Needle Time

  Osiris - O-Zone [MAR-2234 USA 1979 24-Bit FLAC] O-Zone was the second album by Washington DC funk outfit Osiris, fronted by Osiris Marsh, aided & abetted by right-hand man Maceo Bond on keyboards and Fred Wesley on horns. Since its release back in 1979, it had never been reissued until a Japanese import CD appeared in 2020 closely followed by a seven-inch single of the wonderful  Prelude (Is It Clear) , again in Japan only.  The other two heavy funk workouts from side one formed two great singles back in the US back during the seventies, however did little to attract the market to Osiris at time of release, however interest in the band was to grow when their 1981 album, Osiris The Band! album was repacked for the UK as the splendid War On The Bullshit . I picked up this album back in 1988, when there was a growing market for cut-out US dance imports among specialist (mostly) London retailers. I am pretty sure it came out of a box from the back of a transit van ful...

  Osiris - War On The Bullshit [LP ATTACK 1 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] UK indie label Cherry Red set up a short-liveddance subsidiary Baad! Records which managed to release a few records before closing in 1988 (just as dance music really took off). The label was run by "Evil" Eddie Richards who went on to champion house music in the UK. Its brief was to license dance product from the US for the UK market and so offer an alternative to expensive 12" imports. The first release was the classic Art Of Drums by Macattack, closely followed by the stomping & heavy funk 10 minute statement,  War On The Bullshit  by Osiris. Osiris Marsh was a long term fixture of the Washington DC music scene who developed his hard gritty funk sound with such contempories as Van McCoy and Gil Scott Heron from doo-wop through to gospel, soul then funk, recording his best work as local disciplines such as rap and Go-Go grew in popularity. With his music only previously available on import in the UK...