Smooth Sailing: Ambient Soul, Folk Funk & Soft Rock

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Come sail with me, to quote Buttering Trio! The track by Lonette McKee is for “its first ever re-release” on The Ladies of Too Slow to Disco Volume 2, which is out on June 19th.

Richard Powell’s World Of Ecstasy is from the new compilation album Whispers Lounge, which contains 14 so-called "lounge originals", a genre that was called "easy listening" at the time:

"A spent matchbook’s worth of crooners, bossa nobodies, seafood jazzers, and Donca-Matic enthusiasts all in search of their ticket out of a red leather booth hell.”

(The Numero Group)

The sub-genre is officially called ‘folk funk’, but I think ‘soulful folk’ would be a better term, because there is no funk in this kind of music at all. As the 1960s melted into the 1970s in a colourful swirl of musical possibilities, bands and singer-songwriters were experimenting with newfound freedoms. Rock would meet jazz. Soul was mixed with psychedelia. On this fertile soil folk funk would arise. Forerunners were Rotary Connection (with producer Charles Stepney), Minnie Riperton and Bill Withers, who sadly passed away last week.

Only a Fool Breaks His Own Heart from 'Calypso King' Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) was written by Shelly Coburn and Norman Bergen and first recorded as the flipside of Open Up Your Heart by Arthur Prysock in 1965. Was it a mistake of his record company or was it Mighty Sparrow who wanted to earn some money? In any case, his name was listed as composer on the label of his version, which went unnoticed until nearly 150 thousand copies had been sold! Only a Fool Breaks His Own Heart was on the Dutch charts for a short period in 1969, but it was successfully re-released 8 years later. It then peaked at #2 and it stayed for more than 6 months in the Dutch Top 40! There are now more than 80 versions of the song with new recordings all the time. In 1968, the song was included on Tom Jones' #1 LP Delilah.

The upcoming album Companionship from Joel Sarakula opens with Midnight Driver, a yacht rock track about the nocturnal habits of the narrator's girlfriend:

"The Californian sun-kissed guitars, vocal stylings and percussion all help to set a cinematic mood which unsurprisingly also makes it a great driving song."

(Bandcamp)

Enjoy this new Smooth Sailing adventure!

Tracklist:

Fania All Stars – Lullaby from “Rosemary’s Baby” (1976)
Johnny Nash – Mr. Sea (1979)
Richard Powell – World Of Ecstasy (1976)
Lonette McKee – The Way I Want To Touch You (1974)
Eric Tagg – Living Off The Love (1977)
The McCrarys ‎Feat. Stevie Wonder – You (1978)
Thundercat – Overseas / Dragonball Durag (2020)
Batteaux – High Tide (1973)
Joel Sarakula – Midnight Driver (2020)
Stephen Bishop – On And On (1976)
Jim Croce – Lover’s Cross (1973)
Haim – Hallelujah (2019)
Carole King – I Feel The Earth Move (1971)
Buttering Trio – Come Sail With Me (2019)
Airborne – Marie (1977)
El Chicano – Lake Aquabi (1975)
The Mighty Sparrow With Byron Lee And The Dragonaires – Only A Fool (1969)
Keith Marshall – Only Crying (1981)
Freda Payne – I Get Carried Away (1974)
Carl 'Sherlock' Holmes – Your Game [The Apple Scruffs Edit] (1974)
Curtis Mayfield – Never Stop Loving Me (1980)