These two groups are funky. I wanna know what everyone else thinks about them.

What made you choose these two? I ask because (and I'm repeating myself) I think BKs "Freakshow on the Dance Floor" sounds a bit like MSs "No Parking on the Dance Floor."

Bar-Kays was way Funkier then Midnight Star. Jus listen to "Holy Ghost"

I just bought the best of the Bar Kays (early years). I finally saw the Watt Stax documentary, heard that "Son of Shaft" song & had to have it. I didn't even know they were like that back in the day!

Can't stand Midnight Star btw

Bar-Kays hands down. Jams like Holy Ghost, Freakshow On The Dance Floor, and Sexamatic can't be ignored.

UptownDeb said:

Exactly."Freakshow On The Dancefloor" is a blatant rip-off of Midnight Star's "No Parking On The Danceloor".In fact,many of The Bar-Kays 80s songs sound suspiciously like other popular hits from the era.Their 1984 hit "Dirty Dancer" features the same synth line from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean",and another 1984 song by them,"Dance,Party,Etc",borrows a little too heavily from Prince's "DMSR".They're a kickass band though.

Damn, that's a very hard choice but I would have to go with The Barkays. They are my third favorite group of all time.

Not only are they funky as hell but they are wild as hell, which is something I love.

Midnight Star can definately jam too but I still like The Barkays better.

Exactly. Another one is "Dance Your Body Desara" from the "Banging The Walls" album. There is a part in the opening of the song that sounds like the opening guitar on Prince's "When Doves Cry". Also from the same album is "Missiles On Target". "It's atomic time. Girl set your clock. In come love, that can't be stopped" sounds a lot like Prince's "Let's Work"..."Work alright. We're gonna work all night. Everybody work. That's right. Everybody, everybody".

I have to go with Midnight Star, I'll probably be the only one...

But these songs were on point:
No parking... (tight)
Slow Jam (quiet storm jam)
Don't Rock the Boat
Wet My Whistle
Freak a Zoid
Midas Touch
Snake in the Grass

cnutty77 said:

Did you forget "Electricity"? Great jam.

UptownDeb said:

I think both of these groups jam. I just wanted to know what others thought of them. Plus I can learn more about these groups by reading ya'lls responses.

DavidEye said:

I dug the Bar-Kays but David you are right on here. They ripped off whatever sound was poppin at the time. That was Allen A Jones' thing. Check out the Ebonee Webb album he produced. That thing is a serious "Time" rip off. It is funky though. A few others: Night Cruzin = Rick James bassline in Give It To Me. Shine= EWF's On Your Face. Sexomatic= Prince's Automatic. And as you touched on, the whole Dangeruous album was full of tracks that copped other people's sound.

intha916 said:

re: the Prince sound.

Again, There's something kind of "Larry" about Sisqo.

[Edited 11/8/04 17:40pm]

intha916 said:

Exactly. the Barkays did borrow some of Slick Rick and P Riffs for sure.

You know I love some Ebonee Webb. Very few people remember Ebonee Webb but when I first heard them, I was blown away. "Something About You" sounds very much like my all time favorite Prince song, "Head".

Ebonee Webb sounds more like Prince than any of Prince's own protegees. They have his sound down pack from the synthesizers right down to the falsetto.

By the way, check out their follow up, "Too Hot To Be Cool" from 1983...another great Prince sounding jam.

Great comparison! Now that Larry has gotten older, he has cut his hair and dyed it blonde. He looks just like an older Sisqo.

vainandy said:

"Something About You" is very Head-like. In some ways it's better. It was one of the funskiest jams of the 80's if you ask me.

[/quote]

I ain't heard many that I like better.