Snugglin' with Alice Russell: Keeping up with the Ms. Joneses

A Fly In The Hand (DJ Vadim Mix) - Alice Russell
from the 12" on Tru Thoughts Records (2006); also on the album Under The Munka Moon II on Tru Thoughts Records (2006).

Strugglin' - The Snugs
from the 12" on Freestyle Records (2007).

If your listening habits and tastes are anything like mine, you've been enjoying Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings new Motown redux 100 Days, 100 Nights on permanent rotation for over a month now. Also it is nearly undeniable that 2007 is Amy Winehouse's year. The vast underground and overground success of these two ladies and their aesthetic (and backing band) similarities has helped a bunch of other retro-soul/funk bands with powerful female lead vocalists bubble up a little higher on the musical awareness scale. Of course, in most cases they were already there making their music and working their magic, but even in today's world where audioblogs, car commercials, internet radio, your phone company, and nearly everything else can help you find new music constantly some things can slip through the cracks.

Today's post celebrates two lady-led tracks of the highest caliber, one from a long-running titaness and another from a new outfit from whom I'm looking forward to hearing much more. The first is a very nice blues track by Alice Russell, here in the burpy bass remix form provided by DJ Vadim. Russell has a fantastic voice and she has applied it to many genres (jazz, funk, soul, pop, dance, folk). That's her up above in the image and not to be that guy but she doesn't look like my brain imagined. Which is all pretty meaningless, but just saying. Personally, as great as some of the tracks are, I think the many different styles and thus disjointed nature of her first album Under The Munka Moon probably didn't do her any favors. The same can be said for UTMM II, but this year I heard her full length My Favourite Letters from 2005 which was entirely produced/co-written with TM Juke and the cohesion and wall to wall quality of that track is fabulous. It is every bit as cohesive in vision and sound as the Winehouse (I greatly prefer Russell's voice because of her greater range) and Jones (between Jones and Russell I don't want to pick favorites) efforts. Still, while recommending demanding that you pick up My Favourite Letters, I put up "Fly In The Hand" because it is a different piece from her excellent and growing catalogue and still great.

I am late to the party on the pure hot fire "Strugglin'" by wonderfully named The Snugs, but I'd appreciate your tolerance. The Snugs is a collection of various musicians from SW UK, and "Strugglin'" is their debut record on Freestyle. A hard as hell breakbeat provides the foundation for Leah Simmons's strong, emotional vocals. Guitar and horn flourishes pop in and out at just the right time. Top to bottom, this is a great song, and I'm looking forward to their album although we'll have to wait for the summer of 2008 for that.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bonus Kutiman follow-up. If your were feeling the music from the recent Kutiman post, there is a new youtube video up of one of his compositions being played by Israeli funk outfit Funk 'n' Stein. Also if you're in the Paris area then:
1) lucky you and
2) there is a free Kutiman show to enjoy.

Sweet Funky Machine: 14" of funk both old and new.

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - Sweet Vandals
from 7" (with "Charlie Love") on Unique Records (2007).

I Can't Help Myself - Funky Music Machine
from 7" on Black Top Records (196?/7?) re-released on Truth & Soul Records (2006).

Two funky covers up today for your pleasure and through provocation. The first is from one of the latest entries into the retro-soul/retro-funk world, namely The Sweet Vandals. After the pioneering work of Poets of Rhythm and the recent success of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators, this subgenre is starting to get populated with releases. Populated but far from crowded. I am loving this infusion of funky good tunes with a stridently old style and sound. It is almost unfortunate hubris to cover such a well-known James Brown track for your first single and album. I say almost because despite the faithfulness of the cover and the unapproachable nature of the original, vocalist Mayka Edjo twists things up just enough to give everything her own spin. Additionally, drummer Javier Gomez channels Bernard Purdie and really shines. The rest of the band is Carlos Coupe on Hammond organ, Santi Martin on bass, and Jose Angel Herranz on guitar and they form a very tight and promising combo (see cartoon rendition of them above). Their self-titled album isn't available in the states yet, but if you're feeling the single I'd recommend it as a decently priced import

Conversely to the tight, in the pocket quality of the Vandals, is the delightfully sloppy cover of the Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" by Funky Music Machine. Tyrone Ashley is the vocalist here with his band FMM, but Ashley is (only slightly) better known as Sammy Campbell (pictured above right) who lead the Del Larks in the 50s-60s. He also released at least one record as Black Velvet before officially recording as the FMM. Truth and Soul has uncovered his old recordings (many never released) and have started to get these out over three decades later. In Ashley/Campbell's hands and voice the cutesy baked-goods selling "I Can't Help Myself" gets a great big bottom end and a lot more vocal edge. It still makes me want some Duncan Hines brownies, but now I will boogie to the kitchen for them.

PS...Sweet Vandals reminds me that I had at one point decided that if I ever got a Puff Daddy complex and had to start a girl pop-vocal group I'd name them The Pretty Thieves and their first album would be Pretty Larceny.