group to emerge from Detroit in the 1970s. Their early albums have cast a long shadow over everything that came afterwards in the city. It was music that understood the past but was firmly aiming towards the future and mixed soul, funk and rock into an almost unimaginable stew. Albums such as “Maggot Brain”, “Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow” and “Cosmic Slop” are regularly featured in all-time greatest lists.

From the techno pioneered by the likes of Carl Craig and Underground Resistance, to the garage rock revival spearheaded by the White Stripes and the Dirtbombs, all have paid homage to the Parliafunkadelicment Thang. This album is a tribute from some of the most important recording artists currently working in the city to these most influential of forefathers. The very finest talent now active in Detroit appear on the record, being given free rein to work on the multi-track tapes, to rework in any way they see fit. We have full-on remixes, futuristic creations using the original track as an inspiration, disco-fied re-edits and skeletal dubs.

Spearheaded by Brendan Gillen of Interdimensional Transmissions, the set features names working across the musical spectrum. There is an appearance by those most mysterious of techno pioneers Underground Resistance, and by Kenny Dixon Jr and his alter-ego Moodymann. The Dirtbombs throw down a frenetic take on ‘Super Stupid’, whilst disco re-edit expert Gaye Marvine adds his magic to ‘Undisco Kidd’. Other contributors include Funkadelic alumni Amp Fiddler, Marcellus Pittman and Anthony Shake Shakir.

This is a worthy celebration by New Detroit of its most twisted and illustrious forebears.

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Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow

LP | 1970 | EU | Reissue (Westbound)

He Gave Me Nothing To Lose

Release: 1970 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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- "Eulogy and Light" sampled by Above the Law for "Black Triangle"

- "Free Your Mind" sampled by JCD and the Dawg lb for "Bon Appetit",
Kris Kross for "Freak da Funk" and
X-Clan for "Earth Bound" & "Shaft's Big Score"

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The Clark Sisters

LP | 1979 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)

Release: 1979 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Clark Sisters' fourth album for Westbound's Sound Of Gospel label is the one that pushed them firmly towards the crossover market. Whilst there was traditional soul-based gospel fare on tracks like 'My Cup Runneth Over' they hustled onto the dance floor on disco-influenced gems like 'My Life Is Complete With Jesus' and 'Everything Is Gonna Be Alright'. The Clark Sisters were one of the great gospel groups and also part of a great gospel dynasty. Their mother was the great Mattie Moss Clark, and their uncle was Bill Moss. Written, produced and arranged by core member Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, the album features instrumental contributions from famous Detroit soul names such as Melvin Davis and the Counts' Leroy Emmanuel. Although the Clark Sisters are one of the biggest-selling gospel groups of all time, this is the first time "He Gave Me Nothing To Lose" has been reissued since it was originally released in 1979. It's time to go back to church via the dancefloor.

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Funkadelic's Greatest Hits Black Vinyl Edition

LP | 1975 | UK | Reissue (Westbound)