The Detroit Guitar Band

Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band – Evolution (Remastered) (1971/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 32:46 minutes | 636 MB | Genre: Funk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sussex Records

Dennis Coffey’s Sussex label debut remains his most consistent and rewarding LP, not to mention his most commercially successful. Evolution delivers precisely what its title promises, spotlighting Coffey’s growth as a guitarist and as a composer. Its infectious centerpiece “Scorpio” reached the R&B Top Ten, buoyed by Coffey’s ear-grabbing guitar intro and a Hall of Fame drum break that is the source for an endless number of samples. The leadoff cut, “Getting It On,” has proven no less fecund, its opening guitars and Andrew Smith’s drums bit off by both the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy. But Evolution also charts the development of Coffey’s skills as an arranger, cherry-picking elements of rock, funk, and soul to create a unique sound not too far removed from jazz fusion. Somehow he even transforms Led Zeppelin’s blues-rock behemoth “Whole Lotta Love” into a vacuum-packed funk groove.

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Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band – Electric Coffey (1972/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 30:12 minutes | 584 MB | Genre: Funk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sussex Records

Although its myriad zodiac-inspired titles might suggest that Electric Coffey does little but rehash the punishing funk of Dennis Coffey’s classics “Scorpio” and “Taurus,” in truth it ranks alongside the guitarist’s most ambitious and accomplished LPs, exploring a vast swath of musical geography spanning from psychedelic soul to blues-rock. A monster drum break and deep-fried production conspire to make “Son of Scorpio” the sought-after cut among DJs, but Electric Coffey is much more than the sum of its parts. Coffey empties out his bag of studio tricks for “Capricorn’s Thing” and “The Sagittarian,” while “Love Song for Libra” and the acoustic “Lonely Moon Child” illustrate a newfound grasp of atmosphere and nuance.

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