This is an interesting one for me. I found it three times and gave it away twice.
The first two times were at Super Flea. I know… that place again. I was digging around and remember pulling it out and trying to make out what the animals on the cover were. That's what drew me in. It was just weird enough that I had to hear it. I got it home and didn't find much on it. At least not what I was looking for at the time. Back then when I first started digging, it wasn't always about finding good music. Most of the time I was just hunting for samples to flip into hip hop beats. Nothing jumped out, so it went into the throwaway pile. I never actually threw records away though. I'd just pass them along to someone else.
I found it a second time, though I don't recall where. I bought it again because I hadn't seen it out in the wild very often. Eventually it went in another purge for the same reason. Not listening to it enough. Nothing to sample. Gone again.
Then I moved to Seattle and was digging at a place called Jivetime. Found it sitting in the dollar bins. At that point I figured it must be meant for me, so I took it home and gave it another real listen. That's when I discovered there's a track on it that MF DOOM reworked into one of his masterpieces. A track I actually really love. It's interesting how a sampled hip hop beat can forge a connection to a song and completely change how you feel about the entire record.
Now I can put this one on front to back and enjoy the whole thing. It really is a solid representation of jazz soul and jazz funk. A great record. If I had it to do over again I'd probably keep all three copies. Well maybe I’d let one go.
If you've never heard it, give it a listen. And don't set it aside thinking there's nothing on it for you. If you actually sit with it, I'd almost guarantee you'll find something you like.
Released: 1975 on Disques Espérance
Review by: Def Wax