Search - Various Artists :: History of Funk 1

Funk 101

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 12/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every once in a while, I'll get an e-mail asking me about what CDs I'd reccomend for someone just getting into funk. My reply will usually be a list of groups and albums I find essential listening. The great news is, about 12 years ago, if you were just getting into funk, unless you were a vinyl collector, most of the reallllllly funky stuff was out of print... but now, not only can you find all the greatest hits stuff, but the really rare grooves are hitting the shelf - - entire albums not just compilations. - - But still there are a lot of people with an "appreciation" for the music, but who simply don't know where to look. - - This compilation will help you get down to the names that represent the sounds. - - I'd have to say if you really need a head start, this is a great series. In all the years, I've really only found a few series that really beat this one... and most of them were expensive imports, such as the FREE SOUL series from Japan.This is a great series that will help you define your groove... Don't stop here... dig it and keep digging so you can find out the eras, groups and labels you like... There's some really funky stuff out there, and the tunes on this series definitely make up FUNK 101.Ain't Nothing But a Party ! ! !"

History Lessons Begin Here

KJ the Black Bandit | Ohio, Usa | 03/25/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For those that need a tutorial on the origins of the music genre called funk. The trail begins here. There are some tunes that will be instantly recgonizable. There are some that you instantly recgonize from the hooks that have been sampled and oversampled ad infinitum. There are some questionable filler songs here (Garbage Man is to be avoided) But all in all the liner notes and music will be enought to pique interest of the novice fan and provide info for the serious fan."

Your Rating Will Depend On What You are Looking For

KC | Northern CA | 06/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Funk" is when r&b essentially splintered into three camps in the late 1960's ... pop r&b (most Motown), soul (the Philly Sound plus others) and funk (James Brown, Stax, Southern musicians, etc ... eventually all over). Obviously I'm generalizing here as most great musicians could easily traverse from soul to funk and pop - sometimes in some song :-)



But this collection is obviously meant to give you a basic over-view of the best of FUNK ... and it mostly succeds. like many of Rhino's best packages - if you have 2,000 CD's, you probably already have all the tracks and more importantly, all the ones they could not license and keep the costs reasonable ... so you will still need some James Brown, some Tower of Power, and dozens more (I mean, who can live with a library of only 2 Earth, Wind & Fire songs?)... though you will have all the WILD CHERRY you will need ... is there a compilation of the 1970's that PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC is not on?



For beginners of casuals fans of Funk, this is a nice beginning but that's all it is ... I'm not sure any set can be comprehensive ... well, any set less than 20 volumes and need to include Motown, Atlantic, Philly, Stax, and a couple dozen other labels ...



You can't go wrong with any in the series as there are at least several MUST HAVE gems on each one but strangely, Volume 1 is the weakest of the set. You can actually pick up that one last if just can't do without it or better yet, skip it and pick up the 20 CD's you really need from James Brown, Sly & Family Stone, Parliment and of course later, Prince.



The sound quality is excellent - great job on remastering so these will replace a lot of weaker digital transfers."