another mother further

Well.

We just got a new radio station where I live … “old school black r&b/funk music.”

Everything from the Fugees “ready or not”  to the Gap Band “Party Train”  to Bill Withers “lovely day”.

<three of my favorite songs of all time>

But.

Then a song came on and good memories hit me on note number one.

The opening “there is no other who can compare to you” <Joyce Kennedy> blasts out of the speakers and Mother’s Finest singing “Baby Love” begins.

Whew.

Mother’s Finest. What a band.

Baby Love. What a song.

I assume every region has “a band.” They crank out great songs but never seem to hit the national level. Mother’s Finest was one of those in the Southeast in the USA.

Mother’s Finest came out of Atlanta in the 1970’s with a kick ass soul jazz funk sound with a dose of rock mixed in.

But it was in 1977 they put out an album called “another Mother Further.” Now. I didn’t get my hands on this album until maybe the early 80’s.

What a frickin’ album.

Baby Love.

Thank You for the Love <a wonderful slow groove bed under story telling lyrics thanking ‘you for the love’>.

Mickey’s Monkey.

<note: if you want to hear how frickin’ good they were live … here is Baby love Live which showcases Joyce Kennedy’s  kick ass voice>

I really could never figure out why they never made it as big as some other bands and I dug up his review just to share:

A post-Sly race- and gender-integrated funk-rock band, Mother’s Finest is stylistically somewhere between Rufus and Funkadelic, though they never achieved anywhere near the cultural impact of either. To a certain extent, Mother’s Finest fell into the “Apartheid-Oriented Radio” trap, in which any African-American rocker between Jimi Hendrix and Vernon Reid – leaving Prince out of the discussion for now – was unable to get mainstream media attention. So despite touring success (including an opening stint for The Who) and decent sales for their first two CBS albums, they veered into radio-ready R&B in 1978 and seemed unsteady about their direction for the next decade or two before refocusing on hard rock. They’ve kept the band together, more or less, and their 2003 record is among their best yet.

It’s not exactly unfair that fellow outcasts Funkadelic have achieved latter-day veneration as psychedelic funk/rock pioneers while the Finest haven’t – Funkadelic was far more innovative, unpredictable and influential, plus they flat-out wrote better songs – but taken on their own terms Mother’s Finest has pleasures to offer.

Lead vocals are traded between Joyce Kennedy (who recalls Tina Turner’s mix of roughness and control) and Glenn Murdock, original rhythm section “Wyzard” and “B.B. Queen” kept an enviable pocket, and the band has written most of its own material.

Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews

Baby Love is an awesome song.

And it was great to hear it again.