Marcus Casey

Album of the day. It's a huge mystery as to why Leroy Hutson isn't more heralded as a soul giant. I myself could never put a finger on why that's the case as his '70s hot streak epitomizes elite '70s Black music: lush 8-track-in-the-drop top soul that was so intricately arranged and expansive as it was accessible. Plus, he was Donny Hathaway's friend and roommate at Howard University as well as Curtis Mayfield's right hand man. Other than his undeniable gifts as a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and arranger, if those God-level associations aren't enough to convince you of the badass he is, I don't know what else will. One of two albums Hutson put out in 1976 during his prime, Feel the Spirit is a bit of a sleeper gem in his '70s catalog, but it's also the funkiest. The only album where he shares the bill with his band of brothers, the Free Spirit Symphony, this whole shebang is nothing but one pure funk heater after another, highlighted by the scorcher "Let's Be Lonely Together," the rare groove favorite "Lover's Holiday," the inspirational "Never Know What You Can Do (Give it a Try)," and the backbeat headbuster, "Butterfat." Even the album's lone dancefloor filler, "Feel the Spirit (in '76)" swings with a funk pulse.