The Posse: You Better Come Out and Play b/w That’s What Makes Us Happy
From 7″ (EJC, 197?)
Lil’ slice of Michigan funk here; the A-side sounds like something Norman Whitfield might have whipped up for the Temptations in their psychedelic era but then accidentally ended up in the hands of the Jackson 5 (albeit, the Posse’s falsetto lead here is no MJ). The lyrics make it sound innocent but the vibe is so dark that when the singer croons, “you better come out and play,” it sounds like a threat made by an arsonist holding a Moltov. I’m just saying. Flipside is a more conventional, mid-tempo sweet soul tune about cotton candy and ferris wheels; talk about an incongruous A/B side combo. (Thanks to Cool Chris for this one).
Little Denice: Check Me Out b/w You Can Teach Me New Things
From 7″ (Ruthies, 196?)
This 7″ by Little Denice is a two-fer two ways: not only is it a remarkably solid A/B-side, it’s also simultaneously one of my favorite kid funk and Bay Area singles. I don’t know much about the artist or the players here at all; her backing band is pretty bad ass and Little Denice herself is a frickin’ monster on this single. “Check Me Out” is so salacious that it feels a bit dirty listening to it as she brags about “no other woman could take a man from me.” Damn girl, slow down! “You Can Teach Me New Things” is pretty much the same song, content-wise, with another horn-heavy funk track powering Denice’s precocity.
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