Steve Leach - Ocean Potion

Steve Leach's Balearic beach- funk beast Ocean PoYon, recorded with the Crystal Grass Orchestra is an absolutely ace, Ned Doheny- adjacent funky AOR / blue- eyed soul BBQ classic from 1976. Who is Steve Leach, you ask? None other than Seasick Steve in a previous life! A French-only release on Philips, it's a hugely immediate, pop-funk firecracker. It features a wonderfully lush, full orchestral sound throughout, underpinning Steve's gorgeous voice and an army of brilliant backing vocalists. The supporYng cast is phenomenal and is arguably the salient reason this is such a fantasYc record. We're talking legendary players from the French scene (think Arpadys, Voyage, Kongas, CCPP, Giant, Swing Family) such as Don Ray with his arranger-conductor hat on as well as synths, Marc Chantereau on percussion, Slim Pezin on guitar, André Ceccarelli on drums, ChrisYan Padovan on bass and Pierre HalaYon on flute. With these snakes behind the scenes, it remains a mystery how Ocean PoYon is so relaYvely unknown. Hopefully, this long overdue reissue recYfies this and puts a stop to people dropping £200 on it.