(November 18, 2022) Let me just start by saying, I have never liked the Rodgers & Hammerstein song "My Favorite Things." It was always just a little too precious. I didn't like it when Julie Andrews sang it in The Sound of Music, and I was mortified when it somehow became a Christmas standard, recorded by hundreds of artists over the past several decades. So why do I kind of dig it now that R&B and funk legends ConFunkShun have covered it for their new holiday album Home For Christmas?
Well, for one thing, the octet adds a steady groove to the proceedings, along with funky R&B horns and multi-layered harmonies. So, even though they're still singing about "whiskers on kittens," they're doing it with an adult soul/funk vibe that transforms the song into an absolute jam, far closer to their "Baby I'm Hooked" than to the Von Trapp Family.
Currently consisting of original members Michael Cooper, Felton Pilate and Karl Fuller, along with KC Clayton, Ron Moton, Aaron Green, Rene Escovedo and Brian LaTour, ConFunkShun again is delivering the goods, a half century in. Check out "My Favorite Things" below, and welcome ConFunkShun back to SoulTracks.
By Chris Rizik
ConFunkShun - "My Favorite Things"