A DOSE OF PSYCHEDELIC FUNK & BLUE-EYED SOUL !!!

It's been a minute since Perfect Toy Records last hooked you up with a wild ride down that ol' psych-soul highway but the blacktop beckons once more with the sourcing of material for Down & Wired Vol. 6 by veteran follower of the 'way of the dusty crate' - Chan The Man!

This release opens with two consecutive covers, the first of which is What's Happening's instrumental Latin-jazzy cover version of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang followed by Hercules & The Black Majic's raw take on counter-culture anthem War. Then it's the turn of E.S. Grit to deliver proto-stoner rock on Petty Insinuations and Canadians the Klaas Craats Six to unleash a heady cocktail of funky psychedelia and garage fuzz on their sole 45 release. Mercy Men's Fifth Street, by contrast, delivers unadulterated deep funk and is followed by blistering funky rock on Staff & Managements' aptly-named instrumental, Fresh Dirt.

The second half of this collection is opened by two amazing finds - Snapdragon's super-funky organ-led Hardluck and Ron Lynch & Bene Regesh's psychedelic garage-rock number Evil Woman. Subsequently, Carolina Tikis and The Raiders keep the revs up with a brace of instrumentals - funky garage rock and a garage/RnB hybrid respectively - which are slipstreamed by some uplifting bubblegum guitar fuzz from The Cynch. The final cut is an unreleased live recording from Mike Peace & Filet of Soulpitched somewhere between garage rock and 'country funk'and while it may havestanky lo-fi production values it is not only one of the best cuts on the entire release but the band have arguably the funkiest rhythm section too!

In short, it's another triumphant set of dope obscurities (once againaccompanied by detailed liner notes and never-before-seen photos of the artists) and a tribute to the dusty-fingered digging skills of Chan The Man.

15/10