Best known for their 1969 paper hit "Iron Leg," the mixed instrumental combo Mickey & the Soul Generation came to semi-national attention following Nipsey Russell's performance of the Iron Leg dance on Johnny Carson. Though they shared a label with Ben E. King, they lacked access to the same promotion and marketing resources. A tour with Sam & Dave and opening slots for James Brown, Kool & the Gang, and The Supremes found them performing for thousands nightly, but still sleeping on floors. By the mid-'70s the group had fractured, with members joining the army, bottling Coke, and starting families.
At the dawn of the century, Josh Davis (AKA DJ Shadow) tracked Mickey and his Soul Generation down for the purpose of reissuing their recordings on his upstart Cali-Tex label. That 2003 reissue was met with critical praise, and ultimately turned a new generation of music lovers onto rare funk and soul. Numero has gone back to the scene of the crime and re-canvased for new leads, helping Davis expand on his original work, with updated liner notes, tons of newly discovered photos, and a previously unreleased track.
A1 Iron Leg
A2 Football
A3 Up The Stairs And Around The Bend
A4 Give Everybody Some
A5 Joint Session
B1 The Whatzit
B2 Get Down Brother
B3 Mystery Girl
B4 Message From A Black Man
B5 Chocolate
C1 How Good Is Good
C2 We Got To Make A Change
C3 Soulful Sickness
C4 U.F.O.
C5 Hey, Brother Man
D1 Southern Fried Funk (1st Movement)
D2 Southern Fried Funk (2nd Movement)
D3 Hey, Brother Man (Pams Demo)
D4 U.F.O. (Pams Demo)
D5 Listen (To The Cry Of The People)
E1 The Get Down (Live)
E2 Working On Your Love (Live)
E3 Help (I Need Your Love) (Live)
E4 Why You Wanna Leave Me (Live)
F1 Life's A Mystery (Live)
F2 Hey, Brother Man
