Soul Vaccination

I didn't want to leave this page with just a single post, so I have some classic Tower of Power. TOP have been making horn-driven funk and soul since the early 70's. Line-ups have inevitably changed throughout the years, but one constant has been TOP's leader from day one, Emilio Castillo. TOP never gained the popular mainstream attention as other horn driven bands of the day like Chicago, Earth, Wind, & Fire, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. One reason may be because Tower of Power were on a whole other level. They weren't playing mainstream rock or jazz-rock. They were playing greasy, East Bay funk with horn lines that were as thick as they were tight.
Both of these tracks display a killer rhythm section anchored by one of the most respected bassists around, Rocco Prestia and the pyrotechnic playing of a young Lenny Picket, long before his days leading the Saturday Night Live Band.

MP3: "Squib Cakes" from Back to Oakland(Warner Bros. 1974)

MP3:"Soul Vaccination" from Tower of Power (Warner Bros. 1973)

On a side note... Check out Soul Sides. It is a great audioblog and probably the reason I wanted to start this one.