Catalyst - The Funkiest Band You Never Heard '1999

Tracks list

:: TRACKLIST ::

Catalyst
1-1 Aint It The Truth 2:42
1-2 East [Vocals – Morris Bailey] 8:03
1-3 Catalyst Is Coming 8:13
1-4 Jabali	8:44
1-5 New-Found Truths 5:44
1-6 Salaam	1:34

Unity
1-7 A Country Song 6:20
1-8 Little Miss Lady	4:53
1-9 Maze	5:17
1-10 Athene 5:27
1-11 Mail Order 6:12
1-12 Shorter Street	3:53

A Tear And A Smile 
2-1 The Demon Pt. 1	4:10
2-2 The Demon Pt. 2 [Vocals – Eddie Green] 3:10
2-3 A Tear And A Smile	4:34
2-4 Fifty Second Street Boogie Down	3:56
2-5 Suite For Albeniz 6:15
2-6 A Prayer Dance	5:54
2-7 Bahia	6:15

Perception 
2-8 Perception	15:10
2-9 Uzuri	2:59
2-10 Celestial Bodies	9:20
2-11 Ile Ife	7:02
2-12 Got To Be There 2:44

 Talk about buried treasure. Catalysts The Funkiest Band You Never Heard, a
two-disc reissue, is a long-overdue reintroduction to a mostly forgotten
Philadelphia quartet whose four early-70s albums bridged the gap between
avant-garde jazz and funk and soul with delicious ease. Containing the albums
Catalyst, Unity, A Tear and A Smile, and Perception, the two-disc set does have
occasional moments when things sound a bit old-fashioned--like on the sets very
first track, Aint It the Truth, or the very last, a forgettable cover of the
Jackson Fives Got to Be There. But in between, things mostly sound dated in the
best way: this is the 70s, sure, but its the 70s of the far-out electrified funk
of Miles Davis, the avant-groove of Herbie Hancocks Sextant, the experimentalism
of early Weather Report, the Eastern leanings of Yusef Lateef (especially on
Odean Popes oboe solo on East), and the funky soul of Stevie Wonder. Saxophonist
Pope and pianist Eddie Green were both standout players, but what comes across
on lengthy jams like Celestial Bodies and Perception is an unshakable feeling of
group chemistry and adventurous risk-taking that makes the music here sound
remarkably fresh and farsighted. --Ezra Gale 

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