SUGAR LOAF
- Soul strutting
- RCA International Camden
- 1970
- UK
Sugar Loaf was a small, tight funk outfit from UK. It’s sound was quite close to those great UK hammond funk acts like Mohawks, Ugly Custard or The Power Pack and of course the sound of the funky British library companies like KPM, Themes, De Wolfe and Boosey & Hawkes for example. According to the sleeve notes, they played mostly at the American air force bases to entertain the US troops located in UK during the 1960s and 1970s.
Tracks vary from downtempo, gritty Memphis-funk to uptempo Brit-funk รก la Alan Hawkshaw. Songs are mostly tough and funky covers of contemporary funk and soul songs and then there’s few original compositions by the Sugar Loaf headman Tony Evans. Especially “Hard down” (written by Evans) is a top class uptempo organ driven breakbeat track. Very similar is the organ driven cover of James Brown classic “Papa’s got a brand new bag”, a very funky version too. Third one to mention is the track called “Black”. It’s credited to be made by “Jackson” and “Love“, although I have no slightest idea who they are. Maybe members of the band or something. Last example song is the instrumental version of Barbara Acklin’s “Am I the same girl” called “Soulful strut” (originally recorded with that name by The Young-Holt Unlimited) that gets here a very nice treatment. I have to say this album is a really good one from the beginning to the end. Especially if you’re a fan of British hammond funk like me.
Black
Hard down
Papa’s got a brand new bag
Soulful strut
