Funk rock at its best – a funky revelation
04.03.1978 Rockpalast Grugahalle, Essen. I was 18, the year we finished high school. We regularly met at the place of some classmate already living on his own to watch Rockpalast together. By far the best TV rock show ever. Usually, one or two of us had some dope. While smoking some enormous joints, we were watching the show. It was the first time any of us ever heard of Mother’s Finest, wholly unknown in Germany. It was a revelation.
They opened up their show with Baby Love. And the way this song starts was unique. Mouths stuck wide open. Cannabis blurred eyes were even more expansive. The volume of the TV set at full. We were done. We became Mother’s Finest fans this very evening. If I remember it well, it was at F’s place in Neukölln.
May 8, 1979, Mother’s Finest played at the Metropol in Berlin. A venue for about 1k people. I went there with a friend. We had our places on the balcony and thus a perfect view on the stage. By the time, smoking was still allowed in public areas. It seems weird to imagine today. But, we were smoking some joints and enjoying this incredible, fantastic, energy loaden show. Baby Jean Kennedy was an explosion on stage.
Baby Love, the opening song starts with a very smooth synthesizer intro, followed by the first words of the verse:
„There’s no other…“ and then with an upbeat of the drums the Bam Bam Bam „to compare you…“ (I’ve got tears in my eyes when writing this report). As recorded on Mother’s Finest Live on this very tour, this opening is one of the most potent intros ever.
You can see that the „one“ is not a kick but on the hi-hat for those who understand drum notation. In fact, the drums on this song are one of my favs.
Mothers Finest live at Quasimodo November 2, 2014 @2014 rockphan aka Ulf A. Fischbeck
After one and a half hours, MF had to add two extra songs. The crowd was shouting „more. More. More…“. But, and then something I never saw before. When the Metropol lights turned on again, nobody left the hall to show that the show was over. We stayed there shouting, even more, 10 min. or so. In the end, already dressed in their streetwear, MF returned on stage and played another song.
Mother’s Finest was, to my knowledge, the first funk-rock band worldwide. Thank you …
I saw them again in the 1980ies at a festival at the Waldbühne Berlin. They were still great. Decennials later, in November 2014, they played at the Quasimodo, a famous club in Berlin. Well, seniors on stage. But yet a fantastic band. A friend of mine even contributed to their crowdfunding for their last album: Goody 2 Shoes & The Filthy Beasts.
And the ringtone of my soulmate and love of my life is Baby Love. So when my iPhone rocks in the middle of I don’t know what… I know who it is, and I smile.
rocknrolll
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