PEOPLE... HOLD ON. It's the ~~~ ILM 1970s SOUL/FUNK/DISCO ALBUMS POLL ~~~ results thread!

good album

Will give Caston & Majors another chance. It is pretty unique.

It is. Some of their songs sound a little too much like a Broadway musical, but most of it is just great.

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131. The Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get (1972)
30 points • 5 votes

I think Caston & Majors was number 100 on my list. Lovely album.

I've only heard that Ruby Andrews album once. It's definitely one I need to go back to.

Amazingly, I don't think I ended up voting for any Ohio Players. I ended up going for more soul than funk in the end.

Back to the World is a great album. I had four Curtis albums on my list. That one just missed out.

I voted for a different Love Unlimited Orchestra album. Happy to see this one place.

"Back to the World" is one of those albums where there's a huge discrepancy between the A and B sides... Three tunes that are unique and impressive both musically and lyrically followed by four run-of-the-mill soul jams. It seems like he ran out of creative steam after composing those three songs (a problem that marrs all of his 1970s solo albums except the debut, they all have too much filler).

Voted for the Dramatics. Probably the best sort of generic soul album I know.

Yeah, it definitely is front loaded. The second half is enjoyable but it's really all about those first three songs.

That Dramatics album is a good one. It made my long list and was one of the last albums I cut.

Mayfield I think is one of those people who would've benefitted from the slower release schedules that pop stars moved to from the 1980s onward. When he was good he was really good ("Right on for the Darkness" from this album remains an incredible, unprecedented tour-de-force as composition, as an arrangement, and as a political poem), but it seems his well of creativity couldn't keep up with the album-per-year model, so he churned out a lot of mediocre, auto-pilot jams too.

Though I guess he was never so popular he could've afforded to release only one album per every two or three years.

https://img.discogs.com/xZ-A9cRyb5suxbJKZXEMtQ5wxkg=/fit-in/600x594/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-666436-1189535359.jpeg.jpg
TIE. Nina Simone - Emergency Ward! (1973)
31 points • 2 votes

Great album! Simone was the master of making any tune she sang her own, and the cover of "Oh My Lord" is perhaps the most impressive example of that. The mild-mannered Harrison original is turned into a powerful statement.

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TIE. Earth, Wind & Fire - Gratitude (1975)
31 points • 2 votes

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TIE. Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan - Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan (1975)
31 points • 4 votes

Nice, Rufus were awesome

Any chance you could number them?

The last two were 129, this one and the next 127.

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TIE. Parliament - Up for the Down Stroke (1974)
31 points • 4 votes

(I'll be back in a few hours.)

good album, quite underrated

Up for the Down Stroke is a really good album. I was surprised that I ended up with so little P Funk on my list. Three Parliament albums and just one by Funkadelic.

That's a great Rufus album. Hopefully the two I voted for are still to come.

Oh crap if I had knew my top album would be featured by points I should have placed something obscure at the top. I ended up giving it to one of the albums in the poll that are very probably going to make it into the top 20.

KP , I think a lot will be like you and not vote for funk as they saw it as being a soul poll, so if lots of funk places 100-140 I'll be quite happy BUT with skin tight so low I fear for a lot of my faves being nowhere near.

I forgot only the top 25 was weighted (thought it was 10) so I'd have redone my ballot if I could have but oh well.

I voted for a fair few funk albums I think. Nothing by the Ohio Players made my ballot but Skin Tight is probably my favourite by them.

I've never listened to Al Jarreau for some reason so I'll give We Got By a go.

Hi, I'm back!

I'm not giving anything away, but I don't think any of you will be disappointed in the final list.

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126. The Delfonics - The Delfonics (1970)
31 points • 5 votes

Last one for today:

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125. Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - I Miss You (1972)
32 points • 2 votes

I actually was on the verge of sending a ballot for this, but there were "technical difficulties" and then I suddenly found myself with no time to get a ballot in on time. It was so frustrating, because I did actually work out a list of 100 albums and there was a fuckload of funk on there

Voted for both of these. Miss You is the best Blue Notes album simply by being unabashedly all about Teddy wrecking shit. The others have better singles but lack the cohesion. All the Thom Bell stuff is otherworldly so the Delfonics was a no-brainer.

"Black Ruby" seems like a fun record, but jeez, a bit rare... CA$132.97 Average on Discogs.

Some of my faves scraping by on my recommendation, feeling good

Whoa, that Al Jarreau record is sick. Good call on extending the countdown to include all the #1s. Going to enjoy this end of the list more than the top 20

Good morning, everyone!

Turrican, I would have gladly extended the deadline a bit if I had known about your difficulties. What a shame. In any case, now Cosmic Slop knows who to blame if one of his favorites is TOO LOW :)

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123 (TIE). Barry White - Can't Get Enough (1974)
32 points • 3 votes

Wow, that "Moondance" cover is awful! Why would anyone want to see multiple variations of that guy's creepy look?

― Tuomas

Too low on that Delfonics record!

Partly my fault. I listened to it again last night, and it should have been much higher on my list. The first side especially is great.

Barry White is on the border between complete shit and utter genius all the time. It's fascinating.

I have to admit I haven't found his genius side yet. Maybe I should try harder.

Next one is here because of Tuomas' campaigning:

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123 (TIE). Andy Bey - Experience and Judgment (1974)
32 points • 3 votes

Cool! Like I said in the nomination thread, this is my favourite music for fucking, it's even better than Meshell N'degeocello's Comfort Woman in that regard.

Such an unique world Bey inhabits here, too bad he never got to do a proper follow-up, and "Experience and Judgment" remains slept on. Though apparently he did have a comeback in the 1990s doing more straightforward jazz, has anyone heard that stuff?

http://i.imgur.com/9ttZDNE.jpg

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Andy Bey Album Highlight: 'Hibiscus'

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122. Margie Joseph - Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression (1970)
33 points • 2 votes

Album highlights: 'Punish Me' and her epic cover of 'Stop! In the Name of Love' (full 8:13 version sadly not on YouTube)

Happy to see a Barry White album make it. I had a couple of his other albums on my list. Hopefully they can squeeze in here too.

Love Margie Joseph. This and Phase II are fantastic records.

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119 (TIE). WAR - War (1971)
33 points • 3 votes

Nice!

Great album. War to Why Can't We Be Friends is one of my favourite run of albums ever. Deliver the Word is my favourite.

What's the rollout plan?

Super up for tracks - the nominations playlist alone is going to be a keeper

I'd be up for tracks provided the results don't just turn out to be P-Funk's "Greatest Hits" plus some other stuff. ;)

the nominations playlist alone is going to be a keeper

One thing I learned with putting together my Spotify playlist of 70s favorites is that soul is super underrepresented on there in comparison to other genres. Big names and Numero comps, sure, but smaller/forgotten artists in the genre are absent whereas their rock/pop colleagues are well represented. Sad.

Thanks so much for putting this together ArchCarrier. It was a lot of fun with a brilliant outcome. Curtis was my number three and I'm delighted to see it win.

There was lots of P-funk that didn't place!

I would vote in a tracks poll

just realized Osmium wasn't nom'd, or I'd have voted for it

thanks for running this! surprised how much of my ballot placed (having funk and disco count helped)

Yay! Curtis number one! All in all that is a great top 20.

If I had to do a personal top 10 out of those top 20 albums I'd pick:

1. Al Green - I'm Still in Love With You
2. Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
3. Bill Withers - Still Bill
4. Sly & The Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On
5. Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
6. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
7. Syreeta - Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta
8. The Stylistics - The Stylistics
9. Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
10. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

I do not like Stevie Wonder as much as everybody else but I do like his work with Syreeta.

Fabulous poll. Feel like I've learned a whole bunch. If nothing else, I've gone on a totally unexpected quiet storm jag, so thank you for that. I'm off out in the morning to buy myself a Smokey rollneck.

Thanks for the poll Arch. Great work! Definitely up for tracks next.

i think you should let this poll breathe and do a tracks poll at a later date, like the shoegaze poll did...

Hm, I actually want to keep the momentum of the albums poll and stay in this genre for a while longer.

Also, feel free to post your ballots! Here's mine. A ★ in front of an album means I hadn't heard it before I started this poll (I'm totally serious).

Note: first 25 albums ranked/weighted, the rest unranked/unweighted.

★ The Stylistics - Round 2 (1972)
★ The Stylistics - The Stylistics (1971)
★ Noir - We Had to Let You Have It (1971)
★ Terry Callier - What Color Is Love (1972)
★ The Chi-Lites - (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People (1971)
★ Marie Queenie Lyons - Soul Fever (1970)
Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971)
★ Stairsteps - 2nd Resurrection (1976)
The O'Jays - Back Stabbers (1972)
★ Lou Bond - Lou Bond (1974)
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973)
★ Di Melo - Di Melo (1975)
★ Blue Magic - Blue Magic (1974)
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (1979)
★ Fontella Bass - Free (1972)
Syreeta - Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta (1974)
Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye (1975)
★ The Spinners - New and Improved (1974)
★ Betty Davis - Nasty Gal (1975)
★ The Equals - Mystic Syster (1978)
★ Roy C. - Sex and Soul (1973)
★ Caston & Majors - Caston & Majors (1974)
★ The Stylistics - Rockin' Roll Baby (1973)
★ Andy Bey - Experience and Judgment (1974)
★ Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Wake Up Everybody (1975)
Sister Sledge - We Are Family (1979)
Al Green - Al Green Gets Next to You (1971)
★ Barrabás - Wild Safari (1972)
★ Bobby Womack - Understanding (1972)
★ Cymande - Cymande (1972)
★ Donny Hathaway - Everything Is Everything (1970)
★ Earth, Wind & Fire - All 'n All (1977)
★ Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (1971)
Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (1978)
★ Jorge Ben - Negro é lindo (1971)
Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear (1978)
Minnie Riperton - Perfect Angel (1974)
★ O.V. Wright - A Nickel and a Nail and Ace of Spades (1971)
★ Raydio - Raydio (1978)
★ Roberta Flack - Chapter Two (1970)
★ Skull Snaps - Skull Snaps (1973)
Smokey Robinson - A Quiet Storm (1975)
Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Stevie Wonder - Talking Book (1972)
★ T.N.T.H. - Let's Go Children of the Country (1972)
★ The Blackbyrds - The Blackbyrds (1974)
★ The Delfonics - The Delfonics (1970)
★ The Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get (1972)
★ The Meters - Rejuvenation (1974)
★ The O'Jays - Ship Ahoy (1973)
★ The Spinners - Pick of the Litter (1975)
★ The Temptations - Sky's the Limit (1971)
★ Heatwave - Too Hot to Handle (1976)
★ The Wild Tchoupitoulas - The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
★ Syl Johnson - Total Explosion (1976)

I'm off out in the morning to buy myself a Smokey rollneck.

― Sunn O))) Brother Where Art Thou? (Chinaski)

In related news:
http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1338-curtis-mayfield-finally-gets-a-definitive-biography-what-took-so-long/

Oh man, I did not need to learn that Curtis Mayfield physically abused his wives/girlfriends... I'd always imagined he'd be different in that regard to Marvin Gaye and James Brown; I guess I was naively basing my opinion on the sort of gentler masculinity he conveys in his music, but of course the two don't necessarily rule out each other.

It's happening...

Papa was a POLLING STONE: It's the 1970s SOUL/FUNK/DISCO ~~~ TRACKS POLL

Voting is open until April 9.

Su-POLL-stition: It's the ~~~ 70s SOUL/FUNK/DISCO TRACKS POLL ~~~ voting & campaigning thread