DATAFILE - 01.09.07: Catalogue reviews.

Paul Young: The Secret Of Association (Edsel EDSD 2006)

It didn't quite match the sales of its illustrious predecessor, No Parlez, but Paul Young's second album was still a significant success, topping the charts in 1985 and spawning four Top 20 hits (I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down, Everything Must Change, Everytime You Go Away and Tomb Of Memories) on its way to double-platinum certification. Young's distinctive blue-eyed soul voice was perfectly complemented by a tight and funky band, in which Pino Palidino's distinct guitar figures were key. This fully annotated set, priced to sell at less than #10, adds a bonus CD featuring b-sides and 12-inch mixes, many of which appear on CD for the first time here.

Funkadelic: Maggot Brain (Westbound CDHP 30)

Of all the albums in Funkadelic's extensive back catalogue, Maggot Brain sells most copies year-in year-out, and its sales should be boosted again by the release of this excellent hip pocket release, which dresses it in a double-cardboard LP sleeve replica. The stunning title track starts with a bizarre "Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time, for y'all have knocked her up" spoken intro from George Clinton, but this quickly gives way to a superb, virtuoso guitar instrumental solo provided by Eddie Hazel. Although it is accompanied by a gentle underlying guitar theme and some very subtle touches, it features some blistering touches from Hazel, and does not outstay its welcome, even at 10 minutes-plus. The rest of the album is made up of tuneful, vocal funk tracks with more than a hint of psychedelia, blues and gospel.

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