Fattest of Fatback [Best of]

One of the problems with Fatback is that they don't have a seperate musical identity of thier own. The don't possess enough originality to truly be memorable on thier own terms. It will easy to ignore that if thier material was truly compelling, but thier novelty tunes such as Double Dutch, Bus Stop, Spanish Hustle, and Night Fever( an awful attempt at Disco) proves they were faceless trend followers and not trend setters. It even furter affirms thier unoriginality when they try adapt with different musical eras of the late 70's and early 80's and end up sounding conventional.

The biggest problem with Fatback is that they're not a very good band judging by the quality of thier singles (not counting album tracks from thier recordings with spring records).
Most of thier songs just have a solid bassline with thick drum beats or machine. They lack the substance possible to be able to take the funk beyond its conventional musical structure into an out of this world groove that'll do the booty some justice. It's not only the lack of substance that hurt Fatback, it's the the high level of inconsistency with thier songs. The only songs that are really worth seeking out by Fatback are Yum Yum, Wicky Wacky (For the good blend between the vocals and it's bassline) and King Tim (for it's historical importance in hip hop music as argubaly being the the first rap song ever released). The rest of thier material are disposible by today's standards.

To put it short, Fatback music is not really good. For funkaters who've heard of Fatback and looking for thier music to be somewhat of a climax of hidden funk treasures will be somewhat dissapointed. If you possess any material from the funk legends I've mentioned in this review ( pioneers as well as secondary), you won't be missing much by not having Fatback in your collection.

"King Tim" is actually a pretty damn funky song; although the rapping is primarily at the beginning and in the middle. There are some serious funk jams on this record that still sound fresh. If you're a fan of old-school funk, this is a must-have. Plus, you can impress friends and loved ones by explaining to them that only educated musicologists know that "King Tim" was the first rap song...