THE LOST FUNK OF THE MONTGOMERY EXPRESS
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The Montgomery Movement by The Montgomery Express
I think we all like listening to "lost" music or music that never gained any traction when it was originally released. When it finally becomes popular or finds appreciation, as in the case of the lost music of Rodriguez or Nick Drake, its a very humbling feeling. It makes you feel like anything is possible.
The following artist is lost and probably will never be found. How did I stumble upon it? I can't even remember. The band is a funk/soul outfit called The Montgomery Express from Florida and their 1974 album is The Montgomery Movement. There are zero reviews of this album on amazon. In my google search, I found a few blog posts by writers who probably stumbled upon the music by accident. Now, should you look through your uncle's funk and soul vinyl collection and happen to find a copy of The Montgomery Movement, keep it safe! Used copies run around $450.
It took seconds only of listening to the opening title track of their album The Montgomery Movement for me to pay attention. A quick and simple jam, "The Montgomery Movement" is built upon a slightly dissonant, cry-baby wha, guitar riff. It is a guitar players dream! Totally irresistable. Track two, "Who" is a ballad and the first song with vocals. It is just as effective. The expectations are set pretty high for the rest of the album and unfortunately, the remaining six tracks never quite reach the grandeur of the opening quarter of the The Montgomery Movement. Good not great, but still absolutely worth listening to. Still, If funk and soul is your thang, then do whatchu wanna do. Me? I think whatchu wanna do is put this album on soon. Do it.
Not like it matters, but the two singers Paul Montgomery and Charles Atkins are both blind. I think blind people would probably find including such a fact superfluous. Unless someone commissions printing this blog into a braille text, I don't think they will read this article anyway.
The Montgomery Movement by The Montgomery Express
