A great forgotten band: Mother's finest.

[Blazer]

[rockinrayduke]

Used to play their version of "Somebody To Love" back in the 70's. Great band.

Great view for the band too. 

[nofi]

they lived in my part of town, the drummer in my complex. they are still around and one of the better bands to come out of atlanta.

[Basvarken]

My band Superfloor did a support for Mother's Finest earlier this year.
John Hayes lives in The Netherlands. He brought his two kids with him to the gig.
Joyce Kennedy looks (and sounds) like she doesn't age at all.
Gary Moses Mo is class act!

We had a rockin' good time!

[uwe]

Following a spectacular Europe-wide Rockpalast television gig in the late seventies, they ruled the world in Europe for a few years. They simply smoked that one night in 1978 and brought an original mix of funk and rock to European living rooms. I remember seeing it at the time and thinking: "Wow, how energetic and smart is this?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbaHaiIldA&feature=related


People loved them and their record sales soared. But then they began to lose their way: Following their live album, they felt they should lean more towards  disco funk with the next release - this at a time when the sound of contemporary black music was pretty much defined by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, Mother's Finest wanted a share of that cake - it alienated rock fans. Then they reversed things with a very metal album in the early eighties - without the funk influence, however, they lost what made them special. I think the fact that their great keyboarder left/was fired, had a lot to do with it. While Mother's Finest can still entertain, the two guitar line up they sport today never sounds as elegant to me as that slightly jazzy keyboard playing they had in the Rockpalast night. It was the icing on the cake. 

They tend to lay the blame for not breaking the US on format radio: Too black for rock radio, too rock for black radio. There might be some truth to that, but it doesn't explain why they failed to sustain their success in Europe (after a spectacular start, reaching tens of millions of rock fans in one night and blowing them away), where many of their songs from the late seventies era became radio staple and the race mix was part of their appeal. Seems more like bad management and band politics to me.

Uwe

[Basvarken]

I think the fact that their great keyboarder left/was fired, had a lot to do with it. While Mother's Finest can still entertain, the two guitar line up they sport today never sounds as elegant to me as that slightly jazzy keyboard playing they had in the Rockpalast night. It was the icing on the cake. 

That and the departure of their drummer Barry "BB Queen" Borden.
If you've seen the DVD live at Rockpalast you'll know what I mean. It features the band in optima forma during that legendary gig 1978 and the band in 2003. The difference between the two drummers is huge...

The gig they did earlier this year was with another new drummer. He was a whole lot better than the guy in the 2003 recording (less square, more funky). But nothing compared to BB Queen.

[Freuds_Cat]

I've never heard of these guys. Excellent stuff, thanks