Rudy Ray Moore & the Fillmore Street Soul Rebellion – Put Your Weight On It

Mr. Rudy Ray Moore

“Listen – Put Your Weight On It MP3″

Happy Friday.
The end of the week is finally here (this is the first full week I’ve worked in the last month, so I have no right to complain). As we speak, New Jersey is in the midst of the deeply schizophrenic season that the meteorologists refer to as fall, and the rest of us call ‘What the fuck?’. This is the time of year when temperatures vary from the 40’s to the 70’s and we are alternately covered in pouring rain – like today – or frost.
I can remember when I was a kid, you were as likely to freeze your ass off on Halloween as you were to end up soaking your costume in sweat. It’s just strange.
Anyway…I was planning on posting an Earl King track, until I realized (after I’d recorded the 45 and scanned the label) that I had already posted the tune, about 18 months ago.
Ain’t that a bitch?
You’ll have to forgive my confusion, but this blog (in its Blogger and WordPress incarnations) is approaching its second anniversary, and I’ve probably posted over 200 records in that time. I can’t remember them all, and the likelihood that I may have gone back to the well for a favorite record (again) is increasing with every passing day.
This is not to say that I’m not going to bring the heat (and I will), but rather that the span of the Funky16Corners blog, and the combined size and level of disorganization of my record collection are occasionally too much to process (at least this early in the day).
That said, get ye to the Pepto Bismol, because today’s selection is good and greasy, and depending on the primitive nature of your diet, may prove unsettling if ingested before noon.
To those that know who Rudy Ray Moore is (and you really should) you generally think of his performances as Dolemite in a series of low budget, Blaxpo-karate-comedy fests in the 1970’s, or his extra filthy snap-filled party records. If you dig a little deeper you’ll soon discover that Mr. Moore also recorded a grip of R&B, soul and funk records from the mid-50’s through the 70’s. Now, I’m not going to blow smoke up your ass and suggest that Rudy was giving Sam Cooke a run for his money, but I will say that he was capable of producing some extremely tasty and raucous grooves, and today’s record is one of those.
‘Put Your Weight On It’ is billed to Rudy Ray Moore and the Fillmore Street Soul Rebellion, and it was released on at least two different labels, first on Generation, and then on Cherry Red. There may also be another release, as a different mix of this tune – with less Rudy and more FSSR – appeared on Mr. Finewine’s legendary ‘Vital Organs’ comp. I have never seen a 45 for that particular mix (which is billed as ‘Put Your Weight On It Pt1’ by the Fillmore Street Soul Rebellions), and I have no idea if the version on ‘Vital Organs’ came from a 45 or from an unreleased tape.
Either way, both versions are cool. The Hammond fiend in me prefers the organ-centric version, but the soul fan in me digs hearing Rudy Ray dropping science over the groove. I had always assumed that this record was of a late 60’s vintage, but a pretty comprehensive Rudy Ray Moore discography lists both versions of the 45 as having been released in 1964, and listening to it again, I suppose that isn’t entirely out of the question.
One weird thing about this 45, is that it sounds like whoever “mastered” it (and I use the term very loosely), did so from a rather abrupt edit of the tape (check out that crazy intro). It sounds as if the engineer was asleep at the wheel and started the tape after the band was already playing.
Speaking of the band, the drums, congas and bass create a nice dirty groove, and the organ (sounds like any number of electric combo organs) solos throughout the entire song, with brief interludes from the guitarist. I also dig the tune’s dark, nighttime vibe.
Very groovy indeed.

NOTE: Moore made at least one more 45 with the Fillmore Street Soul Rebellion, the funky ‘Turning Point’, a guitar heavy early 70’s release on the Kent label