Originally released in 1980 on Oregon label Match Box Recordings, Burnin’ is the only album recorded by Portland jazz/funk band Carl Smith And The Natural Gas Company. At the time of the release of this album, Carl Smith’s band had already been performing for almost two decades, starting out as the Carl Smith Orchestra in 1959, fusing '40s and '50s big band styles with rock’n’roll, before gradually morphing into the more compact jazz / funk influenced outfit you can hear on Burnin’...

If you can't get enough of the late '70s / early '80s funky disco scene then Carl Smith and the Natural Gas Company's Burnin' will have you strutting your funky stuff into the early hours. This 10 track (40 min, 08 sec) LP is packed full of classic sounds and production values of the time.

For younger listeners this will probably be an amusing novelty album to get out and mock your parents/grandparents youth, but for those who lived through this period - and perhaps were even aware of Carl Smith and the Natural Gas Company at the time - this is a wild ride that will never get old. God bless BBE Music for bringing a slice of retro disco funk back to life.

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Nick Smithson