Les McCann reached the apotheosis of his funk odyssey with these two dates for Atlantic. 1972's Talk to the People borrows heavily from the transcendent Motown efforts of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, and even if he's not in their same league as a vocalist, McCann nevertheless invests covers of their "What's Going On" and "Seems So Long" with soulful grit and impassioned honesty. He does rival Wonder for sheer funkiness, however. "Shamading" is an absolute monster groove that will turn your ass to jelly. And his keyboard ...
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Les McCann reached the apotheosis of his funk odyssey with these two dates for Atlantic. 1972's Talk to the People borrows heavily from the transcendent Motown efforts of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, and even if he's not in their same league as a vocalist, McCann nevertheless invests covers of their "What's Going On" and "Seems So Long" with soulful grit and impassioned honesty. He does rival Wonder for sheer funkiness, however. "Shamading" is an absolute monster groove that will turn your ass to jelly. And his keyboard playing is, as usual, top-notch. With River High, River Low McCann completes his transformation from jazz to soul. While elements of fusion still creep in, this is first and foremost a straight-up funk album that shines the spotlight on deep, hard-hitting grooves and McCann's gritty vocals. The cosmic mind-funkery of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective seeps into cuts like "I've Been Thinking About My Problems" and "Woman Come Home." McCann is a master of rippling keyboard melodies and evocatively cinematic textures, and even if his vocals lack technical finesse, his passion and emotion carry the day. Jazz purists will recoil in disgust, but there's no denying the sheer vitality and energy of the music herein. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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