Ghetto Funkography

Slapbak has been working the southern California funk circuit since 1991, when the band was organized by bassist and singer/songwriter Jara Harris. Over the course of more than a decade and several albums, the band has toured and played with some of America's finest funk and soul groups, and has forged a sound that is solid and expert, if not exactly distinctive. That's half the problem — the other half is a conspicuous lack of hooks, which are essential if you want to get away with such a derivative style. As it is, the song titles will give you a very good idea of what to expect: "So Funky How You Suck My Thumb," "Getcha Funk On," "Never Fake da Funk," "Ain't Yo Thang" — these are titles that bespeak an understanding of the genre, but not much motivation to expand its boundaries. Instead, what you get is a nice program of good, solid, greasy funk jams that owe royalties to Bootsy Collins and Cameo in their dense rhythmic propulsiveness and whimsical lyrics. "Groove in My Jacuzzi" works especially nicely, and "Wonderful Day" stands out among the tracks with its unusually Police-ish chorus. Pretty much everything else is by the numbers, which means it's fun and functional and won't hold your interest much beyond the fifth or sixth track.