The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band: "Together"

In my opinion, this is maybe the greatest encapsulation of what made the Watts 103^rd Street Rhythm Band such a special, influential unit in the annals of funk history.  It’s possible they made better records, but they never sounded tighter.  With Charles Wright’s stoned, JB-meets-Otis vocals up front, and major musical figures like guitarist Al McKay and drummer James Gadson paying their early dues in the band, the groove fires on all cylinders, from start to finish.  Part of the album is live and part of it is studio, so there’s a variety of material here, from covers of then-current soul staples like “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” and “Knock On Wood” to innovative early funk workouts like “Phuncky Bill” and “Giggin’ Down 103^rd.”  My favorite cuts are the slamming “65 Bars And A Taste Of Soul” and the dynamic, massively grooving, improvised-on-stage “Do Your Thing,” one of the rawest, greasiest funk tracks of all time.  When this LP was recorded, the group was playing 7-night stands at various clubs in L.A., and their completely locked-in sound is blistering, blissful evidence of that time spent woodshedding together.  A stone soul groove if ever there was one.