Light In The Attic: Country Funk Vol.2 1967-1974 Vinyl 2LP

Light In The Attic's Country Funk comp is back! The Seattle based label saw fit to revisit the genre with no name and we couldn't be more pleased. Volume 2 may even be better than the first installment was. Country Funk is all about the feel of the songs and that's what ties them all together. It's all hip-swinging rhythms coupled with plenty of whiskey. They're songs that'll get you moving the instant the needle hits the groove. There was a time during the late 60s and early 70s when the sounds of country music blended with sounds and scenes from coast to coast. Country hoedowns met inner city blues, and church music was infused with rock and soul. There's plenty of familiar faces on volume 2; Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Kenny Rogers, Jackie DeShannon, JJ Cale, Bobby Darin and Dolly Parton all make appearances. They're joined by obscure artists like Bill Wilson, whose lost Ever Changing Minstrel album was produced by the feted Dylan producer Bob Johnston, and Thomas Jefferson Kaye, noted producer of Gene Clark's opus No Other. Compiled and presented once again by the team behind Volume 1 (DJ and music supervisor Zach Cowie plus Light In The Attic's Matt Sullivan and Patrick McCarthy), the release also includes a reunion of writer Jessica Hundley and Jess Rotter (original album/label artwork and new illustrations by) in the form of a comic book called "The Hot Dawgs," which is on the inside of the gatefold sleeve. Volume 2 goes on to prove just how much great Country Funk is out there. Double LP house in a deluxe Stoughton "Tip-On" jacket.

• music label: Light In The Attic 2014

reviewed by Hank Ohs 07/2014