RETRO REVIEW: Mother’s Finest’s ‘Meta-Funk’n-Physical’ (2003)

As Mother’s Finest’s kick-starter campaign to enlist their fanbase in being a part of their first new album for 10 years heads into its final week, I thought it a good opportunity to tale a look back at their 2003 release ‘Meta-Funk’n-Physical’..

I remember the first time I listened to this track. I was anxious to get it home and put it on the player. ‘Funk-a-Wild‘ promises much and delivers even more. An insidious synth sequence starts a stealth-like groove, lulling you into a false sense of security before the riff hits you, dripping with the funk, the staccato bass…Baby Jean’s wonderfully provocative lyrics draw you in and suddenly you’re into the killer chorus. Your head’s banging, your foot’s tapping, and you’re still only on track one. Oh yeah, this is gonna get Meta-funk’n physical!

On ‘Bring it’ Mother’s Finest display their innate ability to throw damn near everything in the cooking pot and make it taste good….rapping over Moses Mo’s almost eastern trippy guitar lines, Glenn Murdock and Joyce Kennedy lead us into a growling hard rock chorus, and it all fits like a glove.

I involuntarily break into a smile when I hear Wyzzard’s wicked popping bass syncopated with Moses’ sledgehammer chops underpinning Baby Jean’s chorus on ‘I Believe’. These guys make the groove sound effortless…and in reality it is. Because you cannot learn the groove. You got it, or you ain’t. And Mother’s Finest OWN the groove.

The rest of the album is just as eclectic – beautifully performed ballads such as ‘Don’t take your love’, the quirky funk of ‘What happens when we die?’ and the inspired guest-laden take of Hendrix’s  ‘If 6 were 9’.

‘Flat on my back’ drifts lazily into the detuned stomp of ‘The N-Groove’ a 21st century re-boot of their very own back catalogue, reinventing ‘Like a Negro’ and ‘Niggiz cant sang Rock’n’Roll’.

The final two tracks on the album illustrate Mother’s Finest’s joyous schizophrenia perfectly. ‘Set me Free’, a beautifully rendered classic ballad showcasing Joyce Kennedy’s excellent vocal, followed by ‘Hard time’, a soliloquy  that she delivers in spoken word over a slick syncopated groove, dropping in and out of gospel influenced chorus with ease, then punching you in the face with a full-on rock guitar solo. They do that a lot, Mother’s Finest. They Surprise you. Because they can.

Donate to their Kickstarter campaign. I have, because, 10 years on,  I wanna get surprised all over again.

To Donate, Click on the Image below:

Kev Moore

Bringing a little bit of Ireland home….

Often, on our trips around the globe, I’ll by a few CD’s, and it’s highly likely that these will reflect, either the destination, or the experiences of the trip, and our visit to Dublin was no exception. I got hold of four CD’s that I’ve been after for a while, and it seemed exactly the place to get them. They’re all Irish, but they have another thread of commonality that connects them. I saw them all play live in my hometown of Derby as a teenager.  First up, a brace of albums by the unique HORSLIPS: “The Tain”, and “The Book of Invasions”.

Both drawing heavily on Irish folklore for their subject matter, they paint wonderful images with the widest range of Celtic and rock instrumentation. they were electrifying live, and the standout track for me is ‘Dearg Doom’ from ‘The Tain.” – a brilliant mix of rock guitar, fiddle and flute. I remember leaping about like a loon to this played live at Cleopatra’s club, ably aided by some Marston’s Pedigree bitter.

No Dublin trip would be complete without some THIN LIZZY, and I’d been after the Special edition of ‘Vagabonds of the Western World’ for some time. The casual Lizzy fan, who perhaps only knows them from the beginnings of the four piece line-up on ‘Nightlife’, (On which tour I saw them at Derby College) is missing out on an absolute gem. Eric Bell’s guitar work is simply stunning on here. ‘The Hero and the Madman’ is a tour de force, surprisingly led by a young Kid Jensen ( A DJ , for all you young folks!)narrating the story, and the solo is fabulous. Bell is an original, a sound all of his own, his solo on ‘The Rocker’, proving it’s no fluke. The appearance of a young Gary Moore on a blistering ‘Little Darling’ almost seems like an embarrassment of riches. In this early incarnation, Lynott’s bass playing is funkier, and the bassline to ‘I’m Gonna creep up on you’ is one of his best. This is a great 2 disc set, highly recommended.

Finally, the late great RORY GALLAGHER. I met Rory towards the end of his life at that most ‘muso’ of places – the cafe at Scotch Corner on the A1, a more down-to -earth individual you couldn’t wish to meet. his music was raw, honest and powerful, and the set I saw him play many years before at the Kings Hall in Derby was just awesome. In Dublin, I bought ‘Big Guns – The very best of Rory Gallagher’ . It’s a rip-roaring ride through his career, and whilst its a great listen, it leaves you wanting more, and from my perspective, makes me want to explore his band ‘Taste’ once more.

So next time you get annoyed by the asinine syrup of  Westlife, Boyzone, and all rest of that shite that Louis Walsh has foisted on the world, remember, Ireland was the birthplace of some of the greatest rock music we’ve had the privilege to enjoy.

Kev Moore

I don’t do reviews, but……….BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION 2 – Rock’s Salvation?

Most reviews about this band start with the deconstruction of the “Supergroup” tag, and how groups either succeed or fail to live up to it. I’ll try and avoid that.  What Black Country Communion are is four musicians operating at the top of their game, but more importantly, producing something that transcends the sum of their parts. I suppose, if ever there was to be a definitive criteria for being labelled a Supergroup, then that is it.

What also sets this band, and this second album, apart from virtually anything else in the marketplace is the sheer quality and craft in the songwriting. No album fillers here. An album that clocks in around the hour mark and has not outstayed its welcome.  Beautiful counterpoint between the ballads and the rockers, between Bonamassa’s and Hughes’ voices, which compliment each other perfectly.  I read that producer Kevin Shirley had sought to capture the classic ‘Bonham’ sound through Bonzo’s lad, and he’s achieved that in spades. The drums are simply majestic, striding through the album like a colossus, the son honouring the father with feel and skill, and, as if you could ever doubt it, power.

But perhaps the most pleasing thing is the gradual emergence of Derek Sherinian’s keyboards. Heralding the great days of 70’s rock, he brings so much to this album. Never overbearing, always underpinning, and then sweeping into a solo off the back of Bonamassa, or growling along down and dirty with Hughes’ bass lines. Ah…the man’s bass lines!! If Glenn suffers from anything , it’s in having such an amazing voice that his bass playing is often overlooked. But you’ll not hear a better exponent of the craft, and his work on this album is stunning, whether it be driving “Man in the Middle” relentlessly, or the glorious weaving lines beneath Joe’s guitar in “The battle for Hadrian’s wall.”

A producer’s role is often a thankless one, at best misunderstood, or perhaps the fall guy if the project goes belly-up. But Kevin Shirley deserves huge praise, not just for his work in the studio, but for his vision in seeing immediately just what huge potential these four guys had collectively. His love and deep understanding of the genre is evident in his remix of Deep Purple’s “Come taste the band.”

You may have noticed I’ve hardly mentioned the tracks by name. It is because this is a bona fide body of work. There is no weak point on this album. The joy is to be derived from listening to it as a whole, almost unheard of in our 3 minute MTV short-attention-span culture, but the grace with which ‘2’ moves between Man in the middle, Hadrian’s Wall and Save me,  for example elevates this album from a mere collection of songs. It is a masterful body of work from four men who inspire each other to new heights.  It’s on in the car right now, every day, and I’ll be travelling with my partner Miki, who created the painting at the top of this article, to see them live in the Czech Republic in July. Come on!

(Just click on the portrait to visit Miki’s site and read about her thoughts on BCC and to order a print)

Kev Moore