Oscar Peterson Plays The Cole Porter Songbook (1953/1959)

2024 EU import consisting of a combination of tracks from two albums: Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter (Clef, 1953) and Oscar Peterson Plays The Cole Porter Song Book (Verve, 1959) plus two bonus tracks from the earlier recording session. Here at CDP, we consider that a two-fer. I'm a big fan of Cole Porter (also, apropos of nothing, we share a birthday) and these piano trio interpretations go down real easy. A fantastic pairing of performers and material.

2024 liner notes by Alan Guntry.

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OSCAR PETERSON PLAYS THE COLE PORTER SONG BOOK (1959)

The first twelve tracks of the CD are the 12 tracks - in the same order - originally released on the 1959 Verve album.

Original liner notes by Lawrence D. Stewart.

Peterson - piano
Ray Brown - bass
Ed Thigpen - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• HiFi/Stereo Review: "Peterson is functioning as a superior workman in the fields of contrivance without very much emotional drive in what he is doing."
• CashBox: "A must for the jazz collectors - yet with definite pop appeal."
• DownBeat (★★★): This is not ambitious Peterson by any means; the intent was apparently to aim at the commercial market. It should hit that bull's eye dead center."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: All are quite nice and it sounds like the trio is having a great time; my favorites today are Love For Sale, I've Got You Under My Skin, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Why Can't You Behave?, and It's De-Lovely.

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OSCAR PETERSON PLAYS COLE PORTER (1953)

The remain 14 tracks come from sessions that took place between 1951-54, 12 of which were released in 1953 on the Clef label. These 12 tracks are not presented in the same order as originally released, plus there are two bonus tracks included. As these cuts originally appeared on 10" vinyl, I guess the order doesn't really matter. We've also got a slight change in instrumentation from the earlier tracks: add guitar, subtract drums.

Original liner notes by producer Norman Granz.

Peterson - piano
Bernie Kessel - guitar
Herb Ellis - guitar Ray Brown - bass

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (76/100): "the sets will indicate again Peterson's inventiveness, imaginative improvisation and his rhythmic drive."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: my picks of these 14 tracks include I Get A Kick Out Of You, Let's Do It, Anything Goes, Begin The Beguine, and So Near And Yet So Far. The final cut, From This Moment On, includes vocals from Peterson and while they're perfectly fine, it provides a startling conclusion to an otherwise instrumental album. Yes, I prefer the 1959 recordings, but the entire 26-track CD is worth a listen, even with the few repetitions. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Not with this CD in particular, but with this sort of beautiful music. When I was a child in the mid-1970s, my family seldom went out to a restaurant for dinner. Given my behavior at the time, that's hardly surprising. On rare occasions (maybe once or twice a year), the family would go to Furr's Cafeteria on Grandview Ave.

My parents would always say, "Don't let your eyes be bigger than your stomach" but of course I'd always get too much food anyway. My excessive choices were well worth the weary, frustrated "I told you so" that inevitably ended the meal. In any case, in the Furr's dining room there was often a piano player playing standards like those found on this CD. Mac & cheese, a slice of chocolate pie, and the Great American Songbook. I didn't know how good I had it.

Seawind - Light the Light/Seawind (1979/1980)

UK import

A remastered two-fer reissue from the Hawaiian band (1974-82) who created sophisticated, uplifting soft rock featuring silky harmonies, jazz-funk grooves, polished arrangements, and - most importantly - tasty horn licks. Why are the horn parts so important? Founding band member and trumpeter Jerry Hey wrote most of the band's characteristic horn arrangements. When Seawind moved from Hawaii to California in the mid-1970s, the "Seawind Horns" quickly developed a reputation among studio musicians and producers. Quincy Jones discovered Hey's talents and he became the go-to horn arranger/player in many Los Angeles studios.

It's not an exaggeration to call Hey one of the most important horn arrangers in the history of pop music. He's been nominated for 11 Grammy awards and won 6 of them. Yeah, that's Jerry on albums by Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, Toto, Chicago, and Earth, Wind & Fire, among many others. When I was in high school, I read a lot of album credits (because I didn't have many dates but that's a story for another time), and noticed the same three names appeared with some frequency on many of the records I purchased: guitarist Steve Lukather, bassist Nathan East, and Jerry Hey. More on Hey from this 2016 interview.

The above band photo was taken from an article in DownBeat magazine (August 8, 1979) titled "The Second Generation of Fusion" that featured Seawind along with Spyro Gyra, Auracle, and Caldera. As you might imagine, the article's tone was passively condescending and dismissive. Screw 'em - I dig this stuff.

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LIGHT THE LIGHT (1979)
8 tracks, 37 minutes

Produced by Tommy LiPuma, this was the band's third album release and the only one on Horizon, a subsidiary imprint of A&M Records.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "Seawind's first album for Horizon may be the label's best effort yet."
• Billboard: "aiming toward a more pop commercial idiom"
• Record World: "the debut for their new label is an auspicious one"
• DownBeat (★★½): "rhythm section is authoritative on funk yet durable on ballads"
• High Fidelity: "essentially derivative"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #143
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• CashBox: #127
• CashBox Jazz: #9
• Record World Jazz: #7

Tracks: The lead track, Hold On To Love, was released as a single and peaked at #70 on Billboard's R&B chart, but didn't see the Hot 100. The whole thing is very 'yachty' and all 8 tracks go down smooth. Reminds me more than a little of stuff from Crackin'. According to the seven pages of informative liner notes, the centerpiece of the album is the ballad Follow Your Road. The most jazz-oriented pieces are the instrumentals Morning Star and Enchanted Dance.

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SEAWIND (1980)
9 tracks, 39 minutes

Produced by George Duke, this was the band's only release on A&M and is pop-oriented compared to its predecessors. I'd compare it more to the sound of The Dude or Sergio Mendes. I wouldn't call this jazz by any means, but it did well on the jazz charts, so what do I know. And as much as I like Light The Light, I prefer this one.

Press of the time:

• Record World: "this group's heartbeat is in the rhythm section"
• Note: I find it odd that the group's first release on a major label got so little press coverage. And yet it turned out to be more successful. Go figure.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #83
• Billboard R&B: #20
• Billboard Jazz: #13
• CashBox: #101
• CashBox Jazz: #6
• Record World Jazz: #5

Tracks: Again, the first track on the album was released as a single. A great, funky track titled What'Cha Doin', it peaked at #18 R&B and #28 dance. The next track, The Two Of Us, was also released as a single and although deserving, it failed to chart. The rest is more of the same and that's a good thing. Only one instrumental this time around, Pra Vosé written by the band's guitarist Bub Nuanez, which sounds like a Brazilian tune from an Earl Klugh album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I sure wish someone had given a copy of that Seawind album to young Mark back in 1980.

The Beach Boys - Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969–1971 (2021)

Here in sunny South Texas it's been a relatively cool summer, with high temperatures in the 90s instead of the usual 100s. And while any time is a good time to listen to the Beach Boys, their music seems especially suited to summer, so let's spin this two-fer this morning.

A 2 CD set consisting of expanded reissues of the "comeback" albums Sunflower (1970) and Surf's Up (1971); the title is taken from the Surf's Up track Feel Flows (track 6 on disc 2 here). I bought these discs back in 2023 after listening to a few of the tracks in a Beach Boys box set. Metacritic rates this reissue at 87/100 which falls within their "universal acclaim" parameters. To be honest, I was completely unfamiliar with these two albums before inheriting the aforementioned box set and I was pleasantly surprised after taking a chance on this two disc set. The original albums get playing time around here, the 34(!) bonus tracks not as much.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #83

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SUNFLOWER (1970)

The band's 16th studio album and their first on the Reprise label. It sold poorly, but would later gain appreciation as many fans today consider Sunflower to be among the group's finest post-Pet Sounds albums. The band functions as a band with Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, and Al Jardine emerged from Brian Wilson's shadow as songwriters. Nevertheless, we're still treated to the Beach Boys' trademark vocal harmonies mixed with elements of soft rock, soul, and sophisticated pop.

#380 in the 2003 version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and #66 in the 1997 version of The Guardian's 100 Best Albums Ever.

Press of the time:

• Record World: "They stay very close to the fluid, close harmony songs they used to sing when they first started out."
• CashBox: "Brian's back, the group is happy and the album shows it."
• Billboard: "Chart hits for the tapping."
• Robert Christgau (A-): "Maybe they weren't really surfers or hot rodders, but they were really Southern Californians, and that's what their music was about. It still is, too, only now they sing about water, broken marriages, and the love of life. Still a lot of fun, too."
• Rolling Stone: "the Beach Boys have finally produced an album that can stand with Pet Sounds."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #151

Tracks:

Four singles were released from the album but only one charted, Add Some Music To Your Day peaked at #64 on Billboard's Hot 100. By 1970, I imagine the general public might have been suffering from overexposure to the group and was somewhat fatigued on their sound. Admittedly, I'm coming to the album decades later, but a few favorite tracks have come to stand out: Slip On Through, This Whole World, It's About Time, All I Wanna Do, and Forever.

Bonus tracks: Listed above. B-sides, alternate takes, promos, live versions, outtakes. As with most bonus tracks of this ilk, interesting to hear once or twice, but I really only want the first 12 tracks. For completists only, I'd say. Trying to be a completist is a dangerous game that is seldom winnable and I'm trying my hardest to retire from that game. Fingers crossed.

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SURF'S UP (1972)

In which Brian Wilson helped invent indie rock. More importantly, the album ends with two songs that are the most beautiful things Wilson ever wrote outside of God Only Knows. Rather than celebrating California surf culture, the album explores themes of mortality, nostalgia, environmental responsibility, and disillusionment. Plus, there's a song about feet. I prefer Surf's Up to Sunflower but I'm only comparing the two because they put them together in this set.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone: "This is a good album, probably as good as Sunflower, which is terrific"
• Record World: "songs that alternate between high class bubble gum and contemporary social comment. Hit."
• CashBox: "Beautiful."
• Robert Christgau (B-): "the songs on the first side are all right...but the pop impressionism of side two drags hither and yon."
• Stereo Review: "It's a great album."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #29
• CashBox: #25

Tracks:

In addition to 'Til I Die and Surf's Up, my preferred tracks on this album include Long Promised Road, Disney Girls (1957), and Feel Flows.

The Australian edition of Rolling Stone placed Student Demonstration Time (an altered version of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Riot in Cell Block Number 9" with new lyrics by Mike Love) at #7 on its 2025 list of 50 Terrible Songs on Great Albums. I concur.

Bonus tracks: as above.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was going through some stuff in August 2023 and the songs 'Til I Die & Surf's Up played on repeat helped me through it. Today, they continue to bring me comfort, not so much in the lyrics but the beauty of the music.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The SMiLE Sessions (1967/2011)
That's Why God Made The Radio (2012)
20 Good Vibrations: The Greatest Hits (1995)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys (1993)
Pet Sounds (1966)

The Blackbyrds - The Blackbyrds/Flying Start (1974)

EU import

Twofer reissue on the BGP label. The Blackbyrds were six students of Donald Byrd, then the head of the School of Music at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Talk about your authentic, practical university experience!

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THE BLACKBYRDS (1974)
8 tracks, 37 minutes

MIZELL BROTHERS MONTH (APRIL 2026)

This doesn't sound like a group of college kids. Or, more accurately, it doesn't sound like anything I could have produced when I was a college musician. It's crisp, economical, polished, and most importantly, funky as all get-out. The guidance of Donald Byrd and Mizell Brothers is evident and most welcome. The Allmusic review calls it "some of the finest groove-oriented jazz music ever recorded" and who am I to argue??

Reviews/ratings::

• Record World: "Zesty r&b overtones are set on a stimulating jazz background"
• CashBox: "one of those rare and delightful treats that knocks you out from the very first musical phrase to the last refrain."
• Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #96
• Billboard R&B: #14
• Billboard Jazz: #6
• Record World Jazz: #5

Tracks: All but two tracks were written or co-written by either Byrd or Larry Mizell. Most are instrumentals. The singles that charted are Do It Fluid (#23 R&B, #69 pop) and the instrumental Gut Level (#9 dance). As for the best cuts, I'm gonna hafta cop out and simply call dealer's choice. 

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FLYING START (1974)
8 tracks, 39 minutes

Kinda the same as above, but different (if that makes any sense). For this release, Byrd himself takes over the production duties and the band members are allowed more of their own original compositions, including their biggest hit, Walking In Rhythm. Plus, a few guest artists are brought in, namely Ernie Watts and Sigidi.

Reviews/ratings::

• DownBeat (★): "there is little space on this album for anything to happen, and nothing does."
• Billboard: "the mix of soul and jazz sounds is not an easy one"
• Record World: "these exceptionally talented musicfolk are ablaze on this recent release"
• CashBox: "The sextet is particularly adept at creating different textures and moods and weaving them into a unified whole"
• Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #30
• Billboard R&B: #5
• Billboard Jazz: #2
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks: I already mentioned Walking In Rhythm (#6 pop, #4 R&B, #5 AC) and it hits as good now as it did back in 1974 (I'm guessing I heard it '74, but who the hell knows?). It's the cream of this crop, but as for the rest, I'll repeat myself: pick 'em.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Action (1977)/Better Days (1980)

The Blackbyrds - Action (1977)/Better Days (1980)

EU import

Back in 2022, I was introduced to the song Soft And Easy through a compilation CD and liked it so much that I immediately sought out the 1977 album on which it originally appeared, Action. I found Action on this Blackbyrds twofer reissue on the BGP label and bought it immediately. The compilation captures the band's transition from danceable R&B (Action, produced by mentor and namesake Donald Byrd) to more synth based funk (Better Days, produced by George Duke). I prefer the former to the latter and if sales are any indication, so did the record buying public.

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ACTION (1977)
7 tracks, 34 minutes

Sleek grooves, tasty EWFish horn arrangements, disco strings, and bass lines perfect for your local lighted dance floor. Features guest appearances from Ernie Watts and Ray Parker, Jr. Sticking with the group's characteristic formula, the album lacks a Top 40 hit, but it is definitely funky enough for the club while still being refined enough to remind you the band members came from jazz backgrounds.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "A sizzling, multilayered, funk-laden disc destined for mass appeal"
• Billboard: "cheery, funky synthesized r&b...mellow, sleek soul ballads...midtempo jazz-tinged efforts."
• Record World: "should hurdle jazz, r&b and rock barriers with little difficulty."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #43
• Billboard R&B: #8
• CashBox: #47

Tracks: Nothing to skip among these seven tracks. Three singles were released from the album: the aforementioned Soft And Easy (#20 R&B), Supernatural Feeling (#19 R&B), and Street Games. However, I think the smoothest cut here is Mysterious Vibes (Wikipedia tells me a remix of Mysterious Vibes was released in 2002, but consider the source).

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BETTER DAYS (1980)
10 tracks, 40 minutes

It seems like the group was trying to be a cross between Rick James and Kool & The Gang and it didn't quite work for them. Pity. The grooves are here, there's plenty of production tricks that were popular in 1980, and the performances are quite good. The only thing missing is hooks. 

Press of the time:

• Record World: "fuel for the body and spirit"
• Billboard: "a polished collection of punchy sophistosoul"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #133
• Billboard R&B: #40
• CashBox: #142

Tracks: Four singles were released from the album: Don't Know What To Say, Dancin' Dancin' (#59 dance), What We Have Is Right (#38 R&B), and Love Don't Strike Twice (#52 R&B). I think the best track is Without Your Love plus there's plenty of filler cuts.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Minnie Riperton - Stay In Love/Minnie (1977/1979)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2004 UK reissue.

Many years ago while visiting a fantastic record store in Chicago, I purchased a similar Riperton Twofer (Perfect Angel/Adventures in Paradise) disc and it gets a lot of spins around here. One of those many, many spins led to the ordering of this similar CD. If a little bit is good, more is better, right? And while it's not quite as good as the earlier stuff, there's still nothing to skip among these two albums and they make great companions to the earlier disc. Since I first received this disc, I normally listen to both discs in succession and it usually makes for a wonderful afternoon of soul, R&B, soft rock, and in the case of the later albums, disco. Both compilations are highly recommended.

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STAY IN LOVE (1977)

Subtitled "A Romantic Fantasy Set to Music," this album was produced by disco legend Freddie Perren. I dig the disco feel throughout but the critics didn't care for it because of the critical bias against disco at the time.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "Riperton's singing is, as usual, just fine - it's the rest you'll have to block out."
• High Fidelity: "Aretha she ain't, but Minnie she is - and that's a plus"
• Billboard: "uncluttered and easy to listen to."
• CashBox: "unquestionably an album for romantics"
• Record World: "not so much a concept album as one given over to a particular subject and outlook - the many sides of love"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #71
• Billboard R&B: #19
• CashBox: #81

Tracks: Three singles were released: Wouldn't Matter Where You Are, Young Willing And Able, and Stick Together (#57 R&B, #23 dance), a collaboration with Stevie Wonder using the pseudonym El Toro Negro. I think the best cut is Young Willing And Able, followed closely by Gettin' Ready For Your Love, Stick Together, But as I wrote earlier, don't skip any tracks.

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MINNIE (1979)

This was Riperton's first album on the Capitol label and the last to be released during her lifetime. This is the better of the two albums included on this CD.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: Best of the Month
• High Fidelity: "too ornate and cure to be convincing, despite a fine set of pipes"
• CashBox: "it is the warmth and vitality she conveys via her singing approach, along with her striking compositions, that truly merit attention"
• Record World: "she has a way with ballad material that makes a song all her own"
• Billboard: "may be this singer's strongest work on disk to date."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #29
• Billboard R&B: #5
• CashBox: #43
• Rolling Stone: #37

Tracks: Two singles were released: Memory Lane (#16 R&B) and Lover And Friend (#20 R&B). Those two songs are also the first two tracks on the album and it's a heckuva way to open a LP. Such great, timeless grooves. I also enjoy the bossa feel of Never Existed Before, the highly danceable tunes Love Hurts and I'm A Woman, plus the disco funk of Dancin' & Actin' Crazy. The album closes with a cover of The Doors' Light My Fire and José Feliciano drops by the studio to help out.

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Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Perfect Angel/Adventures in Paradise (1974/1975)

Fuse One - The Complete Recordings (1989)

"These tunes are heard here for the first time on compact disc, in brand-new direct-to-digital remixes prepared specifically for this release by Creed Taylor."

Creed Taylor put together this collective for his CTI label, so it's basically an ad hoc supergroup recording session. As Taylor writes on the back CD insert:

Fuse One is conceived as a forum in which major contemporary musicians perform according to their own musical disciplines and interact without the constraints that accompany leader responsibilities. Each player brings in new compositions and ideas.

And while the pedigree is impeccable (production from Taylor and engineering from Rudy Van Gelder), the product is usually less than the sum of parts. In any case, this 1989 compilation on the Musicmasters label purports to be "The Complete Recordings," but there was a third album that Taylor and Van Gelder had nothing to do with, so we'll just conveniently ignore it exists for the purposes of this post.

I get a chuckle from the fact that, while he appears on only one of the eleven tracks, George Benson receives top billing on the CD cover. Because you know I'd design it the exact same way.

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FUSE ONE (1980)
7 tracks, 36 minutes

Enjoyable, but fairly generic, smooth jazz. In other words, 15 year old me in 1981 would have loved it. The material is 'over-arranged' in sharp contrast to Taylor's suggesting that the artists play without constraints. The lack of originality could be the reason why the album was largely ignored by critics other than a cursory Billboard review.

Joe Farrell - saxophones & flute (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)
John McLauglin - guitar (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Larry Coryell - guitar (tracks 2, 5, 7)
Ronnie Foster - keyboards (1, 3, 5)
Jorge Dalto - keyboards (track 2)
Victor Feldman - keyboards (tracks 3, 4)
Don Grusin - keyboards (track 6)
Jeremy Wall - keyboards (tracks 1-6, arrangements tracks 1-7)
Hugh McCracken - harmonica (track 7)
Stanley Clarke - bass (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7)
Will Lee - bass (tracks 2, 5)
Lenny White - drums (tracks 2, 7)
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler - drums (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5)
Tony Williams - drums (track 6)
Paulinho DaCosta - percussion (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Roger Squitero - percussion (track 2, 7)

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #9
• CashBox Jazz: #14
• Record World Jazz: #14

Tracks: Two compositions each from Clarke and McLaughlin, one each from Foster and Wall, plus a Latin arrangement of a tune by 19th century Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The better tunes are Grand Prix (written by Foster), Sunshine (Clarke), and Double Steal (Wall).

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SILK (1982)
4 tracks, 34 minutes

This second album utilized arrangements by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler and the resultant R&B sound found more commercial success, yet was again ignored by the critics (except, of course, Billboard again). I enjoy this album more than the previous one.

Stanley Turrentine - tenor saxophone (tracks 8, 11)
Tom Browne - trumpet (tracks 8, 9, 11)
Wynton Marsalis - trumpet (tracks 9, 10)
Dave Valentine - flute (tracks 9, 10)
Eric Gale - guitar (tracks 8-11)
George Benson - guitar (track 11)
Stanley Clarke - bass (tracks 8-11), musical direction (tracks 8-11)
Marcus Miller - bass (tracks 9)
Ronnie Foster - keyboards (tracks 8-11)
Todd Cochran - keyboards (track 8)
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler - drums (tracks 8-11), arrangements (tracks 8-11)
Sammy Figueroa - percussion (tracks 8-11)
Manolo Badrena - percussion (tracks 9, 10)

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #139
• Billboard Jazz: #14
• Billboard R&B: #44
• CashBox: #175
• CashBox Jazz: #16
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #15

Tracks: Only four tracks here, all a bit longer than what was found on the previous album (7-9 minutes each). I'd rank them 1) Silk, 2) Sunwalk, 3) Hot Fire, and 4) In Celebration Of The Human Spirit.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I really wished someone would have turned me to some Tom Browne albums when I was a teen.

Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Shotgun (1965)/Road Runner (1966)

Not something I'd usually buy, but I found this 1986 two-fer set from Motown in a smooth-sided jewel case for 50¢ at a thrift store and couldn't pass it up. The legendary tune Shotgun is such a great cut, the rest has to be good, right? Boy howdy did I luck out because this this is some fun stuff. With powerful saxophone solos and raw vocal energy, the music is all very similar, it doesn't take itself too seriously, it's made for good times, and I can't sit still.

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SHOTGUN (1965)
11 tracks, 33 minutes

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "Jammed with a flock of teen shakeables"
• Record World: "Groovy, gutsy instrumentals"
• Billboard: "Powerful album"
• Record Mirror: ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #108
• Billboard R&B: #1

Tracks: The album contained 5 tunes that hit various Top 40 charts: Shotgun (#1 R&B, #4 pop), Do The Boomerang (#10 R&B, #36 pop), Cleo's Mood (#14 R&B), and the double A-side Shake And Fingerpop b/w Cleo's Back (#7 R&B, #29 pop).

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ROAD RUNNER (1966)
11 tracks, 35 minutes

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "should delight lots of soul fans with this groovy disk"
• Billboard: "this album can't miss"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #64
• Billboard R&B: #6

Tracks: This album contained 4 tunes that charted in at least one Top 40: (I'm A) Road Runner (#4 R&B, #20 pop), How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (#3 R&B, #18 pop), Money (That's What I Want) (#35 R&B), and Pucker Up Buttercup (#11 R&B, #31 pop).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Gerry Rafferty - Snakes & Ladders (1980)/Sleepwalking (1982)

EU import

I don't remember who wrote it nor on which social media platform it appeared, but several years ago I read something along the lines of "Childhood was a lot like euphoria: listening to Gerry Rafferty and not taking baths." That particular sentiment certainly applied to your humble blogger's childhood, circa 1978. However, unknown to me at the time, the writer was referring to the HBO teen drama Euphoria, not the emotion. But before I caught on to that fact, I went and ordered this two disc package to expand my knowledge of Mr. Raffery's music. I've never seen the show but I'm glad I picked this set up, mainly for the Snakes & Ladders album.

I love a good twofer CD set, but points off on this one for complete lack of liner notes. Not even playing or songwriting credits. I hate heading online for that info, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

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SNAKES & LADDERS (1980)
12 tracks, 49 minutes

The lead track, The Royal Mile, was released as single, peaking at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sadly, that's the only tune in this entire 2 CD set that saw any chart action in the US. Track 6, the bluesy Bring It All Home, was also released as a single. Nevertheless, this album has grown on me over the years. To my ears, it reliably delivers Rafferty’s characteristic blend of soft rock, folk, and pop sensibilities. It doesn't pack the punch that City To City delivers, but if you enjoyed that 1978 album, there's something here for you.

Press of the time:

• Trouser Press: "He varies the mood noticeably from song to song, which allows you to appreciate what a really clever songwriter he can be."
• CashBox: "truly a master at producing driving power pop tunes."
• Billboard: "brilliant LP"
• Record World: "This one sounds more like his first." [note: by "first," the writer is incorrectly referring to City To City] 

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #61
• CashBox: #140

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SLEEPWALKING (1982)
8 tracks, 37 minutes

This is a horse of a different color. Rafferty moves from his folky soft rock to music that utililzes lots of synths and production tricks. But I understand an artist's desire to keep up with the popular sound while playing around with the latest technology. From Rafferty's website:

By 1982, after releasing three albums in quick succession, Rafferty’s was keen to take his music – and his life - in a different direction. The result was Sleepwalking.

Christopher Neil, who replaced Hugh Murphy, Rafferty’s usual producer, introduced the synthesisers and drum machines Rafferty would enthusiastically build into his musical repertoire. The resulting album is brave attempt to create a crisper less acoustic sound, with far less intricate arrangements, that builds on Rafferty’s folk-pop roots.

Sleepwalking can be interpreted as more of a song cycle than a series of tracks. The theme is alienation and, to some extent, the potential for redemption.

So it sounds like Rafferty, but it doesn't. A few tracks remind me a bit of Long Distance Voyager. After this release, Rafferty took a six-year hiatus from recording

Press of the time:

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My favorite tracks are Standing At The Gates, the moody Good Intentions, and The Right Moment. I also like the pulsing title track, which was unsuccessfully released as a single.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None - I didn't hear music from either album until four decades after release.

Previously revisited for the blog:
City To City (1978)

Grover Washington, Jr. - A Secret Place (1976)/All The King's Horses (1972)

The saxophonist's sixth and second albums, originally issued on the Kudu label, combined in 1986 by Motown Records for this two-for-one reissue. Both albums were recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studios and produced by Creed Taylor, best known for his work on his own CTI record label. Washington appears on soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, often overdubbing duets with himself.

This is where I would normally complain about the fact that Motown didn't pair consecutive album releases or, at the very least, sequence them chronologically. However, these two work well together and in this order. Go figure.

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A SECRET PLACE (1976)
4 tracks, 34 minutes

According to the advertisement below, before the terms "contemporary jazz" and "smooth jazz" were coined, the genre was known as "crossover jazz." No matter the nomenclature, I dig the stuff and this album shows that crossover jazz can lean more to the jazz side of things. These four tracks, each clocking in at over 8 minutes, have laid back R&B grooves to be sure, but there's a good deal of room on each track for the soloists to stretch out. There's plenty of familiar names in the playing credits, including Dave Grusin, Eric Gale, and Ralph MacDonald. 

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "a surprisingly laid back effort"
• Downbeat (★★): "flirts with boredom the way some recordings flirt with inspiration"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #31
• Billboard R&B: #7
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• CashBox: #48
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1

Tracks: Two originals by Washington, a popish tune from drummer Harvey Mason, and a fantastic cover of Herbie Hancock's Dolphin Dance. My only complaint is the 34 minute running time is far too short.

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ALL THE KING'S HORSES (1972)
8 tracks, 38 minutes

While still smooth, this album of pop tunes and updated standards has tracks averaging about 4 minutes each and the arrangements vary from combo to big band to full orchestra. Guests on these cuts include Bob James, Richard Tee, Billy Cobham, Bernard Purdie, and Ron Carter.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "a perfect compromise between jazz and pop"
• Record World: "Music that you can get heavily into, or just turn on in the background."
• Billboard: "will be one of the biggest albums of the year"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #111
• Billboard R&B: #20
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• CashBox: #99
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks: At this point, Washington wasn't yet recording his own material. but he picked some good tunes to cover, including one of the great pop songs of the 1970's, Where Is The Love:

1. No Tears, In The End (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter): a tune later appearing on the 1973 Roberta Flack album Killing Me Softly.
2. All The King's Horses (Aretha Franklin): a hit for Aretha Franklin in 1972 (#26 pop, #7 R&B).
3. Where Is The Love (MacDonald, Salter): a hit for Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway in 1972 (#5 pop, #1 R&B, #1 AC).
4. Body And Soul (Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, John Green): a jazz standard from 1930.
5. Lean On Me (Bill Withers): a hit for Withers in 1972 (#1 pop, #1 R&B, #4 AC)
6. Lover Man (Jimmy Davis, Jimmy Sherman, Roger Ramirez)/Interlude #2 (Bob James): a jazz standard from 1941 plus a extended original soloing section in the middle
7. Love Song 1700 (Henry Purcell): adapted and arranged by Bob James.

The only skippable track is Love Song 1700, which doesn't quite work despite good intentions. [insert your own baroque/broke pun here]

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In late 2000 or early 2001 someone I know well* was downloading some tunes from a popular file sharing site that rhymes with "mapster" and Washington's version of Where Is The Love was one of the first tunes allegedly downloaded.

*someone of my general age, height, weight, and eye color.
This statement has been approved by this blog's amateur legal team, a group with over 25 years of legal experience (i.e., watching episodes of Law & Order).

Previously revisited for the blog:

Prime Cuts 1987-1999 (1999)	The Best Is Yet To Come (1982)
Soulful Strut (1996)	Come Morning (1981)
All My Tomorrows (1994)	Winelight (1980)
Time Out of Mind (1989)	Skylarkin' (1980)
Anthology (1985)	Mister Magic (1975)
Inside Moves (1984)/Paradise (1979)

Grover Washington, Jr. - Inside Moves (1984)/Paradise (1979)

Two Elektra releases from the master of smooth jazz saxophone. An odd album pairing for a couple of reasons: 1) the overall sound of the two albums are very different, from production style to mix to instrumentation, and 2) the newer album is first on the CD - should have been the other way around, in my opinion. You can never go wrong with chronological order.

I enjoy his entire œuvre, but there's just something different about Washington's releases on Elektra (1979-1984). I prefer Inside Moves to Paradise, but with a total running time of around 80 minutes, this is easily a top-to-bottom listen that offers up just the right amount of variety.

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INSIDE MOVES (1984)
7 tracks, 52 minutes

Washington hit his commercial peak with 1980's Winelight album and the hit single Just The Two Of Us. He spent his remaining time on the Elektra label chasing that success and hoping lightning would strike twice. Can't say as I blame him - I'd have done the exact same thing. Inside Moves has plenty of good stuff from great musicians, including Ralph MacDonald, Marcus Miller, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Steve Gadd, and Jon Lucien. The latter provided the vocals for the single release When I Look At You, which unfortunately didn't dent the charts.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "flawless, smooth crossover"
• Downbeat (★★★): "Real good album, all in all"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #79
• Billboard R&B: #21
• Billboard Jazz: #3
• CashBox: #60
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #4

Tracks: It's all good 'n' smooth, but my favorites today are Dawn Song, Secret Sounds, and Jet Stream.

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PARADISE (1979)
10 tracks, 36 minutes

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

This album has a very different sound when compared to Inside Moves and utilized a completely different backing band, most notably electric violinist John Blake, who is featured prominently on each cut. 

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "a provocative showcase"
• Record World: "could prove to be one of his biggest"
• Downbeat (★★½): "one man's boredom can be another man's gold"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★½

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #24
• Billboard R&B: #15
• Billboard Jazz: #2
• CashBox: #33
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Rolling Stone: #36
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks: Of the seven tracks on Paradise, my top picks are Tell Me About It Now, the title track (written by Blake) and Asia's Theme.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: The little town where I attended undergrad had - for a brief time - a record store that stocked both new and used. I don't remember buying anything there but a used copy of Culture Club's Colour By Numbers LP. The guy in the next room over, nicknamed Buffalo Tom, was starting to develop a taste for the smooth stuff in late '84/early '85 and picked up copies of Inside Moves and David Sanborn's Straight To The Heart. On my fairly new Fisher all-in-one, I promptly dubbed Inside Moves to one side of a blank cassette then dubbed Sanborn on the flip. That tape got a lot of playing time; it's nice to have this album handy again.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Prime Cuts 1987-1999 (1999)	The Best Is Yet To Come (1982)
Soulful Strut (1996)	Come Morning (1981)
All My Tomorrows (1994)	Winelight (1980)
Time Out of Mind (1989)	Skylarkin' (1980)
Anthology (1985)	Mister Magic (1975)