1514 Oliver Avenue (Basement)

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Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIMMind & Matter

1514 Oliver Avenue (Basement)

Numero Group

Dec 17, 2013 Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIM By J. Pace

While prepping their enormous Minneapolis soul/funk collection Purple Snow, Numero Group found enough basement demo material from the Jimmy Jam Harris-led (no doubt you’ve heard of him sans that surname) Mind & Matter to assemble this in-between release (catalog number 050-1/2). This was a young Harris’ first band, and an exemplary sample of the developing Minneapolis sound in the late ‘70s: equal parts R&B smoothness, electro synth experimentation, and straight-ahead funk. Fans of Numero’s Eccentric Soul series will be right at home here—these tracks carry that same off-kilter, sometimes clumsy, and charming-as-hell vibe of pure discovery.

Falsettos abound, electric pianos hold it down, and Harris delivers the hooks over a tight and funky rhythm section, iterating through Minneapolitan takes on the Philly sound (“When You’re Touching Me”), wild disco (“Disco Child”), and slow, synth-laden funk joints Dr. Dre would be all over (“No One Else Can Do It to Me Baby”). Ice cold, you betcha. (www.numerogroup.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10

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Average reader rating: 7/10