Old Soul,
New Tech

I love vintage soul and funk. Not just the classic tunes that clog the dance floor, but the rarer stuff that just feels good - that warms up the party, powers the road trip, energizes the workout.

After spending some years scouring used bins for the sorts of out-of-print goodies that club and hip-hop DJs always seem to have, I discovered a remarkable source: the online record store/resource Dusty Groove. This site offers a virtually exhaustive selection of rare, out-of-print and reissued R&B in both vinyl and CD formats. Best of all, scrupulous commentary guides the novice.

Even so, the bewildering array of recommendations threatens to strain even the most capacious budget. If I bought every single disc heralded as "stone, cold funk with choppy grooves and breakbeats, the kind collectors search for," I'd have no money left for Count Chocula.

So I cross-referenced this Web resource with another. Most readers are, I trust, familiar with a little file-exchange application called Napster. Now, before anyone panics, files a lawsuit or prays for my soul, let me explain how this "pirate" resource can help sell records.

Each Dusty Groove item features a paragraph-long description of the album, rates it in the overall work of the artist, provides some background and thumbnail description of the sound and - most importantly - mentions some key tracks.

After surfing for a few suggestions, I logged onto Napster, downloaded whatever was available from the albums mentioned and evaluated the tracks. This let me determine which ones lived up to the hype and were closest to my taste.

Dusty Groove has a "shopping basket" feature, and even with the winnowing-down occasioned by Napster sampling, I filled my basket to brimming and soon expect a fabulous packet of classic grooves.

Here are some delights I discovered in my ramblings, which fill the mixes that will have to tide me over until the shipment arrives:

"Raunchy" and "Let There Be Drums" by the Incredible Bongo Band. As the name suggests, these instrumental funk tracks - which, like a lot of this material, have a kind of groovy cop show vibe - are augmented by badass bongo beats. The syncopated beats have made the band a favorite among DJs.

"Funkadelic Sound" by Little Beaver. Raw, guitar-powered funk reminiscent of Funkadelic, of course, and also mid-period James Brown, but with a higher blues quotient.

"Soul Sister" by Allen Toussaint. The New Orleans songwriter, producer and record entrepreneur - who energized recordings by Lee Dorsey, The Meters and countless other Crescent City greats - steps up to the mic on this sweet, soulful track, and the instrumental contributions of his acolytes are evident. In addition to being an obvious influence on Steve Miller's "The Joker," the song begins with the timeless lyric, "Hey you, with the curly bush on your head."

"Afro Strut" by The Nite-Liters. The Dusty Groove folks were right on it when they described this instrumental funk outfit as fitting in a niche between The Meters and Booker T. and the MGs. Like those great bands, The Nite-Liters understood the power of a spacious groove, and the stuttering guitar riff, spare horn lines and relentless beat here are, well, perfection.

"The Stalkwalk" by Gene Page. Some jazzy, spooky funk from the soundtrack to blaxploitation-horror flick "Blacula." Much of the music composed for genre films of this period was inversely proportional in sophistication to the films themselves; Page's elegant grooves are no exception.

"Root Down and Get It" by Jimmy Smith. If the title sounds familiar, it's probably because you've heard the Beastie Boys' "Root Down," which looped key segments of this brilliant cut by jazz-funk's greatest organist. Kicking off with one of the baddest bass-and-drum grooves ever devised, this one just builds and builds; Smith's bluesy filigrees are endlessly tasty and inventive, and the ascending turnaround (which the Beasties used to push the rhythmic envelope of sample-based music) is sheer genius.

"It's Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul)" by Jeanne and the Darlings. Glittering soul from the great Memphis label Stax - and a testament to the mind-altering, shape-shifting, gravity-defying power of love in an impeccable musical setting. Should be required listening for students of the genre.

"Neighbor! Get Your Own" by The Rimshots. Evocative instrumental funk with the works - congas, horns, organ, wah-wah, tambourine - but driven by a kinetic rhythm-guitar groove. It'll get your ass moving.

"I Don't Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky" by Ripple. A good track for the more adventurous dance mix. Its moody intro gives way to an irresistibly elastic groove - and its "oh-la, oh-la, ay" and "boom-boom" call-and-response vocals are prime party fuel.

Now you can find the funkiest jams in existence without having to scour heaven and earth - yet another reason to give thanks for your pal the Internet. But remember, a download will never be as cool as a dusty slab o' vinyl.

--Simon Glickman