I drive a Subaru Outback‚ which is the 21st-century equivalent of the Volvo station wagon -- safe‚ reliable‚ and boring as fuck. But mine has a Harmon-Kardon sound system that makes anything on my iPod utterly glorious‚ from Johnny Cash to the White Stripes and everything in between. And when a chunk of Old School funk comes around (James Brown's "Mother Popcorn‚" say‚ or Parliament's "Flash Light")‚ I turn it up until my fillings start to vibrate.

Lettuce's latest disc Fly is the first thing I've heard from the new breed that comes closest to that vibe‚ and "Ziggowatt" is the prime example. Eric Krasno's opening riff sets the tone‚ and then the horns come in like Muhammad Ali's punches: They're so fast‚ you can't see them‚ but you will feel them! The groove is so very chunky‚ and as the horn section gets bigger and wilder‚ you feel yourself lifting with them. It could be an out-of-body experience‚ but you want to stay inside your body because it feels too good to leave.

Ryan Zoidis' alto solo would make Maceo Parker nod his head in approval‚ and Krasno's following solos have that psychedelic edge you hear on bodacious classics like the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion" and the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money." But as delicious as this song is‚ Krasno leaves plenty of room for expansion‚ as we see in this marvelous (and incorrectly titled) video from Lettuce's 2012 appearance at Gathering of the Vibes.
I realize a Lettuce recording is a sometime thing: I mean‚ 3 releases in 20 years? Axl Rose records more than that! But every time Fly pops up on my infinite rotation‚ and every time this song makes my speakers earn their paycheck‚ all I can think is‚ "MORE! More of THAT!!"