"Everybody, everybody, wanna know… What is soul?" Back for the first time in 40 years! Tomorrow's People consisted of 4 brothers (Kevin, Maurice, Gerald, and Timothy Burton) from South Chicago, and the soul-funk group released Open Soul through Stage Productions in 1976. The record has since become a holy grail for collectors, and Melodies International Ltd., a reissue label helmed by Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points, has brought back the 5-tracker (feel free to check prices on vinyl marketplaces for og copies). Much of the conversation concerning the LP starts around the epic 20-minute title track, which apparently was not a written piece and/or rehearsed(!!!). It begins with cosmic-soul vibes created by warm keys and guitar riffs, then around the 2-minute mark, the funk explodes with percussion, simple-yet-effective bass work, and the catchy chanting that gets at the burning question: "What is soul?" The answer lies in tunes like "Lovers To Friends," "It Ain't Fair," and "Hurry On Up Tomorrow," but also, don't sleep on the funk-disco bump of "Let's Get Down With The Beat." Remastered from meticulously sourced copies of the original pressing (the masters / tapes were destroyed some time ago), includes Tomorrow's People goodies and an interview w/ one of the Burton brothers. Recommended.

• includes interview with a Burton brother
• music label: Melodies International Ltd. 1976 / 2017

reviewed by enak light 04/2017