Issued in time for what would have been Patrick Cowley's 70th birthday, Some Funkettes is a selection of disco and funk covers the producer recorded between 1975 and 1977. Charmingly raw and stripped down, the tracks demonstrate his skills at constructing muscular rhythms and painting them with inventive, high-flying keyboard solos. These instrumentals faithfully pay tribute to Cowley's major influences, while unmistakably bearing his personality and style. "Papa Wuzza Rollinston" is an interstellar take on the Temptations' classic, replacing most of the instruments (apart from the wah-wah guitar and tense, simmering drums) with synths, and taking its drama to another level. The track titled "Spiked Punch" is actually Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters jazz-funk standard "Chameleon" in disguise, and though it's a bit less busy and more laid-back than the original, the interpretation is still highly adventurous and riveting. The album's centerpiece is a cover of Donna Summer's Giorgio Moroder-produced hit "I Feel Love," prefiguring Cowley's legendary 15-minute remix of the groundbreaking track, which became an underground hit years before it was officially issued in 1982. Backed by slightly wobbly drums and insistent, throbbing bass, Cowley's synth lines mimic Summer's iconic vocal performance before jetting off on their own ecstatic course. A bit more down to earth is the explosive funk of "Dynomite," a Top Ten hit for Tony Camillo's Bazuka in 1975. The CD and digital editions of the album include vocal versions of two songs. "Do It Any Way You Wanna," originally by the Philadelphia-based People's Choice, is much improved by the inclusion of the song's simple, unforgettable chorus, while "Rollinston," though earnestly sung, sounds more evocative when left as an instrumental. Even when he was riffing on familiar cuts, Cowley left a distinctive touch on everything he did, and Some Funkettes is just as enlightening as the rest of the archival volumes of his music which have surfaced in the 21st century. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

1		Do It Any Way You Wanna
2		Papa Wuzza Rollinston
3		Spiked Punch
4		I Feel Love
5		Dynomite
6		Spiked Punch [Dub]
7		Do It Any Way You Wanna (Vocal)
8		Papa Wuzza Rollinston (Vocal)

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