Leaving This Planet

Charles Earland: Leaving This Planet and Red Clay
From: Leaving This Planet [Prestige, 1973]

So, you know how I said I was going to drop the deep stuff for a while? Well, it's still cold and it's still wet so sod it let's burrow further.

Charles Earland actually forged an early career as a tenor sax player, touring with the legend Jimmy McGriff in the sixties. However, as the tours went on Earland developed more and more of an interest in McGriff's Hammond playing and it wasn't long before he switched full time to the organ of choice.

Earland released a number of extremely funky 45s at the end of the sixties and also produced his classic Hammond funk album Black Talk which is seriously worth checking out if you don't already own it. However, you can read all about Earland's early career in an excellently thorough piece over at Funky 16 Corners cos today we're focusing on Earland's later, fusion based, period.

Charles Earland's 1973 album Leaving This Planet is wonderfully, thrilling, complex funk fusion and really deserves much more attention than it receives. The title track is like some strange mix of Stevie Wonder and a whacked out library album as the spacey synth melody reverberates and warps round the soulful vocals. After the truly space heavy first section Earland lets the band's instruments move into the mix, his organ playing leading the way as Harvey Mason's percussion keeps the energy of the track high and pushing forward before the vocals resurface in the mix to carry the tune to the finish line. There's so much going on in this tune that it took me about three listens before I even noticed the wah wah guitar meowing way deep in the mix. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that this is also quite beautiful.

Earland's version of Red Clay is great as well (are there any bad covers of this song? They're all so damn funky), Charles using the backbone of the original riff to take the tune into another dimension. A mean and dirty opening sets the scene as the combined talents of Freddy Hubbard and Joe Henderson bring their horn skills to the mix, Mason once again going crazy on the drum kit. Halfway through Earland decided it's time for him to take centre stage and goes seriously insane, keeping time with the drumming as the track builds up a euphoric mood as hard as any of the straight funk records you'll ever come across. I love this kind of fusion where all the different elements harmonise together, never losing the rhythm or mood. If only they made more albums like this.

Earland sadly passed away in 1999 but his music lives on. Play these loud and long.