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Betty Davis – ‘Is It Love Or Desire’ (Light In The Attic) – Album review

Album review: Betty Davis – ‘Is It Love Or Desire’ (Light In The Attic)

Betty Davis is doomed to remain best-known as the one-time wife of Miles Davis, but she became a musical cult figure through the three funk-rock albums she made in the mid-’70s: groove-heavy, graphically sexual affairs that prefigured the likes of Prince. It was initially assumed that she gave up on making records after that trilogy, but Is It Love Or Desire proves otherwise. It was recorded in 1976, shortly after Davis’s third album, but it took another 33 years for the tracks to finally see the light of day. These sessions find Davis firing on all cylinders, in a mode more or less similar to that of her earlier recordings. Syncopated beats, funk-happy bass lines, scrappy fuzz guitars, and hip-swiveling keyboard riffs provide the hard-grooving backdrop for her larger-than-life vocal personality. Davis attacks the tunes like a savage beast unleashed, but she doesn’t just roar indiscriminately — she directs her fury straight at the target, so her voice comes punching straight from the center of these songs.
LimeWire

LIGHT IN THE ATTIC TO RELEASE LOST BETTY DAVIS ALBUM, REISSUE CLASSIC THIRD RECORD

On October 6th Light In The Attic Records will release the never before heard (and never bootlegged) lost album Is It Love Or Desire, as well as reissue the classic third release Nasty Gal, by unparalleled funkstress Betty Davis.

Betty Davis was a musical maverick with a vision. Imagine substance, sex, and grit combined with a badass band that could deliver the funk bed backbone to the sultry music between the sheets.

Ahead of it’s time in 1975, Davis’ unapologetically uncompromising, self-referential album Nasty Gal showed her digging deeper into her musical and cultural expression that ever before. Riding high with a new record label, a series of high profile relationships, and an intensely sexualized live performance, Davis was poised to take the world by storm. From the title tracks mutant groove to the ballad co-written by one-time husband Miles Davis, Nasty Gal is Hendrix and Sly Stone inspired funk-rock at it’s finest.

Is It Love Or Desire (1976), on the other hand, is a little known gem in the Davis catalog. After cutting Nasty Gal for Island Records, Davis recorded her most personal and expressive record to date at Louisiana’s remote Studio In The Country. Unfortunately a creative difference with the label caused the record to be unexpectedly shelved and was never released to the public… Now, thirty-plus years later, Light In The Attic is proud to announce that Betty Davis’ time has arrived!

Both mastered from the original tapes, Is It Love Or Desire features detailed liner notes by Oliver Wang (Soul Sides), the originally intended risqué artwork housed in a lavishly packaged digipak, rare photos, archival material, and recent interviews with Davis and her skin-tight band Funk House; while the Nasty Gal re-release features new liner notes by John Ballon (Wax Poetics 2007 Davis cover story), original album art, complete lyrics, rare photos, and interviews, all housed in a beautiful foil-stamped digipak.

These releases cement this bold soul sister’s undeniable contributions to music and popular culture. Long live Betty Davis!
TheStranger.com

Betty Davis – Nasty Gal (1975)

Tracklisting:

1. Nasty Gal

2. Talkin Trash

3. Dedicated To The Press

4. You And I

5. Feelins

6. F.U.N.K.

7. Gettin Kicked Off, Havin Fun

8. Shut Off The Light

9. This Is It!

10. The Lone Ranger

Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different (1974)

Betty’s 2nd album continued the funk-rock fusion of it’s predecessor. The 2nd track was written about Jimi Hendrix. The 1st track actually features Hendrix’s drummer from the Band Of Gypsies, Buddy Miles, on guitar. There is a deeper connection here – Betty Davis was born Betty Mabry in 1944, whilst in New York in the late 60’s she met and fell in love with jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, and they married. It was during this time that Betty introduced Miles to Jimi Hendrix and his music. Inspired, Miles started writing the tracks that would become ‘Bitches Brew’, his 1969 jazz-fusion masterpiece (he was going to call it ‘Witches Brew’ but Betty told him to call it ‘Bitches Brew’). The marriage only lasted a year.

This album contains 2 of the funkiest songs ever recorded by anyone – ‘He Was A Big Freak’ and ‘Your Mama Wants Ya Back’. Raw, uncut funk. Enjoy!

Tracklisting:

1. Shoo-B-Doop And Cop Him

2. He Was A Big Freak

3. Your Mama Wants Ya Back

4. Don’t Call Her No Tramp

5. Git In There

6. They Say I’m Different

7. 70’s Blues

8. Special People

Betty Davis – Betty Davis (1973)

Betty Davis (Betty Mabry) is easily the funkiest chick EVER! From this her debut, through her 2 other albums, she sculpts some of the funkiest music ever committed to vinyl. The additional boot-up-the-arse in the beat is down to the rhythm section – Larry Graham and Gregg Errico from Sly and the Family Stone. Gregg also produced Betty’s albums. Enjoy this raw, uncut funk from one of music’s underrated gems.

The other 2 Betty albums and more info to come…….

Tracklisting:

1. If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up

2. Walkin’ Up The Road

3. Anti Love Song

4. Your Man My Man

5. Ooh Yea

6. Steppin’ In Her I. Miller Shoes

7. Game Is My Middle Name

8. In The Meantime

Mandrill – Mandrill Is (1972)

Mandrill’s 2nd album is fantastic and contains 2 of their most well known/loved grooves – “Ape Is High” and “Git It All”. They are certainly starting to solidify their funky-ass sound. A White Jewish guy named Fudgie Kae joined on bass for this album after 1st bassist Bundie Cenac left to sell Porsches.

Tracklisting:

1. Ape Is High

2. Cohelo

3. Git It All

4. Children Of The Sun

5. I Refuse To Smile

6. Universal Rhythms

7. Lord Of The Golden Baboon

8. Central Park

9. Kofijahm

10. Here Today Gone Tomorrow

11. The Sun Must Go Down

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York

Produced by Beau Ray Fleming and Mandrill

Mandrill – Mandrill (1970-71)

Mandrill’s fantastic self-titled debut. Mandrill were blowing people away on the live circuit with their ability to switch from latin to gospel to rock to jazz to funk, sometimes all in one song! This album is essentially the live set they were doing at the time recorded in the studio. Formed by a trio of Panamanian-born, Brooklyn-bred brothers. Ric, Lou and Carlos Wilson and their neighbour Claude “Coffee” Cave with his Carribean roots, Bundie Cenac from the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rican drummer Charlie Padro, and Cuban guitarist Omar Mesa, naturally created a melting pot of styles, which is shown with this album. The 5 part “Peace and Love” is a perfect example. This album also contains a nice slice of funk/rock “Rollin’ On”.

Tracklisting:

1. Mandrill

2. Warning Blues

3. Symphonic Revolution

4. Rollin’ On

5. Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement I (Birth)

6. Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement II (Now)

7. Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement III (Time)

8. Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement IV (Encounter)

9. Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement V (Beginning)

10. Chutney

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios New York, New York

Produced by Beau Ray Fleming and Mandrill

MANDRILL – Composite Truth (1973)

This is Mandrill’s 3rd full length album and it contains two of their biggest grooves – Hang Loose and Fencewalk. Black/Puerto Rican Neftali Santiago joined on drums after 1st drummer Charlie Padro left to pursue film. The funk congealed and got nuclear. The combination of the percussive instruments and the funk was Mandrill’s trademark by this stage.   Neftali says;  “I remember playing drums, and it used to make me uncomfortable (with) George Clinton and Maurice White sitting right in back of me taking notes! Then all of a sudden Earth, Wind and Fire gets a horn section, and Funkadelic starts adding horns, percussion and become Parliament, and it’s like hmmm that’s interesting.”

TRACKLISTING:

1. Hang Loose

2. Fencewalk

3. Hagalo

4. Don’t Mess With People

5. Polk Street Carnival

6. Golden Stone

7. Out With The Boys

8. Moroccan Nights

Recorded and mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York
and The Hit Factory, New York.
Produced by Alfred V. Brown and Mandrill