Let's Take a... Soul Expedition

Soul Expedition: Night Life, and Soul Know How to Make Music

From: Soul Expedition [LeFevre Sound, 1971]

Wow, I know it's been a really long time since I've posted anything on here, but I have an extra special post for you today. I recently found out about Freddie Terrell and the Soul Expedition from an in-depth article featured in the April/May issue of Wax Poetics.

Freddie Terrell got his start by playing guitar in his father's gospel group called the Southern Bells Gospel Singers at the age of 13. He honed his craft in his father's group for four years until he joined a band called Lee Moses and the Showstoppers. After a year-and-a-half touring with this band, Freddie joined Wilson Pickett's band and moved to NYC. His stint with Wilson Pickett's band found him globetrotting around the world for the next 2 1/2 years. After returning to Atlanta, Freddie began playing and touring with Major Lance, a musical friendship that would last until Major Lance's dying day.

After returning from a tour with Wilson Pickett, Freddie and two other members of The Blue Rhythm Band began an expedition to find soulful musicians who fit their funky sound. In 1971, Freddie Terrell and the Soul Expedition would record it's debut record with the help of Baptist preacher Dr. W.J. Stafford and producer Maurice LeFevre.

Dr. W.J Staffordwas instrumental in launching Freddie's career, as he invited Freddie and his band to play every Sunday morning at the Free For All Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Then, he even purchased a nightclub in 1971, naming it after the band and putting them in charge of operating the club and playing the club as much as they like. Dr. W.J. Stafford's gospel album entitled Drop Drugs... Get Hooked on Jesus was recorded at LeFevre Sound during the same time the Soul Expedition's debut was recorded and consequently both albums feature the same background vocalists and musicians.

The self-titled Soul Expedition LP is an eclectic mixed bag of funk, blue eyed-soul, afro-beat and jazz. Most of the tracks are instrumental, but some of them feature the stirring vocal presence of Johnny Davenport. The two tracks I'm featuring here seriously bring the funk and don't let up. If you're looking for one of the most rare nuggets in psychedelic soul, then look no further than Soul Know How to Make Music. This track really gets cookin' with funky wah-wah guitar workouts, syncopated handclaps and propulsive bass licks. Night Life is a Shaft-style funky instrumental featuring a punchy bassline, jazzy horns and reverb heavy guitars which create a gritty inner-city late night vibe. This track also features a fantastic bongo breakdown towards the end of the song that is destined to be sampled by DJ Shadow or Peanut Butter Wolf( if it hasn't already). Hope you guys dig this!