Talkin 'bout the roots in the man

Cover versions can be a misleading and meddlesome affair to unravel. My intention with this posting was to talk about the sheer incredibleness of Brooklyn's own folk-soul legend Richie Havens, and particularly his song "Going Back To My Roots, from 1980's long player "Connections". Is there a greater piano-driven intro to a song than that which begins this track, the relentless funky house riff that pre-dates its own genre, and builds more frantically than a 1920's Manhattan construction company, perhaps also taking you even closer to the clouds.
With the accompaniment of Sly & the Family Stone beat-maker, drummer Andy Newmark, the deep groove of an intro is ridiculous, and then Haven's rich vocals and the gospel backing take it to another level altogether.

Undoubtedly one of the best sing-along hands in the air anthems that I know and a dead certainty to slay any dancefloor. If you don't know "Connections", an album of cover versions that spawned this monster, which itself is exceedingly pleasing on the ear, then it is well worth finding. And indeed Haven's work more generally, from his famous opening slot at Woodstock in 1969, through to more recent modern collaborations with Groove Armada for instance, can offer a real boon of great tunes for your library. 1967's "Mixed Bag" and 1971's "Alarm Clock" in particular, if you can find them, are instant mellow classics, and the perfect late night chill out offerings.

But onwards with my original intention, and you may have seen a clue a couple of sentences back as to the rots of this tale. For "Connections" was a cover album, and so therefore it follows that the tune I always thought was Havens'alone, was too a cover. Intriguing. Now of course I knew of Odyssey's disco funk version of this track, itself a classic, but was sure that this post-dated Havens's release, albeit only just. A check on the sleeve notes was all it took though to discover that the name beside this epic tune was none other than Motown's own legendary songwriter, Lamont Dozier. And it was here that the tale got really exciting. I knew that when Dozier left Motown he went on with partners Holland and Holland to form Invictus/Hot Wax, itself the home of some classic cuts.

But I hadn't realised that the man had also enjoyed something of a cult solo career, and from this comes the classic forgotten album "Peddlin'Music On The Side", released in 1977, an LP I have now managed to track down. And it is a classic, including, yes, the original 10 minute opus that is "Going Back To My Roots", a raw stripped back beast of a song that includes all of the elements found in both of the latter covers, the heady mix of soul, folk, funky disco, gospel, and even jazz, but combines them beautifully in one monster track. And the rest of the album is stone-cold genius as well. Driven by Dozier's amazing piano playing, and high production values, the seven song vignette is just a great blast of soul music, washed away from memory by under-promotion and the disco dominance of the age.

Lamont Dozier's voice is not the greatest, but it works wonderfully here, and it is the passion and commitment and sureness of delivery that does justice to the consummate brilliance of the songwriting. So there we have it. A heart-warming tale of discovery that truly took me back to the roots of a tree that I didn't even know existed. And the moral of this story? Always read the sleeve notes. Always.