Strange Things: Complete Works 1970-1974
Product ID: 22020467
Eccentric soul and funk recordings from an unlikely crew of Los Angeles musical misfits including psych-rock cult figure John Greek (Reachin Arcesia, Beautiful Daze) and members of the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band. They had a catchy, but inappropriate name: there is nothing forthcoming about Los Angeles 4th Coming, unless one counts a copious amount of releases on rare 7" singles that didn't sell farther than vocalist/principal Henry "Hank" Porter's Datsun 1200 could take him. When 4th Coming records surfaced in the '90s, they were often disregarded as novelty. And some of their records were so rare that it took until the late '00s for them to reemerge, after the sinking of their initial pressing runs. Assembling a full set of 4th Coming recordings was nearly impossible, until the issue of this, the lost 4th Coming album. At its core, the 4th Coming was a songwriting duo Porter and Jechonias "Jack" S. Williams and a rotating cast of musicians including members of lauded LA funk ensemble the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band - that Williams assembled at Artist Recording Studio to realize the pair's ideas. They existed only from the latter half of 1969 until 1974; during that time they issued eight singles as 4th Coming and one as Impact! on Al Firth's Alpha imprint. And now, Strange Things, a thrilling listen, a mysterious trove of recordings made possible by an open minded and well-funded indie impresario, which document a very real and very weird Los Angeles of the past. It's a city we'll never know again, and one that might never again produce an ensemble like the 4th Coming. If Firth's faith only rolled snake-eyes in terms of commercial success, in terms of documenting Los Angeles' vibrant soul and funk underground, he rolled boxcars. This, the album Williams and Firth always hoped would bring them real success, now sees its complete release and allows us to ponder the might-have and the would-have beens had a 4th Coming album come together in the mid- 70s.
D**D
Crate Digging undercovers a Masterpiece!
Wow, now this is truly a "long lost" gem of an album. Actually, the 4th Coming never did release a full album (only a handful of singles) during their brief existence, but thanks to the efforts of some dedicated crate diggers, we are lucky to have this CD of their VERY rare recordings, and truly wonderful ones they are!On the album, the liner notes note: "The sound is superb ... amongst the best independently recorded funk of the era." That era being the early 1970s when these songs were recorded. Yes, the sound quality is surprisingly good (all the more surprising when you read that the master tapes are long lost and the songs on this CD were sourced from vinyl records),but the songs themselves are impressive in their own right. Whether it's what the liner notes call the "atmospheric masterpiece" of the song "Cruising Central Ave." or other fine tracks that fuse "eccentric soul" with fuzz guitar, whirling synthesizers to create (again, to quote the liner notes) some "otherworldly floating funk."If I were forced to compare 4th Coming to any other acts, I would immediately cite early Parliament (think of the "Osmium" album) or Funkadelic. Add a dash of Swamp Dogg and some Charles Wright's Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, and you have a pretty good idea of what these guys sounded like. As with so many good to great bands of the 1970s, 4th Coming broke up soon after these recordings and never got the proper attention or respect that they deserved. Read all about their sad tale in the detailed story in the 24-page booklet that comes with the CD. There are also some reproductions of the old single labels, but sadly no photos of the band members, most of whom have passed away.Kudos to the Now Again label for going the extra mile and finding these hard to find singles and putting together this most excellent collection of music. Fans of 1970s soul and funk need to add this one to their collection.
T**O
Radical!
Super duper rad LP!
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