EUGENE McDANIELS
Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse (Label M)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Gene McDaniels had a string of top forty hits in the early sixties, with songs like "100 Pounds Of Clay," "Tower Of Strength" and "Chip, Chip" before he seemingly disappeared. While Gene was gone from the pop world, Eugene was reborn in the jazz and R&B scene, writing the Les McCann/Eddie Harris hit (yep, a jazz *hit* - not too many songwriters with one of those!) "Compared To What" and the Roberta Flack smash "Feel Like Making Love." He kept on performing, too, as Eugene McDaniels, the Left Rev. McD. In that guise, he produced two classic soul-funk albums, Outlaw and Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse. While neither provided a commercial breakthrough on their initial releases, both have entered the annals of legend, commanding premium prices in the collector's vinyl and import reissue markets.

This Label M release is the first US re-issue of Headless Heroes, which has been out of print here for nearly three decades. There is no longer any excuse for everyone not to have this hugely influential album. Of course, hip hop fans already have parts of it, in the form of samples on albums by groups ranging from A Tribe Called Quest to the Beastie Boys, and funk fans who don't have it know they should. If you like R&B, soul jazz, topical songs or great music in any of it's various dimensions, you should have it too.

This isn't a re-issue, it's an immeasurable service to the music loving public. Maybe, just maybe, if each and every one of you goes out and buys this thing today, we might get a dose of Outlaw next. So just do it, dammit.

Track List:

The Lord Is Back * Jagger The Dagger * Lovin' Man * Headless Heroes * Susan Jane * Freedom Death Dance * Supermarket Blues * The Parasite

© 2001 - Shaun Dale