Funk (Music)

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker says Black Messiah is as adventurous as any fan could hope for.

If you've been wondering where Prince has gone, he's re-signed with Warner Brothers Records after spending the last few years of sporadic independent releases. Now Prince has released two new albums simultaneously: Art Official Age appears under his own name, and PlectrumElectrum is the debut record of a Prince back-up band called 3rdEyeGirl, but it includes Prince's vocals, guitar, and production style throughout. Fresh Air critic Ken Tucker has a review of both albums.

Two fine albums by drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society, Man Dance and its sequel Barbeque Dog, are now available again as downloads, after being out of print for ages. Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead says they're prime examples of the 1980s' so-called "free-funk" movement.

Dedicated and curious music fans are regularly finding new chapters in rock history from around the globe. Critic Milo Miles reviews one recent collection, a series of anthologies focusing on the lively story of vintage pop in Panama.

Blending funk, hip-hop, and jazz sounds, the New Orleans-based band Galactic combines musical genres to create a new sound that they make their own. Critic Ken Tucker says heir newest album Ya-Ka-May is a true rhythmic pleasure.

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Boo!, the new album from the band Was (Not Was). It's the band's first full-length disc since 1993.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews Ocho's album "The Best of Ocho."

Music critic Milo Miles reviews the new CD "Funk Power," a collection of recordings by James Brown and the J.B.'s during the heydey of his 1970s funk period.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews funk legend George Clinton's new CD "T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M."

Review of the CD box sets "Emperors of Soul" by The Temptations and "Anthology: 1970-1994" by War.