(June 28, 2024) Back in the day, if I was at a party or a club and I heard a big, thumping and plucking bass line like the one in “Take It Down,” the straight up banger by Patrick Adams (feat. Jesse Johnson on guitar), I might have actually had a chance to get a lady on the dance floor. I mean, the two left feet of this wallflower nerd would have been propelled toward the line of females moving to the rhythm. I would have been ready to take that chance.
This song simply has everything that a hard core fans loved about late 70s and early 80s funk. Of course, that bass comes from a player schooled by listening to Larry Graham, Bootsy, Louis Johnson and all of the other heroes of the four string.
There’s the touch of rock coming from Jesse Johnson’s slashing guitar solo, and the party anthem lyrics about going to the club and approaching that woman that you’ve admired from afar. There’s even a dash of hip-hop added to show that Adams also learned rap, rock and funk fusion from Run DMC and the Roots.
Johnson’s presence means that we must acknowledge the influence of Minneapolis luminaries and legends like The Time, and – of course – Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson himself. Adams also hails from Minneapolis, and he’s performed with Graham and George Clinton and written for Morris Day. It shows on “Take It Down” that this young man knows what he’s doing. Listen to him work here.
By Howard Dukes
