Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Mickey And The Soul Generation


During the band's lifetime, Mickey and the Soul Generation knew little but failure -- none of the group's five singles, recorded between 1969 and 1977, enjoyed any measure of commercial success. However, in recent years the group has been rediscovered by funk enthusiasts, with those same tunes prompting epic record-buying road trips and frenzied eBay bidding.

The San Antonio sextet's appeal lies in its sound -- a concentration of the early '70s style of the J.B.'s and the Meters, eliminating the ballads, extended solos, and anything else that might distract from the groove. The resulting brew of organ, guitar, bass, drums, saxophones, and the occasional chant is as lean as a greyhound and as mean as a Texas trooper.

Lovingly compiled and annotated by the Bay Area's DJ Shadow, Iron Leg: The Complete Mickey and the Soul Generation features two full CDs of material. The first disc collects all 19 of the act's studio recordings, including an album's worth of material that many, including the band, thought was lost. The strong hooks and taut arrangements impress, with George Salas deploying his guitar with subtlety and imagination, from the foghorn blast of the title track to the atmospheric drone of the lone cover, the Temptations' "Message From a Black Man."

10 comments:

E-mile said...

Hi, just to say that I LOVE the Mickey & the Soul Generationa album! Kick-ass funk, top shelf material here! thanks for sharing this.
kind regards, E-mile

AmBrOsE said...

Cool thanx for the upload!!!! iv got a couple of 45's that i really like so lookin fwd to this comp :)

Mortimer said...

Wat a discovery!!!! I'm not knowing this band, and I like very much. I congratulate yo. Great Work.

DaddyMax said...

Great stuff, thanx a lot for the upload!

fritz the cat said...

I knew a couple of tracks by them, looking forward to the rest, thanks!

paros said...

thank you very much for this gem..and thank you for all the hard work you have put in to make this very nice blog.

Matt said...

the best thing about this album in my opinion is the way the guitars have this hard, raw sound to it. i just love the way it comes out on this album. thanks for the post!

Unknown said...

Damn! I've heard it before, but thanks to you, now I know what I've been hearing... yowza!

Unknown said...

Thanks for introducing me to this group what a great album all 5 stars !

Anonymous said...

Thank you - heard the band for the first time on Secret Agent Radio and loved the sound!