Before the disco sheen of ‘Everlasting Love’ and ‘She’s A Bad Mama Jama’, Houston’s Carl Carlton (by way of Detroit) dabbled with the experimental sounds of psychedelic funk, if for only a short moment in his career. Steeped in druggy grooves, backward tape loops, and fuzz guitar tones, Carlton’s Wild Child makes for some of the best in this short-lived variety. Carlton ran the gamut of nearly every soul style; from early R&B and southern funky soul to the 4/4 boogie train of the 1970s and 80s (from which he’s popularly known) and later affiliations with gospel music.

Likely taking his cue from acid-blues hero Jimi Hendrix and fellow Motor City native George Clinton with his new bag of funky rock, Carlton and his band got to work on branding their own take on psychedelia, produced by renowned Philly music producer Bunny Sigler (Gamble and Huff). Recorded on Don Robey’s home for Houston R&B–Back Beat Records–Carlton recorded a handful of 45s for the label until his departure in the mid 70s. Given the poor storage of the record by its previous owner(s), you’ll have to excuse the pops and tics, but this is Texas black psychedelia at its finest.

LISTEN: Carl Carlton-Wild Child