Review: Soul-Funkers Tower Of Power Celebrate 50 Years With A Sizzling DVD/CD Set

Tower of Power | 50 Years of Funk & Soul:Live at the Fox Theater-CD/DVD | (Artistry Music/Mack Avenue)
4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Those who want a shot to feel better don’t need to search for a COVID-19 site. Instead, stay home and get a “Soul Vaccination” courtesy of veteran soul/funk/R&B West Coast outfit Tower of Power. It may not protect from viruses but it’ll make you forget about them, at least for a few hours.

This 50^th anniversary recording was seamlessly stitched together from a pair of shows the horn propelled group performed in 2018. Why it has taken nearly three years for an official release (on multiple formats…CD, DVD and vinyl) is unclear, but now that it’s here we can rejoice in the pre-pandemic excitement of a band firing it up for an ecstatic hometown audience.  

Tower of Power is no stranger to live albums (there have been a handful starting with 1976’s blistering Live and in Living Color) or anniversary shows (their 40^th also yielded a similarly styled live set), but this is one of their finest. The eleven piece has been through more personnel changes than Fleetwood Mac, yet a core of five originals have kept the faith. Four ex-members including Hammond B3 master Chester Thompson make guest appearances for this special gig. Sadly bassist Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia who provided fiery funky bottom and was an authoritative presence on the band’s sound for decades, passed in 2020. Strings are also added on a few ballads for extra depth.

It’s a sizzling concert, not surprisingly heavy on the early “What is Hip?,” “Knock Yourself Out,” “You Ought to Be Having Fun” hits. Still, there is room for a few newer and more obscure selections that sound enough like the old stuff to satisfy oldsters who probably haven’t spun a new T.O.P. album in forty years.

When it comes to funky horn bands there is the Godfather of Soul (who Power pays tribute to with the appropriately titled “Diggin’ on James Brown”), Tower of Power and then …everyone else. They set the standard and have for 50 years. More lead singers have come and gone than even those in the band can count but Marcus Scott, who currently holds that spot, is surely one of the best and most animated. His higher pitched voice is potent both navigating love ballads like the Power standard “You’re Still a Young Man” and bump and grinders such as “Soul with a Capital S.” It’s an electrifying gig with little chance of anyone staying seated as the guys bust into a boisterous “Squib Cakes” with Thompson laying it out on B3 as staccato horns blast behind him.

Even the oldest songs haven’t lost an ounce of the energy that makes Tower of Power an institution in the funky soul genre. This performance serves as both a formidable career recap and a reasonable starting place for anyone who has somehow never been exposed to the outfit’s sweaty, dance floor filling allure. No one sounds like them and this explosive presentation proves it. The DVD is recommended since the visuals are key to enjoying the band’s frisky dance steps and overall joy these guys are having, even if the editing is a little on the caffeinated side.

Inject yourself with Tower of Power’s musical medicine. It’s guaranteed to cure your ills.