by Andrew HamiltonAfter years of infusing his wah-wah guitar licks on countless sessions, Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin cut a deal with Columbia Records for this unsuccessful solo album that did so poorly Watson didn't have another solo release for 24 years. Columbia pushed this as fusion-jazz; well, some of it is, but it's really just good "head music." "Cry Baby" sounds like a track left off Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Going On album; not a sad tune as its title suggests, but a jaunty stepper more related to funk than jazz. "Bubbles" is soft and understated with a clandestine groove, with Watson easing up on the wah-wah's. You'd think Norman Whitfield was in the studio on "Goo Goo Wah Wah" going by the countless gadgets and studio tricks employed on this likeable sprinter that's pushed by threatening tomtom drums: great chase music. Some of L.A.'s finest studio musicians are with Watson on this one.

Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957) is an American singer. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song "Got to Be Real".

Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré is a Malian singer and guitarist. He is the son of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré.

The Menahan Street Band is a collaboration of musicians from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Dave Guy, Homer Steinweiss, Fernando Velez, Bosco Mann), El Michels Affair (Leon Michels, Toby Pazner), Antibalas (Nick Movshon, Aaron Johnson) and the Budos Band (Mike Deller, Daniel Foder), brought together by musician/producer Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Amy Winehouse) to record hits in the bedroom of his Menahan St. apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. With influences reaching beyond the funk/soul/afrobeat architecture of their other projects into the more ethereal realms of Curtis Mayfield and Mulatu Astatke, the Menahan Street Band creates a unique new instrumental soul sound that is as raw as it is lush. Their debut album, Make the Road by Walking will be released on Dunham Records, Brenneck's new imprint of Daptone Records, a joint venture devoted to bringing the Menahan Street sound from Brenneck's bedroom out into the world. The album is marked by eerily quirky arrangements, featuring vibes, horns, piano, organ, percussion and even a strange bling sound that Brenneck creates by tuning and plucking the strings of his guitar on the wrong side of the bridge. However, it is not the textures themselves that make the new sound of Menahan Street so exciting, but rather the way the sounds are incorporated into the heavy rhythms and bold melodies of the compositions.
The title of the album was inspired both by the eponymous community center below Brenneck's apartment and the natural rhythm that has continued to move this project forward. Shortly after its release as Dunham's debut 45rpm single, the song "Make the Road by Walking" was sampled by fellow Brooklynite Jay-Z for his smash hit from American Gangster, "Roc Boys (and the Winner is�" (later declared by Rolling Stone to be the No. 1 single of 2007). A few months after the release of the Jay-Z track, Brenneck was contacted by the principal of Public School 20, an elementary school in nearby Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, who had tracked down the original after being blown away by the sample in the radio hit. The school band invited the Menahan Street Band to their recital to watch them perform their own rendition of "Make the Road by Walking" and to join them in their music class the following Friday. The experience proved mutually inspiring for both the children and the band, and completed the songs poetic journey from the local community center through the national hip-hop airwaves, and back to the children of Brooklyn.
There must be something in the water in Brooklyn these days that has kept this family of musicians going. Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Kanye West, Ghostface Killah, The Hitmen, Wu-Tang Clan, Al Green, Nas, and now Jay-Z all coming to the same bunch of guys in their homemade studios in Brooklyn to get the stuff that today's biggest records are made of. However, this is far from a pop record. Make the Road by Walking is a soulful exploration by a talented young group of musicians into the possibilities of instrumental music; an original, personal, and uncompromised creation that embodies the sound of a select group of musicians in one distinct place, at one particular moment in time. "This album is kind of a window into our world on Menahan Street," says Brenneck. "In a way, we're simply the street's unofficial house band."

This is a thoughtfully considered album of quiet, confident R&B: it doesn't jump out at you, but rather gets in you. Produced by John Carroll Kirby, the like-minded artist and collaborator with Frank Ocean and Solange Knowles, it features restrained percussion from Kanye West’s Sunday Service drummer Lamar Carter. Celestial soul as a break from chaos, these are quietly challenging songs as timeless as they are contemporary.
“What a rare and cool challenge it was for me to help Eddie re-emerge after a long hiatus,” says John Carroll Kirby. “I was excited to produce a record for him that captured the chill, laid-back wisdom and easy vocal mastery he has that you don’t see that much these days.”
Lead single “My Mind Is Out of Its Mind” finds a deep groove to try and contain spiraling heartbreak, while the sweet and fizzy “Trouble” balances the downcast “Hurt” and more tender “Papa.” But even the project’s lightest moments feel sincere and mature. Altogether: a truly unifying release, coming from a man who's earned the right to share such a regal, romantic sound.
credits
released July 31, 2020
- Music & Lyrics by Eddie Chacon and John Carroll Kirby
- Produced by John Carroll Kirby
- Drums by Lemar Carter
- Art by Justin Sloane
- Recorded at Sun King Studios
- Mastered by Dave Cooley

Joe Sample, 1939年生于美国休斯顿，钢琴家，作曲家。
Joe Sample是50年代后期在Fusion风格流行大潮中，从硬Bop曲风转向电声曲风的诸多爵士音乐人之一。他是The Jazz Crusaders组合的创始人之一，另外三个创始人是长号手Wayne Henderson，高音萨克斯手Wiltion Felder以及鼓手Stix Hooper。The Crusaders与Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers极为相似，只是洛杉矶的The Crusaders组合没有小号手，而且以高音长号为主音而闻名。

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister.

Rejoice is an album by American vocal group the Emotions issued in June 1977 by Columbia Records

Budget-priced 1996 compilation on EMI featuring 16 of the funky '70s disco band's best. Contains eight of their top 40hits, including all five of their #1 smashes: 'Get Down Tonight', 'That's The Way (I Like It)', '(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty', 'I'm Your Boogie Man' and 'Please Don't Go', plus the #2 'Keep It Comin' Love'.

Charles Edward Bradley (November 5, 1948 – September 23, 2017) was an American singer. After years of obscurity and a part-time music career, Bradley came to prominence in his early 50s.