Head Hunters, spanning one or two lifetimes since its release, remains utterly applicable to the contemporary soundscape, encompassing the sensuality of gutbucket funk as well as airy confines of so-called jazz.
The concept album that is Aretha's Gold follows the chronology of Aretha Franklin's hits, all released in 1967 and 1968, apex years of the decade not just in terms of numbers but also as an apogee of its cultural and political zeitgeist.
Clear your mind of the long gone myth, the post-career hype, and connect the dots that lead from Ma Rainy to Betty Davis, a continuum of playful blues/funk and emancipated eroticism.
What does the record collector collect when the desired product is too expensive? Perhaps a bootlegged version shunned by the fussy connoisseur.
A generically labeled 45rpm leads to unforeseen connections between an illegal squat, a ramshackle used record outlet, and an obscure R&B outfit that eventually lands at the Mount Olive Temple of Christ in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
