Three years on from Chaka Khan's recording of Classikhan with the London Symphony Orchestra, Funk This is likewise heavy on fresh looks at some of Khan's favorite songs, but its sources involve the likes of Jimi and Joni instead of Leiber & Stoller.
Recorded with a core of Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Bobby Ross Avila, with guest contributions from Mary J.
Blige, Michael McDonald, and Rufus guitarist Tony Maiden, Funk This sounds like much of it was recorded live, giving it a loose, not-fussed-over sound, though there are some questionable moves -- like the favoring of a smoothed-out synth over a crunching guitar riff during Rufus' "You Got the Love," or the use of a talk box on McDonald's "You Belong to Me." The covers do work more often than not, highlighted by Prince's "Sign 'O' the Times" and Joni Mitchell's "Ladies Man" (an unlikely but very smart choice).
There's a handful of new songs, including the nostalgic "Back in the Day," where Chaka looks back to when she was known as Yvette Stevens, and the fast and furious "Disrespectful" -- where Jam and Lewis try to capture some of Rich Harrison's breakbeat-heavy "Crazy in Love"/"1 Thing" magic -- but the one that sticks out most is "Hail to the Wrong," which could be mistaken for a new version of an excellent album cut from 1980's Naughty or 1981's What Cha' Gonna Do for Me.
Chaka sounds mostly excellent from track to track, especially during the more relaxed moments.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back in the DayBobby Ross Avila, Chaka Khan, Terry Lewis | Chaka Khan | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | Foolish FoolEd Townsend | Chaka Khan | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | One for All TimeBobby Ross Avila, Chaka Khan, Terry Lewis, Tony Maiden | Chaka Khan | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 4 | AngelChaka Khan | Chaka Khan | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | Castles Made of SandJimi Hendrix | Chaka Khan | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Sign 'O' the Times | Chaka Khan | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | Ladies' ManJoni Mitchell | Chaka Khan | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Hail to the WrongBobby Ross Avila, Chaka Khan, Terry Lewis | Chaka Khan | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Super LifeChaka Khan, Ricky Rouse | Chaka Khan | Play | 05:01 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 10 | Will You Love Me | Chaka Khan | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | Disrespectful (featuring Mary J. Blige) | Chaka Khan | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 12 | Pack'd My Bags_You Got The Love (featuring Tony Maiden) | Chaka Khan | Play | 05:55 | 13 MB | 41 MB |
| 13 | You Belong To Me (featuring Michael McDonald) | Chaka Khan | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 59 mins | 135 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 391 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kwaku Alston | Photography |
| 2 | Bobby Ross Avila | Bass, Bass (Electric), Composer, Drums, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Producer, Talk Box |
| 3 | Issiah "IZ" Avila | Bass, Drum Programming, Drums, Percussion, Producer, Vocal Ad-Libs |
| 4 | Mary J. Blige | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 5 | Simon Climie | Vocal Producer |
| 6 | Luis Conte | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 7 | Ian Cross | Engineer |
| 8 | Lauren Evans | Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Chris Feldmann | Art Direction, Design |
| 10 | Eric Ferrell | Make-Up |
| 11 | Timothy Fielding | Cover Photo |
| 12 | Richard Furch | Mixing |
| 13 | Pete Ganbarg | A&R |
| 14 | Erwin Gorostiza | Art Direction, Design |
| 15 | Andrew Gouché | Bass |
| 16 | Louticia Grier | Hair Stylist |
| 17 | Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| 18 | Jimi Hendrix | Composer |
| 19 | Iz | Drum Programming, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 20 | Jimmy Jam | Audio Production, Bass, Clavinet, Executive Producer, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Piano (Electric), Producer, Synthesizer |
| 21 | Jesse Johnson | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 22 | Jesse Munro Johnson | Guitar, Mixing, Producer |
| 23 | Chaka Khan | Composer, Liner Notes, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 24 | Indira Khan | Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Terry Lewis | Audio Production, Bass, Composer, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 26 | Tony Maiden | Composer, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 27 | Matt Marrin | Engineer, Mixing |
| 28 | Michael McDonald | Primary Artist |
| 29 | Joni Mitchell | Composer |
| 30 | Natural | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 31 | Doc Powell | Guitar |
| 32 | Doug Rasheed | Composer |
| 33 | Ricky Rouse | Composer, Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 34 | Charlene Roxborough | Stylist |
| 35 | Derrick Rutledge | Make-Up |
| 36 | Antoinette Scruggs | Vocals (Background) |
| 37 | Carly Simon | Composer |
| 38 | Aaron Spears | Drum, Main Personnel |
| 39 | Ed Townsend | Composer |
| 40 | James "Big Jim" Wright | Keyboards, Main Personnel, Producer, Vocal Ad-Libs, Vocals (Background) |
| 41 | Kiyah Wright | Hair Stylist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |