BOTHERS JOHNSON — Look Out for #1 (review)

BOTHERS JOHNSON — Look Out for #1 album cover Album · 1976 · Funk Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
js
In 1976 funk was at its peak with a crowded field of bands turning out one hit after another. At the time it was hard to imagine someone new coming on the scene with something fresh to offer, but The Brothers Johnson did just that when this initial effort of theirs hit the charts big time. Eschewing the crazy decadent creativity of the p-funk crowd, as well as the pyro-technics of EW&F and Tower of Power; The Brothers turned to solid pop hooks, an ultra-smooth production and an all-around sophisticated and subtle approach to re-define a genre that was usually known for its excesses.

Most serious funk fans can still remember the first time they heard ‘I’ll be Good to You’ pumping out of their radio, such warm positive vibes were hard to miss and the tune was already unforgettable before it even finished playing. Fortunately the good times didn’t stop there, almost every song on this album is a winner. Most musicians are still partial to the jazzy instrumental, ‘Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin’ Licks’ in which the brothers display the instrumental skills that gave them their nicknames revealed in the song title. In re-visiting this album I re-discovered a forgotten gem in the brother’s very low groove and psychedelic re-working of the Beatles’ classic, ‘Come Together’, which features the great Toots Thielman on some very tasty and subtle harmonica.

Much of the credit for this album should also go to producer and talent organizer Quincey Jones. The brothers had just finished working with Quincey on a recent album of his when Jones returned the favor and organized an incredible pool of talent to make sure this debut would get a lot of notice. A virtual who’s who of the fusion world contributes here including Ian Underwood, Billy Cobham, Glen Ferris, Harvey Mason and Lee Ritenour.

The playing and the songwriting on here are top notch, but the real star is the sound and production engineered by the brothers in combination with Quincey. Funk had never sounded so smooth and polished before, and yet this was no slick commercial water-downed fake funk. Louis Johnson’s more subtle refined approach to the art of bass thump-popping swept though the world of funk and fusion in a way that hadn’t happened since Larry Graham. So distinct was this take on funk that Herbie Hancock grabbed up both the brothers and Quincey Jones when he sought a new direction with his Man Child classic.

This album has aged very well and is highly recommended for folks that like music that is very funky, but also kind of classy and polished too.
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