Detroit. Automobiles. G.M., C.M., A.M. Mark of Excellence! Factories, foundries, gases, grease, grime, smoke, black out, shake out, lay pipe, cement, mixer, mixing. Metal. Black sand. Sweet sweat. Dig ditch, fill hole, carry hod. Step back! Carry hod.

I previously covered Yusef Lateef’s popular Eastern Sounds from 1962, but this week’s entry is an altogether different beast, an album that is both a propulsive funk travelouge and an inward-looking journal. Lateef moved to Detroit in 1925 when he was 4 or 5 years old, and also recorded there in the late 50s. In 1969 he recorded Detroit while living in New York City, revisiting the tableau of sights and sounds experienced in his youth.

The opening “Bishop School” is a rhythmic blast that reflects the recording’s stellar lineup including Bernard Purdie and Ray Barretto. You may recognize “Eastern Market” from its sample on MF DOOM’s “Who You Think I Am”. Late in the track Lateef can be heard portraying a market vendor: “Sweet potaytas! Getcha greens!” he yells. “Russel and Eliot” has a slower, kind of grinding funk feel – just awesome. “Raymond Winchester”, which was released as a b-side to the “Bishop School” single features almost terrifying playing from Lateef – his instrument sounds like a howling baby.

The album closes with its only non-original, a take on “That Lucky Old Sun” (which Jerry Garcia Band would later cover) that was also recorded 2 years before the rest of the album’s sessions. A notable change in tempo, it’s a supremely relaxed cut on an otherwise peppy release, and a great example of Lateef’s versatility.

Listen to Detroit here.