Funky Chimes CD

While certain aspects of Belgian's musical culture have been extensively chronicled - think hardcore, new beat and trad jazz, for starters - others have largely been overlooked. Funky Chimes attempts to set the record straight, gathering together two discs worth of little known soul and jazz-funk recorded in Belgium throughout the 1970s. It's revelatory stuff, all told. Kiosk's "Mona Call", for example, sounds like it could have been recorded by Brazilian jazz-funk greats Azymuth, while Andre Bresseur's "X" is as heavy a slab of funk-rock as you'll find. The killer cuts keep on coming throughout, from the string-drenched Blaxploitation disco of "We Love The Policeman" by Hearts & Soul of Shampoo to the lo-fi genius of Leslie Kent's cover of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues".