(November 27, 2020) The Smudge All-Stars is a funk collective and the brainchild of Richie Stevens. Stevens had a vision of making a funk album in 2020 that captured the essence of the energy that the music created in the 1970s when giants such as the P-Funk family ruled the earth. Stevens had a connection to that era through living legends such as George Clinton, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley.
The band’s very good self-titled album, which drops today, includes those three legends and artists from Britain, Jamaica and the United States. The Smudge All-Stars includes two songs fronted by Clinton and we showcase the “Headache” in this First Listen.
“Headache” is a funky torch song that is deep in the one. It features some P-Funk staples like clever lyricism, a pounding bass line, and those church inspired choral backing vocals that distinguished classic jams like “Flashlight.” Then of course there is George Clinton and his stream of conscious monolog that has him explaining the unexplainable – mainly the special kind of pain that accompanies the absence of someone whose presence he once took for granted. Check out “Headache” here.
By Howard Dukes
The Smudge All-Stars feat. George Clinton
“Headache”
