Rare Earth
Get Ready

These are 21 minutes and 36 seconds of pure energy and intense funk-rock. And we are just at the beginning, folks. We're in the far-off 1970, a year after James Brown's "Funky Drummer" and one year before Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". And for some time, many bands have been wandering around that music scene, such as Sly and the Family Stone, the Meters, and George Clinton's Parliament, just to name the most famous. And this version of "Get Ready" by Rare Earth will inevitably mark a period, laying essential foundations for musical developments that would occur some time after.

The song was originally written by Mr. William "Smokey" Robinson (of The Miracles), and produced by the historic Motown music label. For those who are not familiar with the label, we are likely talking about the most important record label concerning R&B and soul music (especially in the '60s and '70s), and not just for black artists. The sound that Motown helped develop and circulate was highly rhythmic music, with extensive use of bass and percussion, both for a certain energetic soul and to create a sound carpet to accompany melodic vocal lines (see Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye). Among the many artists who signed with Motown at the end of the '60s, we also find the Temptations and our Rare Earth (who for the record were dirty whites? : )). Both groups proposed a version of the song "Get Ready", and probably the version from the first, dating back to 1966, remains the most famous. And certainly shorter. Our Rare Earth, on the other hand, recorded a long version of the piece and released it as a single. This decision was derived from the desire to capture their live performance of the song on vinyl, with which they always closed their concerts. It is not entirely clear if the version that was recorded actually comes from a concert (you can hear the crowd's screams from time to time), or not. But the fact remains that Rare Earth left us a great piece of music, where each band member is given room for a "solo" with their instrument. The structure of the song is not particularly complicated, but highly effective: after all, it simply serves to make feet move and hearts bounce, and it does this very well.

John Parrish: bass guitar
Kenny James: keyboards
Rod Richards: guitar, background vocals
Gil Bridges: saxophone, background vocals
Pete Rivera: drums, lead vocals

So, the song... After a slow start introduced by the keyboards, with the complicity of slightly psychedelic guitar strokes, the sax gently introduces a beautiful melody. Thus begin to arrive the sly bass and the very rhythmic drums, still with the guitar in the background, up until about the second minute, where slowly, in a gradual crescendo, delirium ensues. The bass/drums combo then truly kicks off until we reach the sung part of the song, complete with background vocals. Around the fifth minute, the real solos start: in order: bass; keyboards (ethereal and fast); guitar (acidic, with keyboards in the distance); sax; and drums (wild and bouncing). After the solos, the drums speed up again, and the track resumes. The sung part starts again, up to the end of the 21 minutes and more. At least once, you have to listen. No excuses...

The thing to emphasize is that, at the time, black people used to gather in large spaces, perhaps indoors, and listen to records while dancing: these were the so-called "dance parties": and tracks like this gave the opportunity (given the duration and the dizzying rhythms) to vent their instincts as dancers, always inventing new and original movements. Only a few years later, around 1975, such events would grow exponentially, giving rise to a true musical and cultural revolution within black communities: the birth of so-called Rap. In New York, historic DJs like GrandMaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Clive "Hercules" Campbell would gain great fame. The latter is somewhat identified as the initiator of the genre, as well as the owner, at that time, of the most extensive funky 45s discography in the Bronx. Among his records, one of the most played remains this piece by Rare Earth. And on these funky notes all the best dancers in the Bronx challenged each other dancing in seedy discos like Plaza Tunnel, all night long. In short, this record really smells of history.

Whether GrandMaster Flash surpassed "Hercules" in fame is not for me to say. Because that's another story, and so I leave it in the far more qualified hands of ZiOn and co.

Let's funk!! (you can choose to change the last two letters of the word...)