Artist

The Counts

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In the early '70s, the boundaries of black pop became more fluid. Soul and funk could intermingle with jazz, hard rock, psychedelia, and singer/songwriting. The Counts were not one of the more exceptional outfits that brewed these influences together; for one thing, they never stuck to any one mixture long enough for listeners to get a handle on the group. They were, however, emblematic of the currents sweeping through R&B at the time, even if they were hardly as innovative as, say, <a href="spotify:artist:450o9jw6AtiQlQkHCdH6Ru">Funkadelic</a>, or <a href="spotify:artist:3koiLjNrgRTNbOwViDipeA">Marvin Gaye</a> in his What's Going On period. Offering both vocal and instrumental tracks, the group could lay down loping, jazzy instrumental grooves heavy on the sax and organ. In a heartbeat, they could switch gears into spacy novelties like "Flies Over Watermelon!" and "The Munchies." In between there were some sweet soul ballads, and even a sop to the mainstream with a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:319yZVtYM9MBGqmSQnMyY6">Carole King</a>'s "Jazzman."

Originally a Detroit-based sextet, the Counts' first LP was an instrumental outing on Cotillion, with noted Michigan producer Ollie McLaughlin taking the co-writing credits on all of the songs. A few years later, the group moved to Atlanta, paring down to a quartet by the time they recorded the Love Sign album for the Aware label in 1973. An expanded lineup recorded the Funk Pump album for the same company in 1975; the two Aware albums formed the basis for CD reissues of the Counts' work in the mid-'90s, when their brand of soul-funk-jazz was becoming hip again. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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