MIKE JACKSON AND THE SOUL PROVIDERS

• The revenge of mister Mopoji
• Sam Lung Records (Desco)
• 1996
• USA

The Revenge of Mr Mopoji is an action-packed Kung-Funk soundtrack by Mike Jackson and the Soul Providers Explosive Action is the result when karate dynamo Billy Wang collaborates with director fight coordinator Lee Lung in the action-packed Kung-fu extravaganza, The Revenge of Mr Mopoji With the hope of escaping a violent past, Kung-fu Master John Mopoji (Billy Wang) leaves China with his daughter Lucy (Sue Bo Chuen) in hope of a new beginning as a restauranteur in the gritty Chinatown section of Los Angeles However when he refuses to pay off Mafia crime lord Big Sal (Gordon Jones), Mopoji finds his restaurant in shambles and Lucy missing, forcing him to break his vow of peace and return to the deadly ways of the Golden Buddha Fist, an ancient form of Kung-fu taught by his former Chinese Sifu, Master Shen (Jeff Hon San) An original script that could have been born only in the mind of Kung-fu cinema veteran Marvin Meyers is brought to life by a hard-hitting original soundtrack by Mike Jackson and an all-star cast culminating in one of Sam Lung s greatest efforts The Revenge of Mr Mopoji is in the style of James Brown s Slaughter s Big Rip-off, Black Caesar, and Payback soundtracks,

This is how the back cover introduces this album, a supposed-to-be soundtrack to a mysterious, unknown Sam Lung kung fu flick from the 1970s. In real life this was the second album by the Desco Records house band The Soul Providers. It was a funk band that was founded in mid nineties by US funksters Philip Lehman and Gabriel Roth (AKA Bosco Mann) and was disbanded in 2000. Funk sister Sharon Jones singing vocals on two of the songs in their first album Tequila (1996) was indicating what was about to be happen. After the split of The Soul Providers, Roth went on to form The Dap-Kings, a long time backing band of Sharon Jones and the house band of Daptone Records.

The album is packed with tight instrumental funk numbers and is a pretty good foretaste of what Dap-Kings later was about to be - one of the leading new funk bands in the world. Tracks vary from down- and midtempo James Brown / JB’s style funk jams to uptempo floorfillers. Wah wah guitars, catchy horn stabs, funky drums is what it’s basically all about. They obviously intended to add certain kung fu feeling to the album, but the try remained a little thin. There’s even a martial arts intro on one of the tracks. Despite the fact that there is no hit songs, this album is still a great funk album overall. All the tracks are good ones on their own way and it’s always a pleasure for me to listen it through over and over again. Personally I would’ve preferred a little more bass to the sound, but I still don’t complain…

The Wisdom Of Master Shen

Out The Door

Saturday In The Park

Unstoppable Oldsmobile