The Counts What's Up Front That-Counts (LP, colored Vinyl, Ltd.)

(Westbound Records) 9 tracks, lavender marbled vinyl, imitated edition, includes 3 previously unreleased Bounus tracks

Out of print on vinyl for nearly two decades, Ace is proud to reissue this beauty.
Formed in Michigan in 1964 as the Fabulous Counts, the Counts released two singles, "Jan Jan" and "Get Down People," on the Moira label in 1968 and 1969 that became R&B hits. This led to the album "Jan Jan", which was released by Cotillion in 1969.
The lineup picked up by Westbound to record "What's Up Front That Counts" consisted of Mose Davis (organ), Leroy Emmanuel (guitar), Demetrius Cates (saxophone) and Andrew Gibson (drums). Although tenor player Jim White can be seen on the cover picture, he left the band shortly before the album was recorded. Extended, mostly instrumental tracks such as 'Why Not Start All Over Again' and the title track are now regarded as some of the juiciest funk ever recorded in the studio. Shorter tracks like 'Rhythm Changes', 'Thinking Single' and 'Bills' are just as sweet. What gives the album such a strong musical chemistry is the fact that the Counts were jazz musicians who grew up listening to Miles Davis and were also partial to the funk of James Brown and Sly & The Family Stone, so every track is characterized by groovy interplay. You could say that this is the sound Miles Davis was trying to find on his early 70s albums.
The Counts went on tour with Funkadelic and recorded more singles and albums, but this 1971 album remains an absolute classic. The track "What's Up Front That Counts" has been sampled by artists such as Queen Latifah and Eric B & Rakim and keeps the Counts' music firmly in the memory of a young, contemporary audience.