One of the perennial favorites this morning, The Average White band recorded by BBC Radio 1’s In Concert Series.
Most UK bands of the ’70s approached black styles, generally older ones, from a rock-centric position. Scotland’s cheekily named Average White Band, though, directly engaged with current soul and funk trends to musical and commercial success. AWB, their second album and an American Number One, marked their debut with legendary Atlantic Records producer Arif Mardin. It finds the sextet adeptly handling everything from the instrumental dance groove “Pick Up the Pieces” — still one of the era’s emblematic singles — and a creditable remake of the Isley Brothers’ “Work to Do,” to the mellower slant of “Nothing You Can Do” and “Got the Love.” As fans of the genre, Average White Band could have been nothing but pleased at connecting with the soul audience, which eventually gave them more than a dozen hits on the R&B chart.
A quote from Tiggerlion of The Afterword about the 1974 period.
Soul music was evolving in 1974. The germs of Disco were taking hold. Funk and Black Consciousness were mainstream. Average White Band combine the flexibility of Earth, Wind & Fire with the smooth songcraft of Smokey Robinson. For Soul music, the apex of the album as a medium was in the mid seventies, and AWB was right up there with the very best. The album and its jubilant funky single were slow burners. By the time they were reaching the top of the Billboard charts, they were sharing radio plays with That’s The Way Of The World and A Quiet Storm. In February 1975, the LP hit the very top and Pick Up The Pieces became that rare beast, an instrumental American number one. There have been just twenty-five instrumentals topping the US chart, but five were dance tracks in 1974 & 1975: Love Unlimited Orchestra, MFSB, Van McCoy and Silver Convention are the other four. Nevertheless, the band were surprised to see it released as the single. It took a while for DJs to take notice, but it dominated the early 1975 airwaves. James Brown, no less, was impressed. Either that, or he was annoyed they’d ripped off Hot Pants Road. The JBs, under the name AABB (Above Average Black Band) scored with Pick Up The Pieces, One By One, including the expense of a string section. It was a proud moment for the boys from Scotland, regardless of the motivation.
Okay – now dig in:
