70's Live Mix Psychedelic Funk And Soul / 1968 - 1975

R&B » Soul » Psychedelic Soul

Psychedelic soul was born in the late '60s, as the chemically altered consciousness and trippy production techniques of psychedelic rock found their way into the soul music of the period. Its receptiveness to rock & roll made it a definite precursor of funk, whose hard-driving rhythms and use of electronics and instrumental effects owed much to the ground broken by psychedelic soul. The music was often state-of-the-art soul at its most celebratory, evoking the heady good times of a new, multifaceted cultural openness. But there was also a darker, sometimes even paranoid side to the music that reflected its uncertain social times, particularly the increasing militancy of the civil rights movement. By the '70s, psychedelic soul had evolved into a mix of protest material, aggressive funk, and gently shimmering love songs. The catalyst behind psychedelic soul was Jimi Hendrix, who cut his teeth on the R&B circuit before coming into his own as a mind- and genre-bending instrumentalist who spoke to both white and black listeners. Similarly eclectic but more firmly based in R&B were Sly & the Family Stone, a racially integrated outfit forged in the psychedelic hotbed of San Francisco. Perhaps the quintessential psychedelic soul band, the Family Stone's social awareness and euphoric positivity gave way to a darker, more pessimistic vision, as drugs took their toll on Sly Stone's mental stability. Meanwhile, the Temptations, under the auspices of producer/arranger Norman Whitfield, redefined themselves by cutting some of the finest psychedelic soul of the late '60s and early '70s, including hits like "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "Ball of Confusion." Whitfield was also responsible for other psychedelic soul classics like Edwin Starr's "War" and the Undisputed Truth's "Smiling Faces Sometimes." Psychedelic soul remained a part of R&B's cutting edge into the '70s, as many early funk artists -- Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Isley Brothers, etc. -- made it a component of their sound. None did so more than George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic aggregate, whose bizarre, druggy humor and acid-tinged jamming were direct outgrowths of psychedelic soul.






 1 Bucktown (Radio Spot)
2 Isis - April Fool 1974 3 Janko Nilovic - Drug Song 1975 4 Bad Medicine - Trespasser 1974 5 Baby Huey - Hard Times 1971 6 Ann Peebles - Somebody's On Your Case 1972 7 Curtis Mayfield - Mother's Son 1974 8 Edwin Starr - Easin’It Funk Soul 1974 9 Chakachas - Stories 1972 10 Ohio Players- Funky Worm 1973 11 James Polk & The Brothers - Just Plain Funk 1969 12 Salt - Hung Up 1972 13 The Trinikas - Remember Me 1970 14 Bernard Pretty Purdie- Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get 1971 15 Soul Searchers - Ashley's Roachclip 1974 16 African Music Machine - Tropical 1972 17 Gil Scott Heron-Brian Jackson - Its Your World 1976 18 Don Julian - Lay It on Your Head 1973 19 Giuliano Sorgini - Ultima Caccia 1974 20 The Isley Brothers - Live it up 1974 21 The Jimmy Castor Bunch - You Better Be Good (Or The Devil Gon' Getcha) 1972 22 Soul Excitement - Stay Together 1969 23 Black Merda - Cynthy-Ruth 1968 " Hard Times" mixed live at Sound of 70's Milano