The first eye-opening Lost & Found set, from Keb Darge and Cut Chemist, surprised everyone by ignoring the funk in favour of rockabilly (!) and jump blues, and helped forge the way for the micro-'50s revival niche. Darge, a former disco dance champ way back in the day known to collectors for being the supreme chief of deep funk 45s (his DJ sets are legendary), teams up this time with the Modfather, Paul Weller (whose unceasing recording career eclipses the fact that he has been a soul connoisseur for nearly 40 years) on Lost & Found take two. Both are expert selectors, and have been responsible for some seriously deep comps over the last decade. While both are in a relative comfort zone, you can imagine the smiles they shared when they agreed to the challenge of keeping things pre-1970.
Darge takes the first slot, straying from the funk while not losing the feel for hard-driving numbers, whether they be Northern jumpers or '50s big-band blues. His choice to open with Big Mama Thornton’s “They Call Me Big Mama,” hardly a deep cut, shows that he is going for a vibe more than he is trying to display his cache of rare gems. He still wins on the rarities front, though, especially with the only A-side recorded by Big “T” Tyler, the rocking “King Kong.”
Paul Weller goes for the sweeter, skittering sounds of hidden sides from better-known singers like Tammi Terrell, Bobby Bland, and the Dells, and takes a chance on a couple of straight blues shakers from Albert King (the classic “Crosscut Saw”) and Slim Harpo. The end result of this matchup is a collection better suited for a party than for the dancefloor, but don’t be surprised if you hear a cut or two in the clubs played by a DJ clearly taking a cue from this excellent matchup.