I Can't Believe You Don't Own This F%#kin' Record: Dag - Righteous

DAG - RIGHTEOUS (1994)

Your 90's-ologist really needed to bear down on rewriting a feature script outline yesterday, and some days I need a musical pick-me-up to get in the writing mood. When Dag's debut album "Righteous" funked its way from the speakers to my chair-dancing arse, I knew it was entry time.

Now, I don't like wholesale biting someone else's thoughts on a record, but the Allmusic review of Righteous does a damn concise job:

"Although the notion of white guys playing funk is enough to make a person justifiably skeptical, make no mistake about Dag -- they are the real deal. On Righteous, the band lays down some of the dirtiest, deadliest grooves this side of George Clinton, and do so with great restraint and respect for the genre. The tunes are peppered with vintage synths, horns, and imaginative lead guitar, not to mention catchy hooks, while vocalist Bobby Patterson possesses a falsetto that could make Prince envious (as heard on the gorgeous title track). Dag's strength is their commitment to funk; unlike bands who use funk as a gimmick or try to fuse it with other styles, these guys play it pure. Highly recommended."

Yup. These white boys could funk. Not like lame jamband, guitar noodling, hippie-butt-thrust funk, but nasty, slobbering, STANK FUNK. Like, Prince would approve.

But, as always, don't take my word for it...enjoy:



Dag - Righteous (City Pain)

I highly recommend you click here for the video for "Righteous." White boys. I'm saying. Love the 90's, great time for music.



Dag - Even So



Dag - Home

Soundtrack of Your Life: Brand New Heavies - "Dream On Dreamer/Never Stop"

In a way, I wish all R&B could float as effervescent and light as the UK's Brand New Heavies. Like Soul II Soul before them, listening to their music feels inspiring and motivational...something a cynic like me needs every so often. Though singer N'Dea Davenport's vocals weren't as technically wowing as some of her American counterparts, there's just something really sophisticated about the pairing of her voice with this incredibly adept acid jazz/funk music. These songs would take me away to my second life on the French Riveria, wearing big black sunglasses and a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, waiting for my foreign lover (Italian, Greek, whatever--he doesn't speak English and I don't care) on his Vespa. Enough of my Continental fantasies, here are the songs:



Brand New Heavies - "Dream On Dreamer" (1994)



Brand New Heavies - "Never Stop" (1991)

The image at the top of the post is from their 2006 record, "Get Used to It," which has recently been remixed by the legendary Tom Moulton (American originator of the remix and the 12-inch single), and is available as "Get Used To It - The Tom Moulton Mixes" (2008).