There’s been alot of musical exploration into 60’s/70’s Africa these days. Everywhere you turn there are reissue comps of little known Afro-funk bands from Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria etc. Don’t get me wrong ….I appreciate and love almost all of that stuff…but what really gets me charged are the more hard-to-come-by 70’s Afro-fuzz-punk bands. You may remember my Chrissy Zebby Tembo post a month or so ago….well here is another hunk of Afro proto-punk to wreck your lugs with. I kinda liken Witch as the MC5 to Chrissy Tembo’s The Stooges. A bit more refined….better players….but still holding true to that punk attitude that makes these Zambian garage-rockers so appealing.

“Motherless Child” is taken from the album Lazy Bones which was recorded in Zambia in 1975. The track kicks off with a baby’s wail (all the best ones do…see Dillinger’s Headquarters dub) then tears into a Stones-like blues riff. She’s a rocker thru and thru and perfect for that hot-summer raw R&R mix you’ve been meaning to put together….

ARTIST: Witch (We Intend To Cause Havoc)
TRACK: Motherless Child
ALBUM: Lazy Bones
YEAR: 1975
REISSUE LABEL: Shadoks

Another killer drop from the archives. Ya know… Blow the dust off… Cue it up…  And… ZAAANG! Call in the backup undies.

One of my favorite (re)discoveries. The Undisputed Truth were a little group from the Motown stable that spent most of their days in the shadow of The Temptations due to their unequal sharing of producer Norman Whitfield. Their biggest hit came in 1971 with “Smiling Faces Sometimes” which the Temptations had recorded earlier in the year but never issued as a single due to the departure of Eddie Kendricks. Their 2nd biggest hit came in ‘72 when they got the first swing at “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.” It only made it up to #63 on the pop charts and a little less than a year later the Temptations took it all the way to #1. Ouch!

Anyway, this track comes from their 1975 “Cosmic Truth” album.

Cosmic Truth… That’s like… FACTS… from… OUTER SPACE!

The cut opens up with a little fuzz guitar action then… surprise!… Godzilla on drums! And…oh shit Tokyo!

Deets:

Artist: The Undisputed Truth
Album: Cosmic Truth
Year: 1975
Label: Gordy
Production: Norman Whifield

My other favorites from this are “UFO’s” and “Li’l Red Riding Hood” (if only for the comically creepy / sexist lyrics). Amazon has the MP3s.

I don’t even know what to say about this one. “Tookie Tookie” is a boogie rock mind scrambler from Lima, Peru’s Telegraph Ave who were one of the bigger bands to come out of the Lima rock scene in the late sixties/early seventies. “Tookie Tookie” comes from their second album aptly titled Vol. 2.

The track kicks in with this big ‘ol heavy-as-hell riff ala Skynyrd or some southern fried rock anthem. It quickly and nimbly changes gears into an ass-shakin’ baile-funk floor jammer that will most certainly have any lover of the boogie stepping into their dancing shoes. From there….well…I don’t wanna spoil it…..you need to hear it to believe. You can tell that these guys where listening to a wide variety of music….from Brazilian Tropicalia/Funk to heavy riff rock from the States and England to blissed-out west coast psych….it’s all there and I have to say it pays off….L’s and G’s…feast your ears on “Tookie Tookie” the Peruvian boogie woogie.

ARTIST: Telegraph Ave.
TRACK: “Tookie Tookie”
ALBUM: Vol. 2
YEAR: 1975
REISSUE: Repsychled Records 2008

This is a brand new find (for me) that I’m pretty much flippin’ out about.

Hard to find much info but looking at the album cover I’m guessing dude is a flasher (either recently reformed or about to start down that path). Beyond that, there’s little to fill in the cracks (or correct certain misconceptions).

AMG has a crappy review of this record (wrong as usual - seriously dudes, stick to what you do best: Just tell me who worked on it and when it came out). It mentions that he scored a top 40 R&B hit with one of the cuts (“Reach for the Moon (Poor People)”). Here are the basics as best as I’ve been able to sort:

Artist: Angelo Bond
Album: Bondage
Year: 1975
Label: ABC
Production: McKinley Jackson (co-producer)

Looks like dude did some producing for some group called The Temptations (??? - yeah, me neither) later in their career and also wrote some tracks for Hot Wax & Invictus recording artists.

Anyway, this track is my fav so far but the whole album is pretty damn solid… it’s a glossy little number w/ um, strings and uh, a great beat? (I’ll get better at this I swear - just listen!)

RIYL: Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch, blaxploitation soundtacks

I’d say pick it up but as best as I can tell it’s out of print (IOW, start digging!).

Update: Duh! Forgot about GEMM. God love ‘em, they got it for $30. SOLD!