Bustin' Loose

Though he’s revered as a musical legend in his native Washington D.C., most listeners are familiar with Chuck Brown only through his massive 1982 smash “Bustin’ Loose” which, with its staccato, timbale-laced rhythms and relentless chants established the template of the D.C. style known as Go-Go. Chuck Brown and his Soul Searchers began their love affair with heavy funk and intricate syncopation in the early ‘70s, crafting underground funk classics like “Blow Your Whistle” and “Funk to the Folks.” On Bustin’ Loose Chuck Brown has whipped his Soul Searchers into finely tuned funk perfection. The colossal title track borrows a healthy dollop of James Brown’s inimitable funk and sweetens the pot with swathes of flailing percussion, frantic breakdowns and an infamously funky bridge. For the most part the rest of Bustin’ Loose replicates this unbeatable formula. Though a few somnolent ballads interrupt the flow of the album, Bustin’ Loose remains a cornerstone of the Go-Go genre, and is one of the finest funk albums of the early ‘80s.