Donald Austin - Crazy Legs

Limited vinyl LP pressing. There are musicians who have done little in their career, but the little they have done has left their mark. One of these examples is Donald Austin's Crazy Legs album. Originally from Memphis, there is little known about Donald Austin... he worked as an arranger and sessionman for Junie Morrison of the Ohio Players and for Fuzzy Haskins of Funkadelic. And then there are the rumors: 'he played on some of the very last Motown Detroit sessions', 'he wrote the song Angel for Aretha Franklin at age 14'... All we know and all we have are these thirteen funk tracks represented here on the Crazy Legs album. The album was produced by Funk veteran Bernie Mendelson (Funkadelic, Ceasar Frazier, Melvin Sparks) and mastering duties were handled by Howard Craft who worked with legends such as Al Green, Syl Johnson, Isaac Hayes and many other top artists. Also worth mentioning is the fantastic cover art designed by Neil Terk (known for his work with Cymande, Muddy Waters, Dire Straits, Funkadelic, Grace Jones etc.). It's no surprise that the album art was featured in Joaquim Paulo's book Funk & Soul Covers. Crazy Legs is a collection of psychedelic funk instrumentals every bit as physical and wild as it's title portends. The muscular grooves that galvanize all 13 of the album's brief but memorable tracks are relatively unique within the Westbound catalog, they are relentless and the playing is top-notch. Also included on this amazing record are two Funkadelic covers, perfectly performed in Donald Austin's unique style.