Mel Brown Chicken Fat (LP, 180g Vinyl)

(Verve Records) 9 tracks, gatefold cover.

Guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 Impulse! debut may be the funkiest and most unique album ever released on the label. Brown's clean blues picking, acquired in the bands of John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker, blends funkily with the swinging soul-jazz organ of Gerald Wiggins. Of particular note are the title track, "Greasy Spoon," and the smoldering lament of "I'm Goin' to Jackson." Audio transferred from analog tapes.

Verve Records / UMe and Third Man Records have teamed up to revive the popular "Verve By Request" reissue series with a vinyl twist. Focusing on rare gems and fan-requested jazz albums from the Verve Label Group portfolio, the series will offer two titles each month - each hand-picked by Verve and Third Man Records. Among the records are long out-of-print titles from the vault as well as the very first vinyl pressings of albums released in the '90s and '80s that were originally released only on CD.
The albums, when available, will be remastered from original analog sources and pressed on 180-gram audiophile-quality vinyl at Third Man Pressing in Detroit.

The series begins on November 11 with a tribute to Third Man's birthplace with two of Detroit's finest albums, Alice Coltrane's "Ptah, the El Daoud" (1970) and Roy Brooks' long out-of-print "Beat" (1964). The show continues Dec. 9 with "Chicken Fat," blues guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 Impulse! debut, and James Brown's "Soul on Top," on which the Godfather of Soul is accompanied by an 18-piece band.

Guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 Impulse! debut is possibly the funkiest as well as most unusual album ever released on the label. Brown's fluid blues-picking style - which he acquired while playing in the bands of John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker - garnishes the swinging soul-jazz organ of Gerald Wiggins. Special highlights include the title track, "Greasy Spoon," and the blues-soaked "I'm Goin' to Jackson."