This is what I get for saying "I know" about something I've never listened to. CFP did not sound at all like what I thought it would. I'll get to what it does sound like in a moment, but first, was I right about anything?
Well, I nodded to doubts about the idea that there was some kind of Arizona sound that could be made to stand out in funk and I was right there; apart from a mention of the state's name in Work It Out there's nothing here that's geographically unique. CFP is not the Calexico of soul, alas.
I was also wondering about just how psychedelic the disc would actually be, and the answer is: not very. And there my crystal ball went dark, as I discovered seconds into the opening track, as a dreamy synth intro gave way to electrofunk. I'd made a lot of guesses, but none of them were: "Allen L. Barnes is really, really into Prince and it shows."
Cactus Funk Psychedelic does not sound like P-Funk or the Ohio Players, they don't sound like '90s R&B (thank G-d), and they don't sound like anything I remember going on in 2000, though to be fair I was drinking a lot at the time. Nope, this sucker is marinated in purple. I'm sure musicians and recording engineers could pick out millennial sonics, but I'm neither and if all I had was the music and you told me this was from 1984 I'd believe you.
I also believed, at first, that I was in for a very long 59 minutes. This came about, again, early in the first track when a smooth jazz soprano sax, the most dreaded sound in the musical universe, came in. But instead of dominating the tune and reducing it to something for elevators to have sex to, it became integrated and de-glooped. I was too busy thanking my lucky stars that disaster had been averted to realize just how impressive that was--like making a non-poisonous dish out of a deadly mushroom.
Maybe it was because I still thought the song was just pretty good, although Barnes's prowess as a producer, musician, and engineer were on full display. He ably plays bass, keys, sax, drums (or electronic versions thereof) and guitar (though there's only so much of it), and has the musical imagination to fit them all together with some very clever layering and overdubs, plus the album's faultlessly recorded and all the instruments are well-balanced. But as for quality tunes, the record's a slow build that sneaks up on you.
From the moment the soprano syrup defies all logic and precedent in the best possible way, the disc's at least enjoyable. But track by track it gets better and better. All the songs have a similar sound, and almost all of them start with a synth wash followed by bass bouncing in to kick things off. And they all have that 1980s sound where funk was corralled into tight rhythms without becoming disco or sucking--still not sure how that's possible but you know what I mean, and if you don't, listen to any of Prince's hits.
But they also all sound different from each other, and as the album went on the quality steadily increased. I went from thinking it wasn't bad to enjoying it, and then really liking it on Work It Out. My notes say "some serious funk here, still very Prince but Prince at his most real funk, and there’s a few things in there His Purpleness wouldn’t have done. Great layering, really cool guitar tone, lots of interlocking pieces, popping bass, and avoidance of places it could have gone obvious. This is really good."
So are the three songs that follow, and they keep getting more and more innovative. Some albums run out of gas at the end, Cactus Funk Psychedelic pours rocket fuel in the tank. Wontcha Be My Lover opens with a terrific percussion and vocal call and response for at least 30 seconds before there's anything else, I've Been Watching You does a similar trade off between synth and bass, then seamlessly mixes them together and adds nasty wah-wah guitar, and closer Do You Wanna Get Funky answers with a resounding "yes!" It's fast and propulsive, brings in some organ, and then in an instrumental bridge we get a solo on what is either sitar or, more likely, a sitar setting on the keyboard. Hot damn dude, Prince never thought to do that. And hey, that makes it psychedelic after all. I'm glad I picked this up; given the questionable lifespan of CDRs I'll be sure to rip a digital copy.
Info: I went to the Voxboro Studio URL on the back cover and wasn't surprised to find a dead site. The Internet Archive's latest snapshot was taken in 2011, and it looks like there was never much there to start with. Searching the net for the band name finds listings, but no actual music, on several streaming services. Bizarrely, there are hits on Amazon Music India and Amazon Music Brazil, but nothing in Amazon's American site. The Brazil site has eight (!) other CFP albums; I will definitely check them out and probably buy them. Wish I could get 'em on CD, but considering what an unexpected delight this album was, I'll take it in whatever form I can.
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