Hello my peoples, thanks for stopping by, pardon our dust while we work on our streaming media player and get this baby 100%. Today’s selection is a fine-tuned funky orchestration by Detroit’s beloved guitar funk hero, Dennis Coffey. Well known throughout the break-beat and sample community, Scorpio was featured on Mr. Coffey’s astounding sophomore LP release on Sussex entitled “Evolution”. Mr. Coffey mastered his guitar chops as a teen growing up in The Motor City during the late 1950’s, garnering a few lessons from relatives and playing throughout the local music circuit. Performing later on several records as a studio player, he soon gained attention as a tight-knit and versatile player and dabbled shortly thereafter into composition and arrangement for well-known soul acts and labels throughout Detroit’s burgeoning music scene (including none other than motor city giants, Funkadelic and The Spinners to name a couple). Coffey was also a member of legendary rock fusion group Rare Earth throughout its activity from the late 60’s to early 70’s.
Before (and later during) his solo career, Mr. Coffey was a part of the legendary Motown studio rhythm collective, The Funk Brothers, which helped personify and meld that unmistakable, fabled Motown sonancy later dubbed “The Sound of Young America”. Though he wasn’t involved until these rearmost years of the group’s activity (1959-1972), his sonic imprint and innovative use of the wah-wah peddle can be heard on Motown releases during his activity (i.e. the funkier/psych side of The Temptations and The Isley Brothers), bringing his effects-heavy guitar fire to the reputable label.
Branching out on his own to fulfill his own projects, Mr. Coffey soon assembled The Detroit Guitar Band out of the hot bed of talent throughout Detroit and recorded some of the toughest, grittiest instrumental guitar funk ever laid to tape. “Evolution” features the funkiest Led Zeppelin cover you’ll EVER hear (as featured on DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s 45 funk mix masterpiece Product Placement), this record simply does not let down from the initial needle drop and is a true groove burner from start to finish. And our particular song in the light, Scorpio, is a fine example of this Coffey sound, with a psychy funk fuzz and wah-wah drenched alto guitar charging through this four minute up-tempo strut featuring one of the greatest drum breaks of all time. This break alone could be wholly responsible for a large chunk of hip-hop’s inception, its featured slinky pulsating bass line on top of a super heavy backbeat made for exquisite fodder for the classic ol skool deejays and b-boys. Scorpio also became a popular cover track for bands incorporating beat-heavy funk rhythm into their sound, including a stellar rendition by Conrad O. Johnson’s own Kashmere Stage Band which almost rivals the original on their take of this funk classic. Hope this one puts that stuff in yo’ strut, kids.
