Relating A Message To You Posted by Junior

Cane & Able: Be Free and Gemma Morett From: Relating A Message To You [Epic, 1972] Not to be confused with the biblical brothers of a similar name, Cane & Able were one of a number of groups to surface from the legendary Parisian collective the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band. Focusing less on the African influences of Lafayette and more on the heavy funk side of things, the band's sound is nigh on impossible to distinguish from many of the top American funk groups of the same era. Relating A Message To You, the second of the group's two albums, has been a long time favourite of mine with its tight sound and overall consistency of goodness. Be Free kicks off the album perfectly. A brooding funk song waiting for a Blaxploitation film to accompany it, the track uses its instrumentation sparingly, slowly building the groove over the verse and harmonies of the chorus before finally bringing in the trumpets and bongos for the final minute. Gemma Morett appears at the tail end of the album and took me by total surprise the first time I laid ears on it. Gone are the soulful vocals from the rest of the album, instead replaced by a raw stripped down instrumental jam that is more jazz than funk. Tailor made for breaks heads, the tune features more drum breakdowns than I can count (i.e. more than 3) including a facemeltingly heavy bass interlude a minute and a half in before the full instruments including distorted guitars wrap up proceedings nicely. Enjoy and, almost forgot, Happy New Year too.