Tom Scott - Apple Juice (1981)

Japanese Import

Note: this release was originally given to me as a LP, later replaced by a ridiculously overpriced import CD.

Recorded live at The Bottom Line, New York City, over three gigs in January of 1981. All seats were $7.50. The Bottom Line, located in Greenwich Village, closed in 2004. The building now houses classrooms for New York University.

I've listened to this music many, many times in the last 40 years; it was probably the first jazz-pop fusion album I ever heard. And I heard it a lot. Even though I was underage, I could picture myself at The Bottom Line, listening to one of the live performances while having a cocktail. The musicians on this release were some of the best NYC session musicians available at the time (they sometimes recorded under the name Stuff) with standout performances from keyboardist Richard Tee and drummer Steve Gadd. Tee was a master of chord substitutions and could throw in some great chromatic lines. Steve Gadd plays like he has a third hand - it's tough to play that smooth and be that technically fluid. Allmusic gives it 3 of 5 stars and Scott's decision to play the Lyricon instead of saxophone on some solos may not have been the best idea, but I really don't care. It may not be the best jazz album, but I feel like it's my jazz album. It's a hard disc to find and isn't currently available on iTunes. That's a shame.

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★★★½): "arguably Scott's best album since Tom Cat"
• Billboard: "there are passages which transcend the output of many other contemporary artists"
• Record World: "an all-out New York funk blowing session"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #123
• Billboard Jazz: #7
• CashBox: #122
• CashBox Jazz: #7
• Record World Jazz: #4

Tracks: 6 of the 7 tracks are either winners or they are so ingrained in me that I can't listen objectively anymore. My top picks are the title track, We Belong Together, and all of what was side 2 of the LP: Gettin' Up, In My Dreams, and Instant Relief. Track 4, So White and So Funky (featuring vocals from Dr. John), just doesn't do it for me. Never has. It was common around this time to include one vocal track on an otherwise instrumental LP so that there would be the possibility of a crossover hit (some jazz artists still try this from time to time). I've always skipped that track. Don't get me wrong, I like Dr. John, but his vocals and this song just don't fit here.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My friend Jim gave me this LP when I was about 16 years old. It wasn't his thing, but it really influenced my listening and began an appreciation for jazz music. This was one of those albums that was quickly dubbed to cassette so I could torture my friends when riding in my car. Definitely not what most teenagers were listening to in the early '80s. I like to think I was expanding my friend's musical minds, but I'm sure they were just humoring me because I was giving them I ride.

I listened to this album fairly consistently throughout high school and college and once dated a girl who I thought needed to appreciate this music as much as I did. I found a cassette version at a local Half Price Books, purchased it for a few bucks and gave it to her. Not long after we broke up, I revisited the store and that same cassette was right back where I had found it a few months earlier. I hope she got at least a quarter for it.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Night Creatures (1995)
Reed My Lips (1994)