The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown: “Volume 2” (2018) Vinyl Review

The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown, a great funky group made up of talented musicians you likely know from other bands, released its first full-length album, titled Volume 1, in 2012.  In 2018 came Volume 2, an album featuring many of the same players, such as John Paul Miller on guitar, Frank Mapstone on keys, Greg Hollowell on saxophone, Derrick Johnson on trombone, Alvin Ford Jr. on drums, Laura Reed on vocals, and Kenra Foster on vocals, along with a lot of new folks. This record contains all original material, featuring delicious jams and strong vocal work. The album was produced by John Heintz and Frank Mapstone. By the way, the packaging includes a gatefold, something that always takes me back to my childhood, which I appreciate.

Side A

The first track, “Rock It,” establishes a cool rhythm, nothing too fast or wild at the start, but rather eases in. It features Todd Thomas (known as Speech, a member of Arrested Development) on vocals. “I come to rock this party a special way/Everybody move your body without delay/‘Cause this big ol’ nasty crew ain’t here to play.” Oh, but these guys are here to play, to play some great tunes. There is a delicious and playful attitude, heard in lines like “And if you ain’t having fun, there’s nothing wrong with me, there’s something wrong with you.” This one has a mix of funk and pop elements, a light, playful number to lure folks out onto the dance floor of your party. “I won’t be happy ‘til I see you sweat,” Todd Thomas sings. He soon adds, “I know how funky this place can get.” Oh yes, that sounds like a challenge, and I think we’re all up to it, ready to strive toward that level. This track features some great stuff from the horns, and a lead on keys that comes from the outer reaches of the 1970s. Larry Dunn (of Earth, Wind & Fire), Mary Allen and Frank Mapstone are all on keys. The brass section is made up of Greg Thomas on alto saxophone, Greg Hollowell on tenor saxophone, Debrissa McKinney on tenor saxophone, Ben Hovey on trumpet, Fred Wesley on trombone, and Derrick Johnson on trombone. Tori Ruffin (from Morris Day And The Time) is on lead guitar.

“Love Somebody” comes on with a heavier force as it starts, demanding our attention. It then opens up when Laura Reed comes in on vocals. “Take a chance and give your life meaning/We may not be willing, but we are able.” She delivers a seriously cool and alluring vocal performance, sometimes smooth, sometimes powerful. It’s those powerful, forceful moments that I love most (reminding me a bit of The Peak Show). This track also features a really good lead on alto saxophone. That’s Karl Denson of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Yeah, this track features a stellar lineup of musicians, including Michael Ray on trumpet, Clifford Adams on trombone, Derrick Johnson on trombone, John Paul Miller on lead guitar, Josh Blake on rhythm guitar, Ryan Martinie on bass, Jamar Woods on keys, and Alvin Ford Jr. on drums. Alvin Ford Jr. delivers some great stuff on drums, particularly at the end, helping to make this one of the record’s highlights. “All that we know is we’re here, then we go/Be sure to love somebody.” That about sums it up, doesn’t it?

Things really start to move and groove with “Groovy Nasty.” This one should get everyone else onto the floor, anyone who’d managed to hang back up to this point. I am digging that work on bass by Ryan Martinie. And RonKat Spearman (of P-Funk) is on vocals. What more could you want? How about some delicious stuff on keys too? This track certainly has that. And during that keyboard lead, we learn this party has not just a dance floor, but dance walls as well. Really, with this music playing, any surface becomes a place for dancing, with gravity working only when you really want it to. Let go of inhibitions and all outdated notions of reality. The starlight can become a dance partner. That is Jamar Woods on keys, by the way. This one was written by RonKat Spearman, John Heintz, Frank Mapstone and Ryan Martinie. The first side then ends with “Mantra,” this one sliding in, with some good work on bass. That’s Norwood Fisher, from Fishbone, on bass. This track features some really nice work by Kendra Foster on vocals. The repeated line “Breathe it out and let it flow” becomes the mantra. That works for me. There is also a rap section by Todd Thomas, also known as Speech. Foster and Thomas also had a hand in writing this one, along with Tori Ruffin, Jeffrey Suttles, John Heintz, Frank Mapstone and John Paul Miller.

Side B

The second side opens with “B4U Loved Me,” which has another good dance groove. And, yes, the title is a little annoying, but that doesn’t matter when the music is playing. Reverend Desmond D’Angelo’s smooth vocals are dripping with cool.  “If you don’t care about us no more, that’s something you should share.” And then he begins to put some power behind his delivery, and the horns respond in kind. “You loved me more before you knew me.” Such a good performance. I also love when the guitar comes on strong, a lead that commands our attention. It’s great that the guitar is given the space, the time to stretch out here, leading the group in a mighty jam. John Paul Miller is on lead guitar. Then Taylor Dayne joins the band on vocals on “Dream.” I am not all that familiar with her work, apart from a song or two in the late 1980s, but she delivers a fantastic performance here. And she wrote the lyrics. “If you don’t mean to be so cruel to me/Then let me love you/Be a flower to your honey bee.” This track also features some good stuff on keys. Ivan Neville is on organ, and Frank Mapstone is on electric piano. And I’m digging that drumming. Jeffrey Suttles, a member of Taylor Dayne’s band, plays drums on this track (and on a few other tracks).

With “Past Present Future,” the funk takes over completely, a heavy force that can’t be denied. Interestingly, this track also features the magic of the vibraphone, creating an interesting combination of sounds, of sensations, that ends up being great fun. That’s Mike Dillon on vibraphone. This instrumental track also features some great work by Leo Nocentelli on guitar. These guys do not hold back here, and the results are bloody great. Fred Wesley delivers some wonderful stuff on trombone. The record then concludes with “Creatures Of Habit,” which bursts in, the vocals part of that initial force. Angelo Moore, who co-wrote this song, is on lead vocals. “You’re pushing a dump truck up a hill with the brakes on/You should be turning it off, but you’re just turning it on.” And a whole lot of folks provide the backing vocals, so many voices that we feel we should also add our own and become part of the crowd. “We’re all creatures, creatures of habit/Don’t you like this freaky style/Come on, get it together/Come up to the front/Come up from the back/Funk, funk, funk.” And this song mentions Mr. Magoo, as if it needed another reason for us to love it. This track is so much fun, and that guitar work is outstanding. Vernon Reid (of Living Colour) joins the group on guitar for this one. The band is unstoppable here.

Record Track List

Side A

1. Rock It
2. Love Somebody
3. Groovy Nasty
4. Mantra

Side B

1. B4U Loved Me
2. Dream
3. Past Present Future
4. Creatures Of Habit

Volume 2 was released on November 27, 2018.