Commodores (1976) Captain Quickdraw - LOST 70s GEMS

The Commodores 1976 collection, Hot on the Tracks was a strong, heavy funk leaning album and probably their last before their classic Ballad phase would begin, one thing always missing particularly from their commercial peak were clavinet instrumentals penned by Milan Williams, the founding keyboardist of the group who kick started the band's career with the Billy Preston sounding track Machine Gun on their 74 debut.

But before we get to the highlight let's examine the album proper, there is Girl, I Think the World About You which manages to mix the sultry Disco sound with Lionel Ritchie's soul sensibilities and a heavy funk guitar and horn backing. High on Sunshine sounds exactly like Ron Ayer's Moog driven sunshine jams, Just to Be Close to You is like a very gospel soul take on the Carpenters, Fancy Dancer and Come Inside both feature a pre-Brickhouse, tight bass groove. The entrance of strings and angelic choral stacks for their new ballad sound was intermingling peacefully with their pumping horn driven sound creating a bizarre AC Easy Listening sound that's dripping in big band funk.


After Rapid Fire and Machine Gun on the first album and I'm Ready and Cebu on their next albums, Captain Quickdraw is the last in the Milan Williams' canon heavy instrumental jams. His contribution was original but sadly hardly ever given much space on the albums, here the tracks starts with a slapping drum beat as the standard funk rhythms slide in, primarily clavinet, horns and bass. Then some of William's quirkiness comes through as a synthesizer plays a short CB radio ident which sounds like a high pitched whistle; a short little motif that precedes William's spoken word verses where in his thick Alabama accent delivers some wry social commentary on a crackly Trucker CB radio. Then comes the soulful Sly Stone styled funk chorus with pumping horns before Williams returns drawling on about 'that Watergate city' up on 'that big house on the hill', it's very 1976 as he states his position on the corrupt government in a creative way through the voice of a Captain Quick draw, a CB name. The squealing, pitchy CB radio whistle signal reproduced through synthesizer is awesome along with the melodious funk chords; the song ends in several overlapping CB transmissions talking over each other, maybe in some political dig, who knows the funk still works!