The Funky Snob randomly rediscovered this sweet 80s R&B/Funk track by Mother's Finest:
Mother's Finest - Love Changes
Always loved that track, which makes it weird that I not only forgot all about it, the band's rep doesn't really register with me. Love Changes, however is the joint. The supremely underrated Joyce Kennedy sings the holy hell out of this jam.
As an extremely underrated rock/funk metal/R&B outfit, Atlanta-based Mother's Finest was/is forever destined to be saddled with the "Black Rock" tag -- and subsequently ignored. Mother's Finest turned out some decent rock funk in the 1970s in addition to some more soulful stuff in the 1980s.
You see, for most blackfolk, rock is that distant cousin that that only see at the family reunion and have no intention of staying in contact with. Sure, blah blah about rock being invented by blacks and blah blah about being appropriated by the mainstream (re: whitefolk).
Bottom line, most blackfolk ain't checking for modern rock music. Period. As a result, radio didn't really know what to do with Mother's Finest (a fact that they acknowledged by naming their 1990s release "Black Radio Won't Play This Album")
Which is a shame, because there is some alright stuff out there. As for Mother's Finest, they apparently are still touring.
The Funky Snob is playing the hell out of Love Changes. As for their other, more-rock and funk metal oriented material...The Funky Snob will get around to listening to it eventually.
Or not.
2 comments:
"Love Changes" ain't an "80s joint."
It was from their 1978 lp, "Mother Factor."
If you love the song so much to the point of writing a blog about it, you should know that!
BTW, look for two solo slow jam classics from Joyce Kennedy that WERE from the 80s, (1984 to be exact) "Stronger Than Before," and the exquisite "The Last Time I Made Love," her classic duet with Jeffrey Osborne. Both are on youtube.
Peace.
We knew what to do with Mother's Finest, we jammed it. Radio didn't ignore the group as much as any other non requested act. A playlist is and will always be defined by the people listening. If they don't want it don't play it, they'll just simply tune out. But in Mother's Finest case maybe it was just the market you were raised in son.
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