SOUL CITY ORCHESTRA — Meal Ticket (lp)

A great name. A great cover. And - of course - outstanding library music. Soul City Orchestra's Meal Ticket houses titanic funk, mellow groove and symphonic disco-soul. Released in 1977 on Rouge, a subsidiary of the prestigious and long-established British library label Music De Wolfe, Meal Ticket was crafted by the studio band Soul City Orchestra (a pseudonym for the De Wolfe in-house composers Chris Rae & Franck McDonald). The driving instrumental funk-rock of the A Side is enhanced with strings and no little drama. However, it's undoubtedly the peerless flipside that makes this record an essential part of any collection. Head straight to highlight "Chamber Maid"; insistent, conga-driven funky rock with lashings of string-heightened drama. It's sophisticated, classical and deeply classy. The majestic, powerfully emotive "Sore Head" contains an excellent intro drum break and sultry slo-mo disco breaks throughout. It's low-key stunning. With a few melodic switch-ups, it's symphonic soul heaven and is comfortably the best and most beautifully crucial track on Side A. The breezy, Philly soul-tinged "Short Change", its intense strings reminiscent of the Salsoul Orchestra and TSOP, presents an easy-glide funk that's just irresistible. The funky, cool and slick AF "Wheeling And Dealing" is laconic flute and string-propelled sophisticated mid-tempo disco soul. It's worth the price of admission alone. The breezy, mellowed out disco-funk workout "The Jam" is a deliciously slinky and sophisticated soul strut. Try not swaggering into the club with this in your head next time you venture into the murky world of "the night". Just ace. The crowning glory is the sweeping, sublime symphonic disco breaks of horn-infused "Soul City Drive", an absolute monster of radiant heavy soul-funk à la Barry White with great string & brass arrangement. Basically, this is essential for all groove-aficionados. The audio for Meal Ticket has been meticulously remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.