Raw Soul — Winterland, San Francisco, 1975

Rare live capture of Raw Soul at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, recorded on 15 February 1975, from the official Music Vault (Wolfgang’s Vault) archive. Raw Soul was the band Frankie Beverly led before it became Maze: settled in the Bay Area after leaving Philadelphia in the early 1970s, the group developed a conscious, powerful funk-soul, somewhere between the energy of the J.B.’s and the fervor of Sly & The Family Stone. It was during this period that Marvin Gaye took them under his wing and brought them on as an opening act, before suggesting in 1976 the name change to Maze. This full concert of about thirty minutes documents an essential and seldom-filmed link in the history of American soul, with songs such as « Teach Each Other », « Colorblind » and « Song For My Mother ». A precious archival document for fans of 1970s funk and soul, a witness to the origins of a cult band.