GENE FAITH + STICKS OF DYNAMITE: FAMILY FOOTBALL posted by O.W.

Gene Faith: Family Man
From 7" (Virtue, 196?)

The Sticks of Dynamite: It's Football Baby
From 7" (Saxton, 196?)

For whatever reason, the older I get, the more I appreciate why 7"s are so satisfying. Unlike LPs that may only offer one or two good songs amidst a lot of tiresome filler, a good 45 makes the experience of quality music immediate (save for a flip on the turntable). Here's a couple of recent favorites:

Gene Faith traces his history back to Philadelphia's '60s group, the Volcanos, but back then he was known as Gene Jones (he got his "Faith" when he went solo in the late '60s). "Family Man" is great...reminds me of something King Floyd might have recorded except with some NOLA drummer hired to supply that chattering second line back beat.

Not much is known about the Sticks of Dynamite - clearly, their entire sound is totally borrowed from James Brown but for a derivative funk track, they've mastered the style down cold: the chicken scratch guitars, the rolling drums and those blaring horns. Sometimes, imitation can be a good form of flattery.