Big Chief - Disc of the day

Big Chief
Mack Avenue Skull Game

(Sub Pop, 1993)

If only The Stooges had really jammed with Funkadelic…

Named after a classic track by New Orleans piano king, Professor Longhair, Big Chief were always a knowing bunch. As the prime-movers behind legendary hometown fanzine Motorbooty, the Detroit outfit - who featured ex-Necros vocalist Barry Henssler, former Laughing Hyenas drummer Mike Danner, artist/guitarist Mark Dancey (the illustrator behind Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger sleeve), bassist Matt O’Brien, and guitarist Phil Durr (now a member of Krautrockers Giant Brain) - enjoyed celebrating the excesses of rock culture. A prime example of their skewed humour was Motorbooty’s lengthy feature on The Stooges Wax Museum – an entirely fictitious establishment which subsequently attracted a stream of frustrated would-be visitors.

Likewise, Mack Avenue Skull Game is a soundtrack to a fictitious blaxploitation movie. A feral blend of hard rock and prime funk, it reflects the two musical scenes that made Detroit famous. While on previous releases the five-piece had managed to throw in the odd Westbound funk lick into their post-Stooges-cum-Sabbath stomp, here they properly stretched out, expanding their band to include the considerable talents of local blues diva Thornetta Davis, and delivered an album that rippled with soul sensibilities without ever resorting to cod funk-metal. Highlights included the searing Eddie Hazel-inspired romp of One Born Every Minute, the squelchy rock thump of Sonica, the Dennis Coffey wah-wah tribute of Cut To The Chase, and the ambient funk of If I Had A Nickel For Every Dime, all of which are augmented by the Beastie-punk of Cop Kisser and the electric Miles freak-out of He Needs To Be Dead/Ten Easy Pieces. A hugely ambitious work, Mack Avenue Skull Game is a genuine Sub Pop curio. You just wish Big Chief had gone on to make the movie to accompany it.

Phil Alexander

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 05/07/2008

Further Listening

Funkadelic – America Eats Its Young (Westbound, 1972)

Big Chief – Face (Repulsion/Sub Pop, 1991)

Thornetta Davis – Sunday Morning Music (Sub Pop, 1994)

Celebrate 20 years of Sub Pop! Check out this month’s issue of MOJO magazine now which is soundtracked by Sub Pop 300, an exclusive 15 track CD!

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It's about time this album got some recognition. It's an absolute cracker and I would love to see someone actually make a version of the movie. The Thornetta Davis album she made right after this is also a little gem

Posted by at 9:15 AM GMT 19/07/2008 Report Abuse

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It's about time this album got some recognition. It's an absolute cracker and I would love to see someone actually make a version of the movie. The Thornetta Davis album she made right after this is also a little gem

Posted by Grebo at 9:15 AM GMT 19/07/2008 Report Abuse

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