East of Underground: East of Underground [NOW-AGAIN]

Why you'll love it

This Now-Again reissue brings back a record the Army pressed as a promotional item. The seven-piece covers Sly and the Family Stone, The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield and Dionne Warwick with real fire.

About the album

Most military bands stick to marches. East of Underground were seven soldiers stationed in West Germany who joined the Army's Entertainment Division in 1971: singers Bobby Blackmon, Larry Watson and Austin Webb, guitarists Lewis Hitt and Gus Marquez, bassist Ronald Hall and drummer George Daniels. They placed in the Army's first showband contest, and the top four bands went to the Armed Forces Network studios in Frankfurt to record.

Every song is a cover, and every one gets turned up. "Higher" opens with Sly Stone's energy intact, "Smiling Faces" takes on the Undisputed Truth, and "Hell Below" brings Curtis Mayfield's urgency. "People Get Ready" and "Walk On By" slow things down beautifully, "I Love You" covers The Fuzz, and "Popcorn/Santana" welds James Brown's Mother Popcorn to Santana's Oye Como Va.

The band went home when their service ended, and the album vanished for three decades until collector Dante Carfagna turned up a copy. The contest was officially called the First Annual Original Magnificent Special Services Entertainment Showband Contest, which is a lot of words for a battle of the bands; they wisely saved their energy for the music.

Also at Kops: more East of Underground on vinyl · browse Classic Soul

Tracklist

Listen

On Now-Again (cat# NA 5223-LP-ST), a reissue of the 1971 album.