For the latest release in their Asterisk series, the Numero Group went digging in their own backyard and came up with this fantastic missing piece to Chicago's jazz/funk jigsaw. Originally sporting the name Womb To The Tomb, Boscoe came up backing a number of local soul vocalists in early 70s Chi-Town, eventually making fans of folks like Garland Green and Syl Johnson. In '72, the sextet recorded these eight fierce tracks which would become their lone album. Much like the Art Ensembles and Arkestras around them, Boscoe wouldn't dilute their songs in order to make their intensely political lyrics easier to swallow - in fact, tracks like "We Ain't Free(1)" and the floating, almost spoken word "Writin' On The Wall(2)" seem to be much more about the message than the music (if one can even make that distinction). Of course, Boscoe were still self-produced musicians and therefore had to at least attempt to pay the bills with more straightforward soul sounds of the day on joints like "If I Had My Way(3)" and "I'm What You Need(4)." FYI, these sound clips don't really do the album justice - some of the better tracks run over 8-10 minutes. Anyway: the band eventually self-released this in 1973, a private pressing of about 500 copies on their Kingdom Of Chad label. They imploded the same year, "in such a hurry that equipment was left behind in the rehearsal space. It was never retrieved." Comes in a heavyweight reproduction jacket with extensive notes from the Numero crew. 8 tracks; 47 minutes. Recommended.

reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red