Rare Groove

[martin]

I only own one 'rare groove' album, which is this

But what IS rare groove? A lot of the stuff on this I'd class as 'funk' or 'soul', depending on the tracks. This is a genuine question - how would you define 'rare groove'?

I know Trojan put out a 'Rare Groove' Box Set as part of their ever-expanding range - has anyone heard this? And would that be pure funky stuff or a 'reggae / funk' fusion?

The compilation above is shit hot by the way

 

[Grievous Angel]

Rare groove was what London -- well, west london -- was dancing to before acid house hit. It's funk and soul grooves, but rare, like.

 

[bassnation]

Rare groove was what London -- well, west london -- was dancing to before acid house hit. It's funk and soul grooves, but rare, like.

what was east london dancing to?

 

[labrat]

My understanding of Rare Groove is that the Style Press (R.I.P.) both hyped and homogenised a scene centred on a few London clubs (The Wag, Dingwalls sundays , Africa Center ) who were playing obscure 70's funk records.It's existence was always symbiotic with The Face/ID etc. and thus the social energy was a little lacking IMHO. Sadly Robert Elms' suicide (said to be instigated by the burgoning Acid House scene)
effectivly rendered the scene dead in the water.*







*apparently the Robert Elms we know today is a replacement a-la Paul McCartney.

 

[john eden]

what was east london dancing to?

reggae.

 

[Grievous Angel]

reggae.

Jazz funk

 

[bassnation]

Jazz funk

but... isn't that rare groove?

i'm actually quite interested in what it was like. its a side of london clubbing i know nothing about as i didn't move down here until the mid nineties.

 

[MATT MAson]

I was way too young to get into any of the parties. But have been on the sound for a number of years now. It was Northern Soul's last stand in many ways, before Acid House took over. There is a really good series of bootleg compilations called Rare Grooves volumes 48 & 49 (or 50 & 51 etc... for some reason each CD is classed as two volumes...) that appear every now and then in indy record stores that are well worth picking up.

 

[matt b]

but... isn't that rare groove?

i'm actually quite interested in what it was like. its a side of london clubbing i know nothing about as i didn't move down here until the mid nineties.

i used to know people at my school (in oxford) who were into this and used to go up to london to go clubbing on occasion (16 years old in 1988, just at the end of rare groove, before acid house hit)
they were obsessed with style (ID mag, the face, nick kamen, curiosity killed the cat, rolled up 501s, white socks, black dm shoes etc etc) rather than the music per se, which always seemed to me to be really dull (but then i was listening to US/UK hardcore punk). probably called rare groove because the records were rare- seemed to be jazz funk style stuff before talkin' loud came about.

 

[labrat]

iID mag, the face, nick kamen, rolled up 501s, white socks, black dm shoes etc etc

and the MA1 of course: this look originated with the classic "art student pretending to be into Go-Go" archetype some months earlier.

 

[big satan]

hail

yeah, i was always under the impression that the term rare groove was (like northern soul) a UK term for US music that already had it's own name, i.e. funk and soul, and that the "rare" was due to the scarcity of the music.

anyway, i've got that trojan rare groove box and it's just reggae, no particular soul or funk influence as i recall. it's a great set by the way, possibley the best trojan box i've heard, the jerry lewis track is one of the best and most unique reggae things i've ever heard. anyone who can give me any info about him, or point me in the direction of more of his music will be greatly appreciated.

 

[dHarry]

I presumed, from across the Irish sea, that it was more of a rootsy club-level thing with Gilles Peterson and Paul Murphy playing out 70's jazz funk records to people who could actually dance (as opposed to jog on the spot, wave their hands in front of their faces and chew their own lips ;-), with The Face covering it just 'cause it was cool, just like they did with every other scene/movement since, from acid house to uk garage (maybe they missed jungle due to lack of a distinctive fashion?). And I wouldn't completely discount the fashion side of it, some of those threads were !

 

[matt b]

with The Face covering it just 'cause it was cool, just like they did with every other scene/movement since, from acid house to uk garage (maybe they missed jungle due to lack of a distinctive fashion?)

jungle- not west end enough, too 'dirty'- labrynth was a hole, too focussed on the bloody music...

 

[mms]

i came in at the tail end when 'i believe in miracles and across the tracks were being mixed with acid and techno at raves.
but wasn't it norman jay who did a rare groove show on kiss who coined the phrase, it's just rare funk isn't it and stuff like roy ayres, blackbirds plus british stuff like light of the world etc - 'london nights' which was bettered by the japanes with LA nights Agawa, Yasuko, it's the precursor to acid jazz in't it, which rare groove renamed itself in the light of acid .

 

[MATT MAson]

jungle- not west end enough, too 'dirty'- labrynth was a hole, too focussed on the bloody music...

Probably why it survived as long as it has.

Rare Groove was a term coined by Norman Jay, and took in soul staples like Teddy Pendergrass and Minnie Ripperton as much as it did jazz and reggae.

 

[henry s]

Probably why it survived as long as it has.

Rare Groove was a term coined by Norman Jay, and took in soul staples like Teddy Pendergrass and Minnie Ripperton as much as it did jazz and reggae.

hard to see how the likes of Pendergrass and Riperton could be considered "rare"...I do like this music, I like Norman Jay, I even like Straight No Chaser...but the term rare groove (like intelligent techno) strikes me as so elitist...(maybe that was not the intention)...probably one of the reasons the chin-strokers are still scorned in so many circles...

 

[petergunn]

hard to see how the likes of Pendergrass and Riperton could be considered "rare"...I do like this music, I like Norman Jay, I even like Straight No Chaser...but the term rare groove (like intelligent techno) strikes me as so elitist...(maybe that was not the intention)...probably one of the reasons the chin-strokers are still scorned in so many circles...

bingo...

the entire "rare groove" genre is like Columbus "discovering" america... it was already there, and all these records were already there... they were called funk, jazz, soul, and disco... i'm always skeptical of people who, for example, own Northern Soul comps, but don't own Wilson Pickett or Temptations records... i dunno, i think England has WAY too many genre terms for music...

 

[Grievous Angel]

i came in at the tail end when 'i believe in miracles and across the tracks were being mixed with acid and techno at raves.

Ah, happy days... I didn't go to many rare groove parties, they WERE terribly elitist and hard to get into, and I was more interested in Tackhead and Sonic Youth... but great tunes.

And no, rare groove wasn't quite the same as the jazz funk that was big in east london alongside lovers and dancehall... there's cross over obviously, but there's a bit of a gap between I Believe in Miracles and Maze / Mtume / George Benson...

94-era jungle subsequently closed the gaps between jazz funk, reggae and dance music (as my last mix demonstrated ).

Lots of Boys Own people and the like went to rare groove nights before acid started and of course the MA1 / 501-wearing trendies all got very confused when all this druggy music became popular.

 

[hurricane run]

with The Face covering it just 'cause it was cool, just like they did with every other scene/movement since, from acid house to uk garage (maybe they missed jungle due to lack of a distinctive fashion?). !

huh id went mad about jungle in 93 (not just the goldie/bukem axis but jj frost and randall)

 

[mms]

huh id went mad about jungle in 93 (not just the goldie/bukem axis but jj frost and randall)

face covered jungle too .
i remember a quote 'ugly music for ugly people' that was from a punter!