Con Funk Shun [1978] - Loveshine [Mercury] (Full Album)

A superb ballad I stumbled across yesterday by Con Funk Shun. It doesn't get much better than "Make It Last" which is a 70s sweet soul ballad written and sung by Felton Pilate from their 1978 "Loveshine" album. Why this was never released as a single is anyone's guess.

I think perhaps Con Funk Shum were overlooked and underrated this side of the pond, possibly owing to their name, as over here the majority of those on the rare soul scene disregarded funk and assumed that's what their sound would be? Their only impact on the UK chart was with "Burnin' Love" in 1986 which reached #68 and they released only one further single before disbanding. During their time they achieved twenty six R&B chart entries (eight in top 10) but only four crossed over to the Hot 100.

Their profile has been raised by the recent cover of one of their B sides, "Loves Train" by Silk Sonic. They were formed in 1969 as Project Soul by school friends from Vallejo, CA, Michael Copper (vocals/guitar) and Louis McCall (drums). By 1971 they were seven strong and included Cedric Martin (bass), Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas (keyboards), Karl Fuller (trumpet), Paul "Maceo" Harrell (woodwind), Felton Pilate (vocals). In 1972 they relocated to Memphis and were the backing band for The Soul Children. Whilst there they came to the attention of Stax co-founder Estelle Axton who owned Fretone records and recorded "Organized Con Funk Shun" and "The Memphis Sessions". They were asked to change their name and chose Con Funk Shun after a 1970 song by The Nite-Liters (aka The New Birth) that they played.  All songs on those two albums were actually outtakes of recording sessions they did for a studio who made them sign a contract to pay for their studio time, so technically it is not Con Funks Shun only the their rhythm section. They have released fourteen studio albums, eleven of them for Mercury between 1976-86.

Michael Cooper went on to a solo career and Felton Pilate went into production producing MC Hammer. They and another original member, Karl Fuller, got back together in 1993 and tour as Con Funk Shun and released their first album in almost 30 years, "More Than Love", in 2015.

Rather than just posting "Make It Last" I may as well post the full "Loveshine" album which was one of their biggest selling, reaching #10 R&B and '32 Billboard 200.

Details

Rating:	8.4
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	70s Soul / Funk
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital
Label:	Mercury
Cat No:	None
Date:	1978
Price:	£8.91

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