Wheedle's Groove Seattle Funk Soul 1965-75 NEW CD

Seattle's Finest in Funk & Soul 1965-75

NEW CD

* 21-Tracks, 75 minutes!
* 24-Page Deluxe Color Booklet
* Exclusive Interviews & Liner Notes
*AVAILABLE ALSO AS A DOUBLE LP

"It's one of those things where you kind of had to be there, to get the full effect of what Seattle was like in the late '60s and early '70s. I really didn't know what to expect, when I arrived from Buffalo, New York, in '72, other than Seattle had a history rich in music - Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson and Ray Charles.

Back then, gas cost you twenty-seven cents a gallon to fill up your baddass ride. There was no Seahawks, no Mariners, or Microsoft or Amazon. Girls were still named Frances and Darlene, and guys were known by Freddie and Arthur. Garfield and Franklin were the leading high schools for setting Seattle's soulful social standards. Dick's and Dag's were the spots for twenty-nine-cent burgers, while Helen's Diner was (and still is) known for the best soul food on the West Coast. TJ's and Mr. D's were the clothing stores where most of the brothers shopped, and the CD, the Central District, was (and still is) the heart and soul of the city. The Facts and The Medium newspapers kept all abreast of what was happening in the CD, and KYAC radio tied everything together.

There was a minimum of twenty live-music clubs specializing in funk and soul, and all those joints jammed. There must have been twenty-five hard-giggin', Superfly-like, wide-leg-polyester-pant-and-platform-shoes-wearing, wide-brim-hat-and-maxi-coat-sportin', big-ass, highly-"sheened"-afro-stylin', Kool & the Gang song-covering live bands playing four sets a night from 8 p.m. 'til O-dark-thirty in the morning. And of course, the ladies were not to be outdone with their Pam Grier-Foxy Brown hoop earrings, mini-skirts and the ever popular¿ Afro Puffs. Each night, some band, somewhere, was kickin' it. You could find Manuel Stanton of Black and White Affair doing flips while playing bass on a Monday at the Gallery. Meanwhile, you might catch Robbie Hill, flashing like a Christmas tree in a red rhinestone-studded jumpsuit, matching red Big Apple cap and the huge hair, keeping the beat for his band Family Affair at the District Tavern. The Dave Lewis Trio, the highly stylized Overton Berry and the ultra-funky Johnny Lewis Quartet regularly played the Trojan Horse, while Cold, Bold & Together was house band at the legendary Golden Crown Up. Cookin' Bag, with their heavy horn vibe was a major draw from Perls' Ballroom in Bremerton to Soul Street.

The idea of Wheedle's Groove (named after Wheedle, the worst mascot in the history of mascots ever) is quite exciting and long overdue. Each track on this compilation is an untold musical history lesson. Those of you who were around back then are likely to have a wonderful time reliving the good-old days. After all, you helped make it happen. Have fun."

Robert Nesbitt

Reviewed by Andrew Schrock :

The copiously detailed liner notes on ¿Wheedles Groove¿ talk of a local flavor bubbling up in Seattle, percolating like so much coffee from the street level and filtered by local musicians of the day. In the decade from the mid 60s to the mid 70s, encouraged by the possibility of making a living playing the local clubs, they formed literally dozens of groups. These men & women put soul into their music, and most of their stories are ones of local fame, but near misses at success on a national level. Following the Stones Throw model, tracks are copiously researched, interviews conducted of the colorful musicians, and original flyers and photographs unearthed. This obsession may sound excessive, but it enriches the experience of listening to a compilation, because you can close your eyes and get a vivid picture in your own ¿private mind garden¿ of what it was like to travel down a sidewalk in the Pacific Northwest during such an amazingly diverse musical period. To hear the juicy breakbeats, organ funk, and wah-wah guitar are all recorded just slightly too hot into a tape recorder for that slight distortion reminds you what good old funky music is all about.

The only downside to this passionate ode to Seattle culture is the patchy mastering. Recordings were often as not taken from vinyl, and the volume and quality of the tracks varies drastically from song to song. A much better job could have been done as far as cleaning up goes. But such is a small price to pay to be able to revel in the niceness of tracks like Johnny Lewis¿ nasty clavinet rendition of ¿Cissy Strut¿ (originally released on tape) and the 45-only cuts by The Black on White Affair¿s that bookend the compilation. The stylistic breadth of the cuts on ¿Wheedles Groove¿ is inspiring, going from classy 60s soul to 70s jazz to pre-disco funk. It¿s a grab bag of musical culture connected by location, and the very definition of ¿local flavor¿.

TRACKLIST:

1.) BLACK ON WHITE AFFAIR
 "Bold Soul Sister, Bold Soul Brother"

2.) SOUL SWINGERS
"Brighter Tomorrow"

3.) COOKIN' BAG
"This Is Me"

4.) RON BUFORD
  "Deep Soul Pt. 1"

5.) THE OVERTON BERRY TRIO
  "Hey Jude"

6.) MISTERHOLMES & THE BROTHERHOOD
"Thrift Store Find"

7.) ROBBIE HILL'S FAMILY AFFAIR
  "I Just Want To Be (Like Myself)"

8.) COLD, BOLD & TOGETHER
"(Stop) Losing Your Chances"

9.) BROHAM
"Nothing In Common"

10.) THE JOHNNY LEWIS TRIO
"Cissy Strut"

11.) PATRINELL STATEN
  "Little Love Affair"

12.) BLACK ON WHITE AFFAIR
"A Bunch Of Changes"

13.) THE TOPICS
"Louie Louie"

14.) THE CLARENCE MACK EXPRESS
"Runaway Train"

15.) ANNAKONDA
"Wheedle¿s Groove"

16.) SHARPSHOOTERS
  "Balek"

17.) COOKIN' BAG
"The Song I Sing"

18.) COLD, BOLD & TOGETHER
"Somebody¿s Gonna Burn Ya"

19.) SOUL SWINGERS
"Ca'-Ba'-Dab'"

20.) PATRINELL STATEN
"I Let A Good Man Go"

21.) BLACK ON WHITE AFFAIR
"Auld Lang Syne"

V/A ¿ ¿Wheedle¿s Groove: Seattle¿s finest in Funk & Soul 1965 - 1975"