Tom Scott - Desire (1982)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

As he explains in the liner notes, Scott and fellow musicians recorded this album live to two tracks on June 30 & July 1, 1982 in Hollywood. (The CD edition includes additional liner notes that were omitted from the vinyl packaging.) It's typical jazz/funk/pop crossover stuff that had been a successful formula for Scott over the previous decade: some funky originals, a pop tune cover, a ballad using Lyricon, and a crossover pop tune with guest vocals. While the material ain't the greatest, he rounded up some top-notch help in the studio:

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "predictably broad-based fusion"
• Musician: "This is a record to put in the bank, not to listen to."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★

Chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200 chart: #164
• Billboard Jazz Album Chart: #5
• CashBox Jazz Album Chart: #7
• Radio & Records Jazz Chart: #2

Tracks: It's all pleasant enough except for Johnny B. Badd; my favorites may be the McCartney cover and the vocal tracks. (Scott was no stranger to McCartney as he provided the immediately recognizable soprano sax lick on the 1975 Wings chart-topper, Listen To What The Man Said.) Track 2, Sure Enough, sounds like it was lifted directly from a Pages album and that's a good thing, indeed.

• funky originals
  4. Stride
  5. Johnny B. Badd
  8. Chunk O'Funk
• pop tune cover
  7. Maybe I'm Amazed
• ballad using Lyricon
  3. The Only One
• crossover pop tunes with guest vocals
  2. Sure Enough (feat. Richard Page)
  6. Meet Somebody (feat. Stephanie Spruill)
• bland filler
  1. Desire

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I began my infatuation with the Elektra/Musician label with the purchase of The Bridge by former E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious - a bluesy, New Age-y solo keyboard release that, tragically, has never been reissued on CD (I've uploaded a vinyl rip to YouTube for your enjoyment). That fantastic find was quickly followed by the purchase of this album because of my love for Scott's 1981 album, Apple Juice. Both E/M LPs got plenty of spins on my turntable when I was in high school. Both also included inner sleeves like the one pictured below and young Mark, an emerging fan of jazz music and avid reader of liner notes, was very intrigued:

Over four decades later, as evidenced by this month's series of posts, I remain intrigued.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Smokin' Section (1999)
Night Creatures (1995)
Reed My Lips (1994)
One Night/One Day (1986)
Target (1983)
Apple Juice (1981)
Blow It Out (1977)/Intimate Strangers (1978)/Street Beat (1979)