The People Tree

Acid jazz outfit Mother Earth’s second album from 1993 is grinding organ funk with hefty percussion and deft guitar work from Matt Deighton who would go on to be Paul Weller’s late 90s live guitarist (Weller also supplies backing vocals on one of the tracks). Channelling The Isley Brothers, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield and War, it’s a mix of fuzz-guitar-funk and more downtempo soul songs like album highlight ‘Jesse’ which sounds like an updated Al Green classic. Ending on an eleven-minute psychedelic funk-opus, The People Tree is a rich, warm and inviting nostalgia trip.