People just love this album. And I guess I get it, sort of. The title track is iconic and certainly one of the most famous movie themes of the ’70s. But the rest of the album – and it’s a long one – is not up to that standard.
Tag: Soul Jazz
Earth Wind and Fire (1971)
Before I get to the music, I just want to say I love the album cover. It’s one of the iconic covers of its era. Is it the best part of the album? It’s possible. Just love the cover.
Mama’s Gun (2000) by Erykah Badu
I’m listening to this after enduring R. Kelly’s and Ricky Martins’ albums from the same month. And I must tell you, I feel like I’ve been saved.
Give Me the Night (1980) by George Benson
Who is this album for, exactly? Is it for fans of scat singing? Is it for fans of smooth soul? Is it for fans of soul jazz? Is it not stupid to assume those groups of people overlap? Apparently it’s not as this album topped both the Soul and Jazz charts (ugh) and went to …
The First Minute of a New Day (1975) by Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson and the Midnight Band
This is only my second experience of Scott-Heron, so I don’t know enough about the history, but it seems like this is (mostly) a somewhat radical departure from his earlier work. That’s in part because there is a large band here now, rather than just a trio (or nobody) backing Scott-Heron.
Perfect Angel (1974) by Minnie Riperton
Jimbo: Not that sure. I think we better come up with a backup plan. Uhh, let’s see here. Hey, bookie! Wha- what’s the halftime show gonna be?Bookie: You haven’t heard?! John Stamos’ older brother Richard Stamos is gonna sing ‘Loving You’.Ned: I love that song.Jimbo: ‘Loving You’? That’s perfect! Come on Ned, Middle Park’s gonna …
Winter in America (1974) by Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson
I knew one thing about Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” And I don’t know it well. So I came into this expecting a record of spoken word with few expectations about the music backing the poetry. All I basically knew is that this guy was regarded by some as the first MC.
Open Our Eyes (1974) by Earth, Wind and Fire
I had some serious preconceptions about Earth, Wind and Fire but, fortunately for me, I listened to one of their later albums a year or two ago and learned that I was sorely mistaken about this band.
Nina Simone Sings the Blues (1967)
Simone’s second of three albums in 1967 was her first for a new label and one wonders if that had a lot to do with the rather drastic left-turn on this record. As you can tell from the title, this is a blues record, where influence on her sound was rather muted on the previous …
Greetings From LA (1972) by Tim Buckley
Ever since Tim Buckley embraced jazz and abandoned the more staid, more traditional singer songwriter approach of his earliest records, there is always been a bit of soul to his music, but that soul, such as it was, was always filtered through the lens of jazz.
Swiss Movement (1969) by Les McCann, Eddie Harris
The myth-making goes to hilarious extremes in the liner notes – with the writer denying the band had ever played together before this date before then detailing how they played together before the date – but that’s something that’s quite common to jazz (and to music in general) and this band still sounds fantastic for …
Camouflage (2004) by Acoustic Ladyland
Coming at an artists backwards is always a big of an issue. Not only as it’s sort of unfair to the artist – we get our notions of what the artist sounds like when they are “mature” and try to apply that to their early work – but also as it’s unfair to the listener, …
The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark (1997) by Grant Green
This set compiles the first three albums Grant recorded with pianist Sonny Clark before the band was expanded to a quintet later in 1962. Interestingly, none of these albums were released until 1980 (in Japan) which, given the quality of the music, it’s really hard to understand.