Tower of Power: Don’t Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)

Continuing my list of the Top 20 albums of 1974, coming in at #6 is Back To Oakland by Tower of Power. 1974 is filled with amazing funk albums, and this record by Tower of Power is the group’s best. It is the second TOP album to feature vocalist Lenny Williams. It is also the second to feature saxophonist Lenny Pickett, who went on to be the leader of the SNL orchestra for the last 30 years. That is two incredible Lennys for the price of one, but the most important member of the Tower of Power has always been drummer David Garibaldi. This album is a masterclass in funk drumming, including the tune “Squib Cakes,” which is on the Mount Rushmore of funk. “Don’t Changes Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)” is a chunk of solid funk posing as an R&B tune. This album may not be the best funk album ever made, but it is my go-to when I want to introduce someone to one of the most under-rated funk bands of the ’70s. James Brown, Sly Stone, P-Funk, and Earth, Wind, and Fire get all of the attention, but Tower of Power were as good as all of them in 1974.

To learn more about Tower of Power, check out their website.

To check out all of the old Faux Show Best of the Year Shows, visit The Year In Review Series page.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

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