RECORD FIEND: Boscoe (Kingdom of Chad, 197. !007)

When this funk-soul-jazz-spoken word monster finally got reissued a few days ago, many hailed it as a lost masterpiece of the early 1970s Chicago black underground.Now that the dust has settled and the hype has died down, Boscoe's lone recorded effort still holds up as one of the most significant rediscoveries of the final decade.If you like music with a channel that also makes you think, look no further.

he group's lineup included James Rice on guitar, Harold Warner on trumpet, Darryl Johnson on saxophone, Reg Holden on trombone, Ron Harris on bass, and Steve Cobb on drums.Originally known as From the Uterus to the Tomb, the sextet earned its report as a formidable cover band by regularly gigging at South Side venues such as the High Chapparal, the Green Bunny, and the Burning Spear.Somewhere on the way, they changed their call to Boscoe and started writing their own material that artfully reflected the realities of inner-city life as good as the turbulent late 1960s-early 1970s point of which they were a cultural product.Percussionist Cobb spearheaded the group's movement toward socially-conscious lyrics.In interviews, he recalls how they would win over audiences with well-executed cover versions of contemporary R&B and soul hits during their shows' first sets only to loose their more challenging self-composed material after the intermission.Cobb considered their performances successful if people in the crowd stuck around and apprehended the medicine in a more smooth and thoughtful manner.After developing a pursuit and getting increased exposure from acting on the college circuit throughout the Midwest, it came time for them to register their eponymous long player.The trouble was that none of the major music companies were interested in having Boscoe on their roster, possibly due to the persistent nature of the band's compositions.The album was essentially self-released on the extremely obscure Realm of Chad label in 1973, with a mere 500 copies being pressed.Fame and circumstances were not in the cards for the group, and they folded not long afterward.As is much the character for an outfit of this nature, record collectors (especially Japanese ones) helped save the store of the sextet alive, which finally culminated in this fine reissue from 2007 in accession to about long overdue attention from the mainstream media.