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"Funk classics" from the 90's to now?
- Thread starter Bassed in NZ
- Start date
If you have any aspirations to play funk sucessfully, a guitarist with humility (i know a rare thing ) is a must. Funk was born in New Orleans where the guitar is the least important instrument in it's musical culture. Without googling can any of us name a James Brown guitarist ?
+1. I thought the OP was asking for contemporary funk-influenced songs that his cover band could play.
So, I thought of another idea -
Some of the middle era Talking Heads funks up great. To please Bluewine, I'll acknowledge that Bernie Worrell plays keys all over Speaking In Tongues.
Here's Fina Dupa covering Slippery People - as an idea for the OP, not as a "hey, look at my band" thing...
Fina Dupa: Slippery People (at the Oriental Theater) - YouTube
Killian, just don't tell Prince, Leo Nocentelli, Blackbird, Eddie Hazel, Michael Hampton or Gary Shider.. 
jive1
Commercial User
Dude, it was Jimmy Nolen. A key member of the Fabulous Flames and the JBs. He was an essential member, and key to their sound. His rhythms fueled much of their tunes.
Even though JB went through a bunch of bassists, drummers, etc. He always had Jimmy Nolen, even when he had other guitar players like Catfish Hunter and Bootsy's brother.
Don't dis on Jimmy!
You must have never played guitar? Jimmy Nolen names comes up when you start to learn 9th chords. He is almost up there with Larry Graham in relative influence.
I never knew if Jimmy Nolen played on all of Brown's stuff, he is my hero ! The guitar and/or the tasteful use of the guitar is what makes Brown's **** epic. My point is and always will be that the guitar is not the featured instrument in funk and tasteful pickers are a rare find...Funk is the anti Van Halen. You would want a guitarist in your band to play the reverse role whats-his-face did in VH......
+1 There's a great answer. There's a couple Sade songs like Keep Looking that would be very nice.
Some of the posts in this thread are surprising, to say the least. Some suggestions:
Prince: "Musicology"
Me'shell Ndegéocello: take your pick but I'll suggest "The Way"
Jamiroquai: again, take your pick (though I prefer the first three albums)
Soulive: not the same without organ but doable. "Steppin'" is a good place to start
Lettuce: take your pick
Quantic Soul Orchestra: "Don't Joke With A Hungry Man"
Musiq Soul Child: "Religious" (samples The Meters)
Brand New Heavies: "I Like It"
Amerie: 1 Thing
Incognito: "Colibri"
Blackstreet: "No Diggity"
Prince: "Musicology"
Me'shell Ndegéocello: take your pick but I'll suggest "The Way"
Jamiroquai: again, take your pick (though I prefer the first three albums)
Soulive: not the same without organ but doable. "Steppin'" is a good place to start
Lettuce: take your pick
Quantic Soul Orchestra: "Don't Joke With A Hungry Man"
Musiq Soul Child: "Religious" (samples The Meters)
Brand New Heavies: "I Like It"
Amerie: 1 Thing
Incognito: "Colibri"
Blackstreet: "No Diggity"
Allthough older Curtis Mayfield's "move on up" was used bigtime in many remixes in the nineties.
And for the love of money (O'jay's) was used too in countless remixes and belong to the 90's as much as the 70's.
And for the love of money (O'jay's) was used too in countless remixes and belong to the 90's as much as the 70's.
Check these guys out. They made a good 1st impression on me. I just heard them a couple days ago.
Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana funky house cover) by KC Roberts and the Live Revolution - YouTube
Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana funky house cover) by KC Roberts and the Live Revolution - YouTube
+1. I thought the OP was asking for contemporary funk-influenced songs that his cover band could play.
So, I thought of another idea -
Some of the middle era Talking Heads funks up great. To please Bluewine, I'll acknowledge that Bernie Worrell plays keys all over Speaking In Tongues.
Here's Fina Dupa covering Slippery People - as an idea for the OP, not as a "hey, look at my band" thing...
Fina Dupa: Slippery People (at the Oriental Theater) - YouTube
Nice groove, but what in the world is playing behind you guys, lol
!
Yeah, I know. It's "Heavy Metal"; we played the whole thing behind us during that set. Not my idea...Nice groove, but what in the world is playing behind you guys, lol
If I had to pick one person in this thread to have absolutely nailed what the OP asked for it would be you, man. It's not often I agree with someone so thoroughly, haha. Big props to Session for mention KC Roberts though, the guys in that band have it locked tight.
You know what though? I think all of that stuff is cool, but little of it is a solid recommendation for the OP. It's all music for musicians, pretty obscure choices for a cover band's book. All awesome music though.Kwesi said:
Another suggestion (though it won't work as well without percussion): Jill Scott's "It's Love" That one covers the go-go feel suggested by some other folks here but is more likely to be recognised by the audience. Super funky.
Yeah, I thought about that. The OP didn't specify whether or not the audience would have to be familiar with the material. Regardless, it can be surprising how folks react to music they don't know if it's played at the right time with the right feel. I used to play in a band that did a lot of "commercial" funk and r&b. When the crowd wasn't responding we'd sometimes break out Me'shell's "The Way" as something of a "well fine, if you're not going to dance we'll just play something we'll get off on" gesture. On several occasions that song would actually get people up and dancing! I don't know if it was the song itself or the conviction with which we were playing it but, to our surprise, it worked.
