rhythm machine Rhythm Machine (double LP, £16.95)

The funk and soul of Indianapolis’ Rhythm Machine has run through 12 years’ worth of archival work at both Now-Again and Stones Throw Records: the band, and their previous incarnation, The Highlighters, were featured on the lauded ‘Funky 16 Corners’ anthology, on jukebox 45s, on a Madlib mix album, on the recently issued Soul-Cal anthology, and will appear on the forthcoming ‘Loving On The Flip Side’ compendium. Fitting time, then, for an expanded version of Rhythm Machine’s magnum opus, their solitary and self-titled 1976 album, restored from the original tapes, augmented by three previously unreleased tracks and containing an informative booklet crammed with previously unpublished photos and extensive liner notes. Rhythm Machine had undergone a series of personnel changes before they finally recorded their album for the stalwart if small local label Lulu. This accomplished showband produced an accessible mixture of funk, uptempo soul and synth-lead ballads; their album contains the masterpiece ‘Put A Smile On Time’, arguably the song that first stoked the feverish demand for original copies of this ultra-rare piece of wax. But fans turned on by will still want to hear this record in its imperfect but utterly sincere entirety. Rhythm Machine wore their hearts on their sleeves as they traversed the Midwest in the transitional period of the mid 1970s, perfecting the songs for an album containing warm, charming syncopated soul music that benefits greatly from the glimmer that the disco era’s decadence bestowed upon them. TRACK LIST : A1. You Got Action, You Got Me A2. Lil’s Place A3. Put A Smile On Time A4. Thought My Love Was Fine B1. Brenda And Me B2. Everybody’s Chippin B3. You Make Me Feel Right, Think Right, Do Right B4. Can’t Do Without You C1. Laying And Playing D1. Be Yourself D2. You Pay For What You Get