On Friday, February 27, 11 pm - 1 am EST, Midnight Soulstice will present another Soul radio slam dunk.
We'll dedicate this show to the mighty Mandrill.
One of funk's most progressive outfits, Mandrill's jam-heavy brand of funk was liberally infused with Latin, Caribbean, and jazz influences, plus blues, psychedelia, African music, and straight-up rock. Their freewheeling approach was a definite influence on the Parliament-Funkadelic collective (an early incarnation of which actually served as their opening act), and their grooves have been sampled by numerous hip-hop acts in modern days.
They are most known for their 1973 hit Fencewalk, but every single one of their releases on Polydor, and later on Arista and United Artists is an absolute must for any fan of good music.
Midnight Soulstice co-host DJ Pari played a role in Mandrill's 1996 comeback and he has toured Europe with the group in 1999, so expect a very personal radio special when Mandrill's founding members Lou and Ric "Doc" Wilson will join us for a two-hour special!
Tune in on 97.3 fm (Richmond) or the world wide livestream on www.wrir.org

If you have any questions for Mandrill, post them here and we'll ask them for you!



Y'all should note that Prince once listed Mandrill as one of his favorite bands, and the influence is undeniable. Check them out:

Mandrill - Hang loose


Mandrill - Git it all


Mandrill - Symphonic Revolution


Mandrill - Fat City Strut


Mandrill - Git it all

[Edited 2/27/09 20:53pm]
[Edited 2/27/09 21:52pm]
[Edited 2/28/09 14:52pm]

Fencewalk is my jam

MajesticOne89 said:

Hell yeah!

Love Song is in my Ipod's "Morning bliss" playlist

I have to admit though, thats the ONLY thing I have from them,,,,I'd love to get into them, if you have any recommendations to start with, hip a dame

Harlepolis said:

That's the cue I've been waiting for. You have to understand, Mandrill is my favorite band ever. EVER!!! I can discuss Mandrill for hours, and I have no problem listening to all of their albums on one day!

You should start off with their anthology 2CD set, which gives you a first idea of their massive legacy.



Then, I'd start with the original albums in the order they were recorded. That means you'll have to begin with Mandrill, released in 1971 on Polydor.



Then, you'll get the follow-up Mandrill Is from 1972.



Next, their third album Composite Truth, which includes their biggest hit, Fencewalk. Released in 1973.



Just Outside of Town is next, released in '74. It includes your slow jam Love Song.



Their final release on Polydor is Mandrilland, a double album released in 1974. Mindblowing.

MrSoulpower said:

::Making a mental note::

Gotta download it after the show and check it out!

Then, you'll continue with Solid (1975), after their switch to United Artists.



Next, Beast from the East (1975).



Another great Funk album is We are One (1977) on Arista.



Then, you gotta get New Worlds (1978).



Getting in the Mood from 1980 is next.



Finally, their last full length studio album Energize (1981).



Of course, you gotta have them all!

FuNkeNsteiN said:

First, you gotta download last night's NEW BIRTH show, which I'll post later today. It was a great show, we had a ball with Melvin and Leslie.

I always found them a bit hit n miss, some good stuff mixed in with some not so good.

Never heard Mandrilland, I had a copy in my ol shop and was always gonna give it a spin but never did get round to it.

I always loved that intergalatic wizards of sound part in the first album, about the doll eating chicken or somethin'that Beck used in Odelay

Mango meat baby

TheKnowledge said:

Hit or miss??

Honestly, I think Mandrill is the last band you can say that about. Of course, it's always a matter of taste, but the diversity, extremely skilled musicianship and energy audible in their music is mindblowing. Mandrill live is quite an experience, which is why groups like Earth Wind & Fire, New Birth and Parliament-Funkadelic used to open for these guys. Nobody wanted to follow after them.

The doll eating chicken is on their second album. It's part of a beautiful poem called Universal Rhythms.

Who are you?

I'm the enchanting wizard of rhythm.

Why did you come here?

I came here to tell you about the rhythms of the universe.

Will you please tell me about them?

When rhythms fall through cosmic farce, they explode into colorful raindrops of time.
And like tiny butterflies, they flap their wings and embrace rhythms of hope. Hoping that all or even wishing that all will be made free.
Free like rhythms of water bathing within rhythms of light.
And eventually evolving into a rainbow of life with colors of orange, yellow and green they reflect all rhythms of dreams and start simple rhythms of truth and make babies cry.
And rhythms of sound blend with rhythms of space to create rhythms of joy and rhythms of sorrow that become one in your year of tomorrow.
Tomorrow is when rhythms are voices singing freedom as if borrowing from universe all the rhythms of being...

You can listen to it here: http://music.aol.com/song...hms/242975

MrSoulpower said:

that cat's post just blew my fuckin' mind wow..

IAintTheOne said:

Well, not everything is for everybody ..
Personally, I think that there's not one weak tune on the first six albums, and that's definitely rare ..

IAintTheOne said:

Yummmmm ....



Oh wait, you must be talking 'bout this ...

MrSoulpower said:

I'm hip, but hit or miss? the 1st six albums are a trip

IAintTheOne said:

Literally!

MrSoulpower said:

I think there albums are all pretty solid, and I would agree they all contain great playing, I just prefer their Funkier stuff, Composite Truth for instance I thought the first side was Killer but the second side was a bit Mixed, It's been a few years now since I last heard them, I will pull out my copy of Mandrill Is tonight though.

MrSoulpower said:

Will do!

MrSoulpower said:

So it's pretty safe to say that you dig Mandrill, huh?


There are some "miss" cuts for me, but overall, very few.
Oh and, I just realized I'm missing 1975's Solid

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Yeah, and I am very happy about having had the chance to tour with them and see them live many times. They still sound like in 1973, and very few artists are able of pulling that off.

TheKnowledge said:

Yeah, that's exactly what excites me about Mandrill - the diversity. When Polydor signed them in 1970, they had no idea how to market them, so they marketed the group as a Rock act and sent them on the road with groups like Deep Purple.

MrSoulpower said:

We all know what the real cut is on that.

Mandrill is the one band from that era that I least UNDERSTOOD. I can see how some would say "hit and miss". My oldest brother (who has since passed away - RIP Butch!), was a huge fan of theirs. And in the years since his passing, I have been trying to collect as much Mandrill as I can in order to try to get a better idea of who my brother was (we grew up in separate States). So I certainly recognize their musicianship, but beyond that I can't really get a feel for them in the way I'd like.

Not until this post did I realize that I knew "Fencewalk". When I played the YouTube clip posted here (not thinking I would know "Fencewalk"), the first 3 notes immediately took me back, and I realized that this was a favorite song of mine (just never knew the title). You see, because while I collect a LOT of music, I don't always get around to listening to it right away.

So, I'm grateful for this post. Regarding my brother, the funny thing is; I knew him mainly as being sort of hyper-religious, was a Baptist Minister for like the last 30 years of his life (and was more than just a tad bit judgmental regarding MY life). And while I remember he used to play drums in a band back when he was a teenager (and I was like 4 or 5), considering what I'm learning about Mandrill in this thread, I guess there was another side of my brother, (to say the least, lol).

...Mandrill (This is said to be their first TV appearance)




...Hang Loose (Neftali "Mr. Fencewalk" Santiago returns to sit in with the band)
You can see another friend of mine (keyboardist Arlan Schierbaum) in this clip.

Nefty told me once that Harvey Mason thanked him for that drum groove which he snagged for The Headhunters' Chameleon.





...Hang Loose & Fence Walk performed live on Soul Train.





...Peck Ya Neck



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

We had every Mandrill album. I used to listen to them a lot back in the day.

Maybe I'll pull 'em out tonight.

PDogz said:

Many people don't understand Mandrill because they have a hard time categorizing them. They don't just change musical genres on one album, but within one song. It's this diversity that makes them so amazing. They don't just master all these genre's superficially, but to perfection. You'll rarely find a band like that today, or I'd even claim, none at all.

Maybe by giving Mandrill a change again you'll not only learn more about them, but about your brother, too. If he was so much into Mandrill, he must have been heavy. Good luck with that quest.

theAudience said:

I didn't know you are friends with Nefty, but I should have known. Duh.
I met Nefty back in '99, when we brought Mandrill to Europe for the first time and he had re-joined them. We had great times and became really close friends. That tour was amazing because it was the closest Mandrill ever got to their original line-up since their reunification. The only ones missing were Fudgie Kae (because he passed away in 1975), but Wilfredo Wilson and Lou Castro were on bass. Nefty was on drums, and original guitarist Omar Mesa had joined the group again. Claude Cave wasn't there though.

The tour started in Holland, and then went into Germany. Omar decided to stay in Amsterdam, because of a chick he met there. He ended up missing one of the shows in Germany, and the sound tech - a young cat with the name Marc Rey - sat in for him. Nobody knew that Marc could play guitar that well, and it turned out that he recreated Omar's 1973 sound to perfection, while Omar had long moved on and sounded too polished. After that tour, the Wilson brothers let Omar go and hired Marc instead. He also plays with Weapon of Choice, as you probably know. Marc was a good pick, and even though I love Omar, Marc sounded like Mandrill '73.

There are three experiences from that tour that I'll never forget. One was an unplugged gig Mandrill performed at a small club in Germany where I had a DJ residency at that time. Only 150 people fit in, while about 600 waited outside. They Wilsons gave me this gig as a thank you gift for booking the tour and let me write the setlist. I picked songs that Mandrill had never played live before and after that, like "Bro Weevil" from the Mandrilland album. There's a video from that show ciculating, it's mindblowing.

The second experience was a cook out we had with Mandrill at my friend's backyard. After it got dark, we all sat around a bonfire, Arlan played an accordeon (!) and the Wilsons gave a beautiful acapella performance of "Symphonic Revolution" and "House of Wood", all that underneath the stars. You can imagine how that was.

The third one was when the Wilsons went to play Tennis with my dad. They lost.

Anyway, these were some good times ...
[Edited 2/21/09 13:29pm]

MrSoulpower said:

I thought I told you that I played in a Rock group with Nefty for at least a year when I came out to L.A. in the early '80s.

Anyway, great stories.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Definitely due to a lack of radio hits. Mandrill's best songs are long album tracks. So you'd have to listen to the whole album and in those days it was either, blazin' up with your budddies or cueing up a cassete tape. Also, because of med school committments, they didn't tour much out West when they could have exploited big rock venues like EWF PFunk War and Commodores did.