Our Hip Pocket series has covered a lot of ground in very little time, with a repertoire that embraces everything from the Everlys to the Damned to the Olympics to the Sonics to the Zombies. The best thing about the Hip Pockets – apart from the fact that they look cool – is that the whole spectrum of music co-exists comfortably within its boundaries, and without preconception of what’s coming up next.
July’s releases typify the ‘if it’s good you’ll find it in a Hip Pocket’ approach to building a catalogue. Funkadelic’s 1971 piece of, er, ‘funkadelia’, MAGGOT BRAIN – the album that established George Clinton’s psychopranksters as a unique force in black American music – is not the most obvious bedfellow for the first time CD issue of FOOLS GOLD – a compilation of hits, flips, flops and fliers from the early days of Ace’s Chiswick label. But if they have nothing much in common on the face of it, below the surface they share a bond of excellence. Indeed, were it not for the sales of some of the records that feature on “Fools Gold” Chiswick would probably not have had the resources to branch out into the world of reissues, and for Ace to become the label that you all know and hopefully love some 30 years later.
By Tony Rounce
