It’s been a while since the monkey featured any releases by Smoove & Turrell and the lack of coverage hasn’t been because of a lessening of quality on their production or songwriting scores – rather that the duo had come to draw more stylistically from the devil’s decade of the 1980s on previous LP Stratos Bleu and from a less funky traditions rhythmically to an extent that output wasn’t really in the monkey’s remit. There’s no denying that the 80s still play a role on new 45 Geno’s Discotheque b/w The Light but you can’t deny the funkiness of either track. Of these Geno’s Discotheque is the most 80s with it’s typically Chic-ish/ In Deep-ish groove, laced with synth and jangly funk guitar as John Turrell sings yearningly of escape to the type of Euro-clubs that featured heavily in their pre-Brexshit touring schedule. The monkey’s preferred track however is upbeat, uptempo groover The Light featuring Blue Note organist Ronnie Foster (who delivers the Blue Note-ist of thirty-second organ solos) on which JT sticks it to the man over driving funky drums and squelchy wah-wah. Both tracks are taken from the band’s current LP Red Ellen.
(Out now on Jalapeno Records)
