[Musique du Monde] – ‘Le Monde du Funk ’72’ (1970-1972)

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So far the ‘Le Monde du Funk‘ series has explored Funk, and Funk-inflected Soul, R&B, Jazz, Rock and Pop through the eclectic mid-70s with ‘Le Monde du Funk Vol. 9;’ the sophisticated solid-state mid-80s with ‘Le Monde du Funk ’85,’ and then the post-disco crossroads of the early 80s with ‘Le Monde du Funk ’82‘.  (I’d retroactively consider the Daft Punk tribute ‘The Gold and the Silver Dream‘ part of the series, too.)  Now we’re returning to the beginning of the golden age when Funk began to spread its wings and become a driving sonic force for all kinds of music around the world: ‘Le Monde du Funk et Soul et Rock 1972‘ covering 1970-1972.  While this is closer to the origins of Funk, we hear already that it was as much an attitude, an approach, and a sonic emphasis as much as a genre.

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The music here is more often American than not, as the art form is almost entirely African-American in origin and heritage.  But the South, the West Coast, the Great Lakes and the East Coast all bring different influences to bear.  Beyond that American core, though, the natural fit of music made by people from Ethiopia, Ghana, England, Grenada, Trinidad, Antigua, Germany, Guyana, Jamaica, France and Japan make clear how readily these sounds drew from and transmitted out trans-nationally.  In the same way, funkiness as a priority on rhythm and bass blurred the borders between Soul, Rock, Jazz, and R&B.  So while this mix isn’t as explicitly international as some of the other contemporaneous ‘Musique du Monde‘ series, it is as eclectic in its own way, and I’d suggest it conveys an international spirit.  This music is “of its time,” but it has continued to deeply inform music through the successive decades.  These sounds move us (body and soul) as much as they ever did, and they’re still a fountain of inspiration today.

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Musicophilia has tended to average one or two new mixes a year over the last seven or eight years as “real life,” grad school and work etc., put dampers on the mix-making time I had in my underemployed mid-20s.  But I’ve decided that it needed to be more of a priority. In recent months as the terror of unthinkable incompetence and brazen evil in the seat of ultimate power have become the shadow over all our lives here in the U.S., the importance of music as an expression of our best selves, of our hopes and our anger and our resistance to our worst selves, has seemed even greater.  And these sounds–beautiful human expression, often from times when things seemed equally dire–have certainly buoyed me and given me the energy to not let the terrible become normal.  So here we are with the seventh new mix in under six months, and I feel like it’s bringing the care and high quality of the mixes of the last few “scarce” years to the profusion of the early years of the blog.  A huge part of the rebirth of the blog is the ‘Le Monde du Funk’ series.  So I hope you’re also feeling, and sharing, the revitalization and uplift these mixes have given me.  Thank you for listening!  Please pass Musicophilia along for others to hear, and as always, please buy all the music you can afford that you hear here, to keep the music we love available to all.

 

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Various – ‘Le Monde du Funk 1972‘
1970-1972 | Musique du Monde

 

Side A

 

01 [00:00] Roberta FLACK – “Go Up Moses” (Quiet Fire, 1971)
02 [05:25] OSIBISA – “So So Mi La So” (Heads, 1972)
03 [08:17] Sly & THE FAMILY STONE – “Family Affair” (There’s A Riot Goin’ On, 1971)
04 [11:36] Allen TOUSSAINT – “From A Whisper To A Scream” (Toussaint, 1970)
05 [14:27] SYREETA – “I Love Every LIttle Thing About You” (Syreeta, 1972)
06 [19:49] Roy AYERS – “We Live In Brooklyn, Baby” (He’s Coming, 1972)

 

Side B

 

07 [23:34] The METERS – “Stay Away” (Cabbage Alley, 1972)
08 [28:37] NIAGARA – “Gibli” (S.U.B., 1972)
09 [32:37] Bobbi HUMPHREY – “Smiling Faces Sometimes” (Dig This!, 1972)
10 [38:05] Donny HATHAWAY – “I Believe in Music” (Donny Hathaway, 1971)
11 [41:12] Johnny Jenkins – “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” (Ton-Ton Macoute!, 1970)

 

Side C

 

12 [47:36] Jimi HENDRIX – “Angel” (The Cry of Love, 1971)
13 [51:57] Bill WITHERS – “Ain’t No Sunshine” (Just As I Am, 1971)
14 [54:04] Marvin GAYE – “‘T’ Plays It Cool” (Trouble Man, 1972)
15 [58:14] Mulatu ASTATKE – “Mulatu” (Mulatu of Ethiopia, 1972)
16 [63:03] Serge GAINSBOURG – “Cargo Culte (Instrumental)” (Histoire de Melody Nelson, 1971)

 

Side D

 

17 [70:45] CYMANDE – “Bra” (Cymande, 1972)
18 [75:49] Kuni KAWACHI – “Works Composed Mainly By Humans” (Kirikyogen, 1970)
19 [81:32] Leon WARE – “Tamed To Be Wild” (Leon Ware, 1972)
20 [85:26] FUNKADELIC – “Maggot Brain” (Maggot Brain, 1971)

 

[Total Time: 1:35:40]

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Download ‘Le Monde du Funk ’72’ Here (187MB)

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