Funk diva Betty Davis was supposed to break big upon the release of her
third album, Nasty Gal. After all, her Just Sunshine Records contract
had been bought up by Chris Blackwell and Island Records, and they were
prepared to invest not only big money in the recording, but in the
promotion of the 1975 release. Davis and her well-seasoned road band,
Funk House, entered the studio with total artistic control in the making
of the album. This set contains classic and often raunchy street funk
anthems such as the title track (with its infamous anthemic lyric:
"...You said I love you every way but your way/And my way was too dirty
for ya now...." ), "Talkin' Trash," "Dedicated to the Press," and the
musically ancestral tribute "F.U.N.K." It also features the beautiful,
moving, uncharacteristic ballad "You and I," co-written with her
ex-husband, Miles Davis, and orchestrated by none other than Gil Evans.
It's the only track like it on the record, but it's a stunner. The album
is revered as much for its musical quality as its risqué lyrical
content. This quartet distilled the Sly Stone funk-rock manifesto and
propelled it with real force. Check the unbelievable twinning of guitar
and bassline in "Feelins" that underscore, note for note, Davis' vocals.
The drive is akin to hardcore punk rock, but so funky it brought Rick
James himself to the altar to worship (as he later confessed in
interviews). And in the instrumental break, the interplay between the
rhythm section (bassist Larry Johnson and drummer Semmie "Nicky" Neal,
Jr.) and guitarist Carlos Moralesis held to the ground only by Fred
Mills' keyboards. In essence, the album is missing nothing: it's
perfect, a classic of the genre in that it pushed every popular genre
with young people toward a blurred center that got inside the backbone
while smacking you in the face. Heard through headphones, its spaced out
psychedelic effects, combined with the nastiest funk rock on the block,
is simply shocking. The fact that the album didn't perform the way it
should have among the populace wasn't the fault of Davis and her band,
who went out and toured their collective butts off, or Island who poured
tens of thousands of dollars into radio and press promotion, or the
press itself (reviews were almost universally positive). The record
seemed to rock way too hard for Black radio, and was far too funky for
White rock radio. In the 21st century, however, it sounds right on time.
Light in the Attic Records has remastered the original tapes
painstakingly for the first North American release of this set on CD. As
is their trademark, they've done a stellar job both aurally and
visually, as the digipack is spectacular. The set also features a
definitive historical essay by John Ballon. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist
1 Nasty Gal 4:37
Lead Vocals – Fred Mills
2 Talkin Trash 4:43
Congas – Errol "Crusher" Bennett
Lead Vocals – Fred Mills
3 Dedicated To The Press 3:42
4 You And I 2:45
Conductor, Arranged By [Brass Arrangement] – Gil Evans
Music By, Directed By – Miles Davis
5 Feelins 2:45
Synthesizer [Arp] – James Allen Smith
6 F.U.N.K. 4:21
7 Gettin Kicked Off, Havin Fun 3:09
Backing Vocals – Carlos Morales, Fred Mills, Nickey Neal
Lead Vocals – Carlos Morales
8 Shut Off The Light 3:54
Drums [Bass Drum] – Buddy Williams
9 This Is It! 3:28
10 The Lone Ranger 6:13
Congas – Errol "Crusher" Bennett
Synthesizer [Arp] – James Allen Smith
Credits
Bass – Larry Johnson
Drums – Semmie (Nickey) Neal Jr.
Guitar [Lead] – Carlos Morales
Keyboards – Fred Mills
Tracklist
1 Nasty Gal 4:37
Lead Vocals – Fred Mills
2 Talkin Trash 4:43
Congas – Errol "Crusher" Bennett
Lead Vocals – Fred Mills
3 Dedicated To The Press 3:42
4 You And I 2:45
Conductor, Arranged By [Brass Arrangement] – Gil Evans
Music By, Directed By – Miles Davis
5 Feelins 2:45
Synthesizer [Arp] – James Allen Smith
6 F.U.N.K. 4:21
7 Gettin Kicked Off, Havin Fun 3:09
Backing Vocals – Carlos Morales, Fred Mills, Nickey Neal
Lead Vocals – Carlos Morales
8 Shut Off The Light 3:54
Drums [Bass Drum] – Buddy Williams
9 This Is It! 3:28
10 The Lone Ranger 6:13
Congas – Errol "Crusher" Bennett
Synthesizer [Arp] – James Allen Smith
Credits
Bass – Larry Johnson
Drums – Semmie (Nickey) Neal Jr.
Guitar [Lead] – Carlos Morales
Keyboards – Fred Mills
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