The Round Robin Monopoly - Alpha

The Round Robin Monoply's funk-soul extravaganza Alpha!

Back on vinyl for the first time in 50 years!

Cut from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, tip-on jacket

A rare psychedelic-funk nugget from Stax Records' vaults, The Round Robin Monopoly's funk-soul extravaganza Alpha returns to vinyl for the first time in 50 years! Evoking the feeling of a car chase scene in a mid-'70s action movie, Alpha lives right at the intersection of top-notch musicianship and immaculate vibes.

Featuring the frequently sampled track "Life Is Funky" (as heard in tracks by The Chemical Brothers, LL Cool J, Ice-T, and Public Enemy), this is the latest title in the Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf Series. Alpha was cut from the original analog tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Rounding out the package is a tip-on jacket, replicating the album's original artwork.

Led by the Los Angeles-based singer and keyboardist "Round" Robin Lloyd (who gained a following in the '60s with regional hits like "Do The Slauson" and the mod-era "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann"), The Round Robin Monopoly was one of a handful of bands that Lloyd assembled during his career. 1974's Alpha (released on Stax's short-lived Truth imprint) marked the group's sole full-length. Despite the album's deliciously inspired blend of funk, psychedelic pop, and R&B, Alpha never received the fanfare that it so deserved-perhaps due in part to the fact that Stax shuttered its doors less than a year after its release.

In the decades that followed, however, the album gained an underground following, coveted by crate-diggers and DJs around the globe. Single "Life Is Funky" (released as a 45 in 1974 and previously featured on Jazz Dispensary's Cosmic Stashcompilation), in particular, became the album's standout track —sampled over the decades by such tastemakers as LL Cool J (1989's "It Gets No Rougher"), Ice-T (1993's "It's On"), Public Enemy (1994's "Whole Lotta Love Goin on in the Middle of Hell"), and The Chemical Brothers (2002's "Come With Us").

It's no surprise that Alpha elicited such interest from other artists. With its heady, cinematic hooks, attention-grabbing horns, and funky guitar licks, the album could easily be mistaken as the soundtrack to a long-lost '70s action flick. After a tension-filled 18-second-long instrumental intro ("Alpha"), the album kicks into gear with "Average Man." Setting the tone for the next 30 minutes, the high-energy track showcases Lloyd's engaging vocals and whip-tight band (which includes conguero Jimmy Lee Thompson of The Isaac Hayes Movement, guitarist Larry Greene, drummer Ollie Lamey Shaft, saxophonist Arnold Barry, trumpeter Leonard Sorvillo, and trombonist Rex White).

Other highlights in the dramatic 10-track journey include the afore-mentioned "Life Is Funky" — a delightfully vibey slice of mid-'70s funk, filled with anthemic lyrics and hypnotic, hooky grooves. Equally catchy is Side B's opener, "Little People," in which Lloyd pays tribute to the everyday man and woman, while the group adds a dash of psychedelic fusion into the mix with "Dreamers."

Side A

1. Alpha

2. Average Man

3. I'd Rather Loan You Out

4. Life Is Funky

5. Peace of Mind

Side B

1. Little People

2. People Do Change

3. Dreamers

4. Prayer of the Prisoner

5. Omega

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it