Titres
A1 Soul Ain't No New Thing 2:57
A2 It's Not What You Do 5:27
A3 King Of The Real Good Guys 4:00
A4 Dear Love 7:31
B1 Ego Tripping 5:11
B2 The Changing Game 3:41
B3 Lettin' Happiness In 6:40
B4 Power To The People 3:28
Pas beaucoup d’infos sur le monsieur, sur le net, on ne trouve pas grand’chose. Etonnant vu la qualité de cet album. Une chose est sûr est qu’il a travaillé sous la direction d’Harvey Fuqua pour faire cet album. Harvey Fuqua à cette époque produisait aussi sur le même label les fabuleux Nite Liters pour leurs albums et les New Birth qui avaient comme backing band les Nite Liters toujours sur RCA. Les meilleurs infos que l’on trouve sont en fait celles qui sont au dos de la pochette (si vous avez de bons yeux vous pouvez lire sur le zoom de la pochette arrière, autrement voici le texte :
“Soul started a long time ago everybody's comin' back home to the center, the root gut of city soul, urban blues; the loud, brash, ebullient, dynamic, shaking soundsof the concrete and bustle of the big city. soul exists in all kinds of music. it's there in the wail of a cowboy lament, in the rhythms of brazil, in a hebrew chant or the fiddles and banjos of country music. but the soul of city music is something altogether different and unique. it comes out of the screech of the subway, the broken hydrant that serves as summer refreshment, the teeming population squeezed into every empty space, the towering skyscrapers and funky tenements, the neon communication, the riotous palette of food of every conceivable kind and the endless noises of electric life. boobie knight and his wonderfully titled group, the soulciety, are here to tell us all about life in this steel jungle. he tells us about love and communication and getting together in no uncertain terms. his driving rhythms, shouting horns, soulful vocals and vision areperfectly suited to the environment his art derives from. it's the same environment that had chick webb stompin' at the savoy and duke ellington surveying a harlem air shaft; the same environment that had dozens of r&b or r7r groups exciting people for twenty-five years. soul ain't no new thing, that's for certain, but in the hands of boobie knight it is once again rejuvenated and reinterpreted for a new generation and a new age. soul knows no race. whatever its heritage and origins, it shouts its message for everyone to hear. that's the way boobie feels about his music, and that's the way the audiences who come to hear his live performances react. the soulciety, incidentally, is yet another idea from harvey fuqua, whose considerable r&b credentials go all the way back to the moonglows. originally, the group was organized for recording purposes but now they have a loyal following for their concert work , a following that is invariably pleased by martha, the totemic pole that's become a kind of symbol. the real power of this group, of course, comes from the superb musicianship of everyone involved. it takes more than soul and good intentions to send a message across. it also takes talent and hard work. the effort that each musician puts into these sides is evident, and no one is more gratified by this excellence than boobie. although the soulciety is boobie knight's third band, this is his first record album. i'm sure it won't be the last. rca stereo records may be played on any modern phonograph with a lightweight tone arm. you will hear excellent sound reproduction on a mono player and full stereo sound on a stereo player.”).
Cet album est un album de pur funk qui décape et qui tâche (à part les 2 ballades qui étaient de rigueur pour un disque de funk à cette époque, à la limite normale quand on voit le rythme avec lequel l’album démarre et enchaine les titres funks). La batterie et les percussions sont extrêmement présentes ce qui donne aux morceaux toute leur force. C’est une véritable explosion de sons comme seul le funk peut nous en produire.
On peut trouver un 2è album de Boobie Knight avec les Universal Lady en 1974 ce coup-là mais je le trouve nettement moins bon.
Des extraits pour vous permettre de vous rendre compte de la qualité et de la puissance de cet album :
Soul Ain't No New Thing
King Of Real Good Guys
Lettin' Hapiness
Power To People
The Changing Game
Ego Tripping
