Chuck Simmons - Hustler's Strut (2003)

Chuck Simmons' "Hustler's Strut, Pts. 1-2" is everything you could ever hope to find in a rare funk side -- its chicken-scratch guitar, regal horns, and percolating rhythm add up to an epic groove so tight you could bounce a quarter off the damn thing. Unfortunately, it's far and away the apotheosis of Simmons' otherwise forgettable career, and the remaining 15 tracks comprising Funky Delicacies' Hustler's Strut suffer mightily in its shadow. Simmons is a mediocre vocalist at best, ill-equipped to transcend the horribly cheesy arrangements plaguing cuts like "Don't Create Complications" and "Something's Going On in My Home" -- and even though the subtitle tags these recordings as products of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, there's little to no regional flavor spicing up the mix, further contributing to the music's facelessness. Ironically, given Funky Delicacies' reputation for poor mastering and reproduction, the sound quality here is consistent and sharp throughout -- it's just a shame the treatment wasn't afforded to more memorable material. ~ Jason Ankeny