Charles Wright

• Express Yourself: The Best of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band [Warner Archives, 1993] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Express Yourself: The Best of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band [Warner Archives, 1993]
Funk so loose and home-fried it's a miracle it ever got on the radio, most of this sounds like it was recorded by teenagers in a rec room somewhere near Crenshaw Boulevard in 1971, except that the Otis-style croaker up top is too old--somebody's uncle, maybe he financed the instruments. In fact, however, they were groundbreaking pros who'd peaked by then--"Do Your Thing" hit in February 1969, same as the Meters' "Sophisticated Cissy" and six months before Kool or Funkadelic, and by the end of 1970 "Express Yourself" was history. It was also their only classic. But if you'll settle for unfettered creativity, soul culture that doesn't yet fear present or future, pick almost anything. A-

Further Notes:

Subjects for Further Research [1970s]: Expressing himself solo or with his Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Wright had a talky vocal style that made him sound even more oddball than the other funk pioneers. I took him for a singles artist around his 1970 heyday, but recently I found an LP in a discount bin, and now I suspect I was wrong.