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| Details / Tracklist: |
1. KEEP IT FUNKY
2. DAY DREAMING
3. HERE COMES FUNKY LOU
4. BETCHA BY GOLLY WOW
5. PEOPLE MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND
6. SLIPPING INTO DARKNESS
7. MISSING YOU
8. JOHN'S GROOVE
9. THE LOVE GANGSTER
10. LIE
11. AH MOVIN' ON |
| | Number of discs: |
1 |
| | Description: | "Every cut on our albums are what we call "A" sides" - Cleveland Eaton, on Half
And Half
Like the winged half-man/half-bull that dominates its outrageous cover,
Cleveland Eaton's Half And Half is a mutant bass-heavy monster that absolutely
slays. Incredible jazz-funk from 1973, it's been largely overlooked for decades,
and unfairly so. This is just sensational music - a crate digger's delight. It's
super funky throughout, with lots of layers, jazz breaks for days, dripping with
style and gritty class. This is the first reissue of what has been a hard to
find record for many years; it's long overdue. Joyous music for mind, soul and
body.
Cleveland Eaton was a revered bassist who played an active role in the backing
of Count Basie, the Donald Byrd Quintet, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Terry Callier
and Minnie Riperton; amongst many, many others. Half And Half was the first
album released under his own name, initially released as a private press record
on his - awkwardly named - Cle An Thair Records. It was then picked up by Gamble
& Huff for Gamble Records. Varied, string-adorned and with stupid funky grooves,
it's just exceptionally good.
Whilst Half And Half is treasured for its famously brilliant interpretations of
gold funk-soul standards, Eaton proves an imaginative composer in his own right.
Indeed, the album opens with a striking original; the earthy, laconic
jazz-guitar-funk fusion of "Keep It Funky". Cleveland and co. do exactly that.
Up next is a properly moving cover of Aretha Franklin's eternal "Day Dreaming".
The flute and guitar combo truly achieve celestial greatness here. "Here Comes
Funky Lou" rides a bassline from the Gods and a driving soul-jazz groove allows
the track to go off in all sorts of directions. Serene guitar soul of the breezy
variety one moment, crazy hectic violin-driven wig outs the next, courtesy of Ed
Green who played with Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.
His blistering two track salvo of Stylistics covers to close out this A-Side of
A-Sides will leave your jaw dropped, and they're likely the reason you're here
for this. And why not? "Betcha By Golly Wow", which uses a bed of acidy synths
and harmonica to create a unique atmosphere, is on some next level business.
Melancholic, wistful, beautiful. "People Make the World Go Round" is so good,
dripping in wonderful horns and ace percussive breaks, it could even be regarded
as the definitive version. Seriously!
Opening Side B, War's gigantic "Slipping Into Darkness" is tightly tailored to
Eaton's funky flute fusion arrangement whilst the insistent "Missing You" is a
swaggering horn-heavy version of Luther Ingram's track from the
Dilla/Ghostface-linked LP, I've Been Here All The Time. The creeping, screeching
guitar-drenched original "John's Groove" features more fantastic horn lines and
neck-snapping percussion whilst "The Love Gangster", written by Bill Wyman and
Stephen Stills for his seminal Manassas LP, contains a heavy break with slick
drums high in the mix and fuzzy guitars.
The album closes with two more Eaton originals. Written with Johnny Guitar
Watson, "Lie" is one hell of a funky string and guitar-driven gem whilst the
wild, celebratory "Ah Movin' On" cleverly quotes "Wade In The Water" (which he'd
recorded with Ramsey Lewis in 1966) folding it into his new free-jazz
composition. A message to his old boss, perhaps, as a sign-off?
We've worked on this reissue for 3.5 years, spending the whole time making it
sound super sharp and looking as perfect as it possibly can. An absolute
must-have for fans of soulful jazz-funk, Half And Half was mastered for vinyl by
Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman at Final Tweak. The bizarre artwork, mutant
beast and all, was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months!
Hopefully, this new edition, a real labour of love, should bring Cleveland Eaton
into the homes and record boxes of many more people. - Vinyl LP pressing. Like the winged half-man/half-bull that dominates it's outrageous cover, Cleveland Eaton's Half And Half is a mutant bass-heavy monster that absolutely slays. Incredible jazz-funk from 1973, it's been largely overlooked for decades, and unfairly so. This is just sensational music - a crate digger's delight. It's super funky throughout, with lots of layers, jazz breaks for days, dripping with style and gritty class. This is the first reissue of what has been a hard to find record for many years; it's long overdue. Joyous music for mind, soul and body.Selections are BMI except where noted | | | Manufacturer No.: |
BEWITH090LP |
| Product Safety
Responsible Person for the EU:
Bertus Musikvertrieb
Bertus Musikvertrieb
Akeleibaan 59, 2908 KA Capelle aan den Ijssel, NL
service@bertus.com | |
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