There has been something of a spate of recent releases by instrumental funk and soul groups. Perhaps it’s part of the general retro/nostalgia that is going around, with a lot of contemporary electronic pop performers sampling classic soul recordings. But it’s nice that there are so many groups that actually playing the music from scratch, rather than stealing bits of older recordings. Recent releases in the past few months have included Organ Fairchild. The Reddcoats, The Rare Sounds, and the Krasno-Moore Project to name a few. This week, we have another excellent example. It’s the latest by the fairly long-running group Redtenbacher’s Funkestra, called Live Your Best Life.

Austrian-born, UK-based bass player and composer Stefan Redtenbacher has been leading an ever changing band for over a decade, with configurations from a small group to large ensemble with horns. The group has also worked as a studio band at Masterlink Studios in the UK for a number of artists. Their last album Big Funk Band was essentially a big band album. But on their new release, about their thirteenth, the group scales back to a quartet or quintet, though the personnel varies from one track to the next. Constant are Redtenbacher on the bass, and drummer Mike Sturgis. Guests include guitarists Tony Remy, Scott McKeon, Mike Otram, and American guitarist Carter Arrington. The rotating cast of keyboard players include American Dave Limina , and Brits Ross Stanley, Stevie Watts and Joe Glossop. Redtenbacher pens most of the material, and it’s true to form with funk being the major influence, but there is a good helping of soul including ballads – one with a sting section -- and some blues and rock. Redtenbacher’s compositions, though strong on the groove, usually have some interesting harmonic or melodic variations, making it a cut above most funk revival groups.

Redtenbacher himself is a master funk player, forming a tight musical unit with drummer Sturgis, with occasional help from percussionists Karl Vanden Bossche and Fergus Gerrand on some of the tracks. For an album in which the personnel varies, the sound is consistently tight, and the musicianship is at a high standard throughout.

Opening the lengthy nearly-hour-long album is a track called Carol a tribute to session bass player Carole Kaye. It features two guitar players Scott McKeon and Carter Arrington. Ross Stanley also puts in some notable work on the organ. <<>>

The title track Live Your Best Dream scales the band back further with no keyboards. But it casts a wider musical net, with rock influence and an opportunity for Redtenbacher to do a spacey bass solo… <<>> before Carter Arrington delivers probably the strongest guitar solo on the album. <<>>

A further bit of retro comes on the track Mr. W Chills which evokes the Philly soul sound of the 1970s complete with a string section. <<>>

The band gets bluesy on the composition called Cat Herder Scuffle, with Carter Arrington’s guitar being the main focus. <<>>

Thoroughly laid back and one of the most appealing tracks on the album is the slow tune Ghostfish featuring two guitarists, Mike Outram and Tony Remy. <<>>

One of the longer tunes is another of its stronger tracks, Jonky which gets back to a great funky rhythmic groove, and again features two guitars players, Arrington and Remy. <<>>

With something of a New Orleans-style beat is a tune called Get It, with Joe Glossop getting time in the spotlight for an organ solo. <<>>

The album includes some alternate versions of tunes, but the final new composition is its’ lengthiest piece, Hot Jam whose title is self-explanatory. Arrington and Remy are again on the guitars. <<>>

Live Your Best Dream, the new release from the long-running but varied UK band Redtenbacher’s Funkestra is another strong edition to the recent crop of instrumental funk and soul albums that have been appearing. This version of the Funkestra does not feature the horns that were prominent in some of the group’s previous recordings, but the funk groove are great, and the album nicely shows off the gathered players, who themselves vary from one track to the next. But it’s all very coherent.

Our grade for audio quality is close to an A. The mix is nice and punchy and there are no unnecessary studio effects, or attempts to degrade the audio to simulate analog recordings, which has happened on a number of recent retro releases.

This turns out to be a good time for instrumental funk and soul revival. Redtenbacher’s Funkestra has been doing this kind of thing and making great records for over a decade. Though Live Your Best Dream features essentially a stripped down version of the band, it’s no less strong musically.

(c) Copyright 2024 George D. Graham. All rights reserved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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