dreadpirateroberts Despite a second half that dips a little in quality, this is pretty smart, snappy funk and soul-influenced RnB.

When vocal group 'The Diplomats' morphed into 'Skull Snaps' and released their self-titled album in 1974, they delivered an impressive mix of soulful and pop vocal-harmonies backed by solid funk that also covered RnB territory, in fact, this is one of those albums that reminds you just how hybrid genres really are.

'My Hang Up is You' opens the album with a punch, showcasing the entire 'Skull Snaps' sound. Its strings, forceful lead vocal delivery, harmony parts and funky rhythm section bring together seemingly disparate elements in an effective song that probably should have been a fair-sized hit.

Elsewhere the pop, soul and funk focus is less fused; 'Having you Around' is a soul-ballad and 'Didn't I Do It to You' and 'All of a Sudden' are more or less hard soul tracks that showcase, once again, the band's vocal arrangements and the funk drumming of Bragg. One of the most sampled drummers in history, Bragg is at his catchy best in 'It's a New Day' - a song which has had its opening sampled to death. To quote bassist Samm Culley, who had this to say about the the sampling phenomenon:

"Yes, it did make us the most sampled artists in history; but I think all who didn't pay for sample clearances should know this: You stole from us, and our families. Some even used our name in their lyrics. Everyone asks us are we okay with all this; well the answer is hell no-we take it personal"

During the second half of the album the level of songwriting slips somewhat, with 'I'm Your Pimp' and 'I'm Falling out of Love' maintaining, more or less, the standard showcased at the beginning of the album. The other tracks are simply not as memorable, though they are recorded with the same clarity and warmth as the rest of the album - as evidenced in the wonderful Aztec re-release that restores royalties to the band, after being ripped off by Charly records - who, to quote an eloquent Culley again:

"Charly Records stole from us for years without hesitation, they have pimped the Snaps album to the fullest. Charly Records, beware, we are pissed off, but the world is pissed off more, and you will go down in history as a large piece of shit."

The Aztec reissue also includes two bonus tracks, the pick being the excellent instrumental 'Al's Razor Blade' with its rock tempo and charging organ, complete with some fuzzy distortion on the guitar which stands in contrast with the cleaner funk-wah used in much of the rest of the album by Ervan.

The record 'Skull Snaps' demonstrated a tight unit of talented musicians (aside from playing their respective instruments, all members are pretty capable soul singers) that missed out on a deservedly bigger audience, due in part to record label troubles, but also perhaps in part to not having released a truly killer album. Don't get me wrong, it's great overall, but not a track-for-track masterpiece either. Three stars (though I enjoy it more than that) but for fans of the funkier side of jazz only, there may be too much soul and pop here.