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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Project Soul [197?] - Ebony / Sweet Things Of Life [USR-4174]

Now here's a rarity and price reflects that with none available on Discogs and the last one selling for £535 in Feb 2020.  

Project Soul were formed in 1969 and later named themselves Con Funk Shun in 1971 (after the Nite-Liters track of that name) and signed to Mercury in 1976 who they released a total of 11 albums with until they disbanded in 1986.  

This is the only 45 I can find from Project Soul.  I'm not sure if they released any other material, but this is a great double-sider. There's no date on it but must be some time between 1969-1971 and I'd guess it's a self-released pressing as no label name on label, in fact it's a pretty primitive label design with bare minimum info, but don't let that fool you or put you off as both sides have their own charm.

Ebony

I'm not quite sure how to describe this.  It's got a Stax feel about it with Hammond organ, sort of funky but not funk if you know what i mean.  Anyway, I don't really need to as the sound clip's here so make up your own mind. 

Sweet Things Of Life

This one is right up the Lowrider's street - sweet soul group harmony.

Con Funk Shun [1980] - By Your Side [Mercury #76066]

Another one for the steppers! Don't be fooled by the band's name Con Funk Shun, they weren't an out and out funk band and released some nice mellow stuff as well, including this mellow stepper from 1980.

The group was formed in 1969 as Project Soul.  In 1971 they changed their name to Con-Funk-Shun (after a Nite-Liters track of the same name). Originally from California (Bay Area), the group relocated to Memphis in 1973 and were hired as backup band for The Soul Children. Whilst in Memphis they recorded 2 albums on Fretone in 1973 before changing their name again by removing the hyphens. They also released 2 45s on Freton in 1974, both of which were released on UK Contempo (owned by Blues & Soul editor John E. Abbey). One was an 'unrecognisable' funk cover of Bob Dylan's Tambourine Man. In 1976 they signed to Mercury and released 11 albums until they disbanded in 1986.

The group included Michael Cooper who went solo with Warner Bros. after they disbanded.  In 2015 they got back together to released an album ('More Than Love') on Shanachie and 3 of the original members (including Copper) continued touring as Con Funk Shun.

If, like me, you've steered clear of Con Funk Shun because of the implication in the name (i.e. Funk) then you, like me, have been missing out on some of their great recordings.  You could say that it's a bit of a marketing 'faux pas' as it could have limited their appeal - it certainly did in my case as I wouldn't pick up any of their albums blind, assuming that it was full of funk tracks.  So I've trawled through all their singles (A/B sides) and albums to bring you a collection of their better non funk sides.  Its' a mix of modern soul, steppers, slow jams, sweet soul ballads and even a few jazz flavoured instrumentals, no funk in sight!  Rather than clutter this post with links I've created a YouTube playlist of the selected tracks. The list is in chronical order starting with singles and then album only tracks. There's 64 tracks so a good few hours entertainment! Just let it play and enjoy!