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AJ & THE JIGGAWATTS: AJ And The Jiggawatts LP (2014) + ‘Get Wild’ free download

AJ  The Jiggawatts LP[RATING: 5] Ooh yeah – that’s the funk right there. AJ & The Jiggawatts self-titled LP is the second of two to come out of the Tennessee-based GED Soul label’s Kickstarter campaign from last summer and is no less dope than the first – i.e. the excellent DeRobert & The Half Truths LP I’m Tryin’ which dropped in January. And while, like the DeRobert LP, this one consists entirely of that sort of sweet funky soul which harks back to the late sixties/ early seventies golden era, this is a slightly different beast. And it is a beast.

Anyone who caught their 45 (Don’t Mess With Me/ Pimp Decisions) two years ago (both of which tracks appear on this) will have got a taste of the band’s sound which is broadly influenced by uptempo JB and Rufus Thomas-style funky soul. But where DeRobert say, favours a vocal more in the smoother tradition of Stevie, AJ’s signature raw soul vocals are decidedly more along the lines of JB, Larry Ellis, Spencer Wiggins et al and refracted through a slightly distorted mic for that extra grit. There’s also much more frequent use of wah-wah guitar than you’d find in the James Brown back catalogue however and an epic funk track like Back Alley Beale Street, one of this LP’s highlights, has more in common with the Bar-Kays say, or very early Parliament/ Funkadelic. The loose-limbed funky uptempo blues chords of Get Wild (available as a freely downloadable WAV HERE) are another highlight and underline the band’s dancefloor savvy. Elsewhere there’s time for a couple of slowies, a juke joint paean to Irish whiskey bottle (Brown Bottle Fever), homage to ladies who shake their booty (Shake It For Me), and correctly, a track named after a dance – The Drop. Full funk wattage then and another laurel for GED Soul.
(Out now on GED Soul Records)

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