Soul Drums

Soul Drums
Studio album by Pretty Purdie
Released	1967
Recorded	1967 New York City
Genre	Jazz, Funk
Length	55:14
Label	Date TEM-3006/TES-4006
Producer	David Kapralik and Ken Williams
Pretty Purdie chronology
Soul Drums (1967) Purdie Good! (1971)

Soul Drums is the debut album by jazz drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie which was recorded for the Date label in 1967.^[1][2] The single "Funky Donkey" reached No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.^[3] The track “Testifyin’” was used by Simon Soussan as the body of a record he released on his Soul Galore label. It also used an effect from a record by Saxie Russell’s “Psychedelic Soul” (Thomas records US, some labels incorrectly pressed as Tomas) and was created as a tailor-made record for the UK Northern Soul scene in about 1975. It was issued as “On The Road To Ruin” and credited to Earl Wright whose “Thumb A Ride” (Capitol records US) was very popular on that scene at the time.

Reception[]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

Jason Ankeny of Allmusic states, "Not so much an album as it is a master class in the art of funk percussion, Soul Drums is the quintessential Bernard "Pretty" Purdie LP, an unstoppable rhythm machine made all the more memorable by its fiercely idiosyncratic production... It is virtually impossible to listen to Soul Drums without nodding your head and tapping your foot—and physical response, not thoughts or words, are its most sincere praise".^[4]

Track listing[]

All compositions by Bernard Purdie except as indicated

1. "Soul Drums" – 3:33
2. "Bee 'N' Tee" (Purdie, Richard Tee) – 2:56
3. "Caravan" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol) – 2:41
4. "Soul Bossa Nova" (Purdie, Tee) – 2:46
5. "Jimmy's Back" (Purdie, James Tyrell) – 2:37
6. "Funky Donkey" – 3:01
7. "Bill's Groove" – 2:44
8. "On the Outskirts of Minitown" – 3:19
9. "Testifyin'" (Purdie, Tee) – 2:37
10. "Modern Jive" (Purdie, Tee) – 2:46
11. "Blow Your Lid (But Watch Your Cool)" – 2:40
12. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (Irving Berlin) – 4:03 Bonus track on CD reissue
13. "Fickle Finger of Fate" (Billy Jackson, Richard Rome, James Wisner) – 1:53 Bonus track on CD reissue
14. "Genuine John" (Cornell Dupree, Chuck Rainey) – 2:44 Bonus track on CD reissue
15. "Soul Clappin'" (Purdie, Tee) – 2:40 Bonus track on CD reissue
16. "Groovin'" (Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere) – 3:38 Bonus track on CD reissue
17. "If You Never Cried" (Jerome Jackson) – 3:08 Bonus track on CD reissue
18. "Stop" (Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman) – 2:48 Bonus track on CD reissue
19. "Time Is Tight" (Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson, Jr., Donald "Duck" Dunn, Steve Cropper) – 2:40 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel[]

• Bernard Purdie – drums, vocals
• Seldon Powell – tenor saxophone, flute
• Buddy Lucas – tenor saxophone, flute, baritone saxophone, vocals
• Billy Butler, Eric Gale – guitar
• Richard Tee – piano, organ, arranger
• Bob Bushnell – bass

References[]