Mixed Up Funk For The Chosen Few

The Chosen Few: Candy, I'm So Doggone Mixed Up and Funky Buttercup
From: The Chosen Few in Miami [Trojan, 1976]

With the fallout from the move still happening and most of my music collection still packed up in boxes I've spent the last couple of weeks revisiting music I'd prepared for posting but for some reason or other never actually got round to featuring.

One album that for the life of me I can't figure out why I didn't feature before is The Chosen Few In Miami. A curious mix of funk and reggae, the 1976 album flits between offering some beat heavy funk and some incredibly cheesy soul reggae. How much influence Chosen Few had on this mix and how much was handpicked by producer King Sporty is anyone's guess but the group are backed by a hungry sounding KC & The Sunshine Band to great effect.

Despite what must have seemed like a dream combination on paper, with The Chosen Few doing well in Jamaica and KC & The Sunshine Ban coming hot off their early releases, the album absolutely flopped on release; no doubt partly due to mismarketing of the group as a novelty rather than focusing on the true fire tracks I have for you today.

For reasons of taste I'm skirting over the soul cover output today and focusing on the beat heavy tracks cos I know you want the breaks and here they are. Candy, I'm So Doggone Mixed Up commences with a great drum intro before settling into a lovely mixture of horn heavy production and sweet falsetto vocals from the Chosen Few. It's a great track anyway you label it.
Funky Buttercup does exactly what it says on the tin with a groove that more than tips it's hat to Byrd and Brown and some quality vocals again from the group as they focus your attention to the dancefloor. Enjoy.