Mass Production — The Definitive Collection

Mass Production were a ten-piece Funk/ Disco band from Norfolk, Virginia- and during the late ’70s to early 80’s the band put out eight albums, and had a handful of low key hits. So while the band where one of the lesser-known names in the flare shaking 'n' glitter ball spinning stakes, they put out than more a few finger-snapping & body-jiving tracks in their time, and this recent three-CD set brings together the cream of the crop from their singles, B sides and album tracks.

The three-disc set appears on the more funk/ soul/ disco focused Cherry Red sub-label Robinsongs. The CD’s are laid out in a fold-out digipak- this features sky blue, white, yellow & black color scheme- with sadly the cover artwork been one of the least inspired I’ve seen in some time-  it features the bands large fount glimmering logo, and a backdrop of stock footage clouds- so certainly this time you can’t judge a release by its cover. In the set we get a glossy 16-page booklet- this takes in a new write–up about the band by Mojo’s Charles Waring, cover art, single labels & band photos.

The bands' origins begin back in 1960’s Norfolk Virginia- when two music-obsessed teen brothers Richardo(Drums) and Tyrone Willams( keyboards) formed a band called The Movements with their school buddies. Over the next ten years the pair became seasoned veterans of the local live scene, taking musical cues from the likes of Kook & The Gang, Sly And The Family Stone, and Blood, Sweat & Tears- in the early 1970 the band switched their name to Mass production- with the ten-piece line-up taking in Kevin "D'No" Douglas (bass and vocals), James "Otiste" Drumgole (trumpet, flugelhorn, and vocals), Agnes "Tiny" Kelly (lead vocals, vocoder), Larry Marshall (lead vocals, percussion), Gregory McCoy (saxophone), Emmanuel Redding (percussion), Ricardo Williams (lead vocals, drums, percussion), Tyrone Williams (keyboards), Rodney Phelps (lead guitar, keyboards) and LeCoy Bryant (rhythm guitar, vocals). With the band releasing their first album in 1976 entitled Welcome To Our World.

This three-disc set roughly flows in a fairly chronology manner- with the first disc taking in tracks from between 1976-79 on disc one, 1978- 1980 on disc two, and 1976- 1983 on disc three- with this third disc been topped off with seven-inch versions of some of their key single tracks. As you’d expect with such a large band, the sound here is often fairly dense & layered in its feel- though they can be fairly sprightly & varied enough- considering the genre, so, for the most part, the three-disc set is relatively varied in the type of tracks. Of the three discs, I’d say the second is my favourite, as we get a good mixture of memorable tunes, layered & often synth swirled production.

So I’ll stop off at a few key points/ sonically worthy moments through the whole set. The first disc kicks off with the bands first single 1976 "Welcome To Our World( Of Merry Music)"- this is joint male & female sung funk track with a blend of jiving organ, piano and horn work, all topped with a strutting guitar riff- it’s ok to start, but does lack identity, & feels a little sonically grounded- lacking true memorability. As the first disc moves on we do though have more worthy fare- we go from sliding & smooth laid back groove of “Just A Song” with its sing-song swirling male/ female vocals, buzzing keys & mellow horn purr. Or the classic jiving disco of “Cosmic Lust” with its instrumental blend spiral spacey synth swoops & urgent jabbing horn work. The head bobbing & shoulder shaking “Watch Me Do It” with its tight stabbing synth bass line, swaying horns & layered female & cool cat male vocals.

Onto the second disc, and as I mentioned early, this disc takes in some of the best work. We go from the sultry soul love groove of “Slow Bump” with its smooth ‘n’ sleek bass, slow chugging horn work, spiralling percussion hits & falsetto male/ female vocals. “Firecracker” which was one of the band's biggest hits, and it’s easy to see why as it features a wonderful pulsing blend squelchy bass synth & tight funk guitar struts, and Cameo like male vocals. Moving there is the disco soul jive and swoon of “Going To Make Love” with great sailing ‘n’ wailing female lead vocals. Through to darting ‘n’ grooving Hammond meets vibe, horn, and synth embellishment of instrumental track “Shante” which later on has a great emotive-to-jiving flute break down. With the disc been topped off with cheesy‘n’ hip-shaking wow-wow fed bass, snapping beats & wavering female vocals of “Forever”.

The third & final disc only features ten unheard tracks- as it’s topped off with seven 7 inch single cuts of single tracks. And these ten tracks certainly feel a lot more 80’s like in their feel- we go from the lightly zinging-pop rock funk “Bopp”- which sounds like a less sleaze instrumental version of early Prince. The head-nodding & bouncing disco soul-funk of “Maybe, Maybe”. The cowbell percussion meets scrubbing funk guitar strut & brash horn work of “Inner City” featuring a rousing male & female chorus. Or the stabbing & sleek synth-funk meets sampled & vocoder of “Victory 83”. This third disc is ok, but really does one need seven-inch versions of tracks?. Anyway, if you enjoy more 80’s focused funk/ soul disco you’ll enjoy the first ten tracks here.

It’s great to see Robinsongs digging up more obscure funk/ disco bands like Mass Production- and this three-disc set certainly highlights some of the greatest moments. Sure as you’d expect some of what’s on offer here does lack it’s own identity, as the band where clearly mimic other more known/ popular bands in the genres- but there are some worthy moments here, making it certainly worth picking up if you have a taste for all things funky/ grooving from the late 70’s-to-early ’80s.