Dyke & The Blazers - Swamp Walk
Phoenix's Dyke & The Blazers were spared from being a footnote in the Wilson Pickett discography in that the group was able to go beyond the Wicked Pickett's overwhelmingly successful cover of their "Funky Broadway" to have a few hits of their own before Dyke's (born Arlester Christian) violent death in 1970. The great folks at Ace Records had released a comp of Dyke sides some years ago, but a new trawl through the vaults of Original Sound Records has resulted in the excellent two-disc BGP comp We Got More Soul, which features all of the classic sides by the group (some, like "Funky Bull," getting their first full-length release) and lots of unissued material, including today's selection.
"Swamp Walk" has a nice easygoing groove that is funky but not overpoweringly so. As it strolls along, Dyke and the fellows talk about the new thing, the Swamp Walk (which I assume either was a band invention or a dance that never really caught on). This really should've been released - everyone would've been bobbing along, singing the catch "swamp, swamp, swamp, swamp, swamp" refrain (or maybe that's just what I do?) All that aside, this is a fun, funky and fantastic tune for which, along with the others on this comp, I give Ace Records full kudos.
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