When the late, great James Brown (God rest
his funky soul) gave us 'It's a Man's Man's World' over 50 years ago,
the musical declaration went further than the lyrical content – funk was
man's music. Brown's funk was pure soul but with hard, aggressive
rhythms that did away with much of the sentimentality and sweet
flourishes of the more orthodox soul sound at that time. However, when
Brown added to those lyrics the one crucial caveat, 'it would be
nothing, without a woman or a girl' he was leaving the door open for
many a female vocalist to lay down a heartfelt, feminine and soulful
cry. And when female vocals are backed up with tough, syncopated and
funky rhythms, a bewitching, intoxicating and irresistible brew is
created.
When released on vinyl & CD in 2007, Ian Wright's
hugely popular Sister Funk collection saw the renowned collector and DJ
drawing on his phenomenal hoard of rare funk 45's, mixing up the ultra
rare, the classic and the downright impossible to demonstrate how a
female funk compilation really should be done. Sister Funk 2 managed to
rock the funk world and make instant classics of previously unknown
songs, whilst Ian's fixation with these obscure female gems, many of
which were plucked from unsuspecting soul dealers throughout the '90s,
had suddenly spawned a new genre that would be uttered in reverence by
funk collectors, DJs and ebay listings across the globe.
Tracklist:
1. Dolly Gilmore - Sweet Sweet Baby
2. Barbara King - What I Did in the Street
3. Coletta Woodson - Follow the Wind
4. Big Ella - The Queen
5. Richi Corbin Trio - A Woman Was Made for a Man (feat. Barbara Trent)
6. Barbara Trent - Heartbreak Hotel
7. Althea Spencer - Take Me Baby
8. Cheryl Johnson - It's Not Too Late
9. Indus Publishing Co. BMI - If You Want Your Man
10. The Fabulettes - Muddy Waters
11. Keisa Brown - The Dance Man
12. Florence Trapp - Love Came into My Life