[TR24][OF] The 24-Carat Black - Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth (Remastered) - 1973/2018 (Soul, Funk)

A one-off concept album that’s a big fat Soul-R&B gem: Craft Recordings will reissue the definitive version of one of the most ambitious, groundbreaking records in the Stax catalog: The 24-Carat Black Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth. Composed, arranged, and produced almost entirely by longtime Isaac Hayes collaborator Dale Warren, the album draws marked comparisons to the lush, transformative arrangements penned by Warren for the seminal trio of Hayes albums, Hot Buttered Soul, The Isaac Hayes Movement, and …To Be Continued. Often cited as one of the first concept albums in the soul, funk and R&B genres at a time when such boldly artistic statements were reserved for progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd, this ‘soul opera,’ featuring just eight tracks, is an entrancing mixture of lush, orchestral soul ballads and Blaxploitation-era funk grooves, split into vignettes dealing with aspects of everyday life in some of America’s poorest areas. Its unique blend of immaculately arranged grooves and socially conscious narrative launched the album into cult-classic status among DJs and producers who have sampled it for tracks, most recently by Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, Digable Planets, Dr. Dre, and many others.
More about The 24-Carat Black Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth: Composed of Larry Austin (bass); Tyrone Steels (percussion); Jerome Derrickson (saxophone); Ricky Foster (trumpet); James Talbert (electric piano); William Talbert (organ); and Princess Hearn, Kathleen Dent, and Valerie Malone (vocals), The 24-Carat Black was helmed by Dale Warren who famously orchestrated the strings for Isaac Hayes' albums Hot Buttered Soul, The Isaac Hayes Movement and …To Be Continued. This reissue of their lone studio album for the Enterprise label follows a 2009 archival compilation from the Numero Group entitled Gone: The Promises of Yesterday (2009), which collects previously unreleased material from the group.