Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky,
O'Donel Levy's follow-up to his excellent
Simba, is something of a letdown in comparison.
Simba featured a bunch of solid tunes, written and dynamically arranged by
Manny Albam. Although both albums were produced by label head
Sonny Lester, without
Albam's input these sessions seem somewhat lost. The title cut is not a direct ripoff of the
Allen Toussaint tune, but it is fairly derivative. The second tune is a direct ripoff. "Marbles," credited to
Levy, is actually a
John McLaughlin tune, from his album
Devotion, and it's downhill from there.
Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles" is taken at breakneck speed, and let's just say
Levy is better off sticking with instrumentals. "Livin' for the City" gets a heavy wah-wah makeover, but is one of the better tracks on the album. The rest is just unremarkable. "Sideshow" shows the ballad side of
Levy's playing, and the standard "Willow Weep for Me" is treated as a pretty straight blues. None of this is awful; it just lacks the great tunes and arrangements of its predecessor. Unless you simply can't get enough
O'Donel Levy, skip
Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky and stick with
Simba. ~ Sean Westergaard