Well, that's more than a little unfair. These albums are okay, but like the recently FoamFeatured™ Jim Horn solo albums, they're a tad disappointing. Great Rn'B horn players have great tone, and the bare minimum chops - any more would be clutter. You step up to feature your post-bop chops on an Rn'B gig, you're going to be picking your horn and your hat out of the gutter in the rain.
Clarence Clemons recorded some of the great rock sax solos, after they were hummed to him by Springsteen first. He's not a nimble melodicist, but has tone out th' ass. Peacemaker was a career swerve for him, an atypically meditative set with sparse accompaniment, kinda jazzbient. Not Rn'B in any sense, but barely jazz, either. Full marks for trying to break into the wellness market.
Junior Walker's signature wail sounds like nothing else, and you get some of it (just slightly too much) on Moody Junior, another stylistic break from Rn'B signaled by the "jazz session" styling of the cover (just lacking the Jazz Hat). What you don't get is the technique Mr. Walker needs to break free of technique. Jim Horn, Junior Walker, Clarence Clemons, they all made fantastic contributions to music, perfect for the context they worked in, but they tend to flounder a little outside their comfort zone.You're going to tell me I'm wrong. I hope.
Want these anyway? Why not? Not free in the sense of Amazon Prime being "free" (*snork*!) but free as in Absolutely Free. Just ax, and thou shalt getteth.
ReplyDeleteTenor sax sideman, arranger, producer and bandleader: Maxwell Davis, whose contribution to west coast R&B is immeasurable; is also in this league.
ReplyDeleteI'll post a link to some Mazwell later.
You do that. With a little input from th' 4/5, we could cover the genre.
DeleteMaxwell Davis - Father Of West Coast R&B
Deletehttps://workupload.com/file/ZfgpwjZCW8M
Thanks for the Maxwell Davis JKC, that’s high-class r&b from a top musician. Bands stacked with swingin players playin jumpin blues, great stuff!
Delete~~~
DeleteMaxwell's in da hous!!! So KEY ans well as so many other sax cats on the scene. Rene Hall and others will agree. Oops. Wrong instrument!
Big Jay McNeely anyone...?
These guys were all famously used up & spat out by the Bihari Bros. Riachrd Berry oiked to tell how their Culver City plant was like being on a Down South Plantation, with him & others out on the loading dock bustin up old 78s for grist for the Flair/RPM/Kent/etc. mills.
You can still get 'em while they're red hot on ACE (UK) CD and ElPee reissues and Mr. R&B / Route 66 / Earth Angel / Saxopohograph - Jonas Benholmers and such likes, where ever Relics and other such gems are sold!
It ain't called Jungleland for nothing!
ReplyDeleteEvery note howled and moaned by Bruce from the wild depths of his heart. I'd like to hear Clemons playing Clare Torrey's wordless solo on The Great Gig In The Sky. Maybe I will!
DeleteWas she coached on that?
DeleteBy Roger The Hat, maybe...
but, by Roger, the Waters?
(Never)
Nope. Her composition. For which she was paid fifty-something quid back in the day, and only recently managed to get her due, through the courts, from those hard-up hippies.
DeleteAnd, so, her flight leads right to the sound of the cash register...
Deleteirony?
(ONLY!!!)
The problem is that a legendary performance is likely to pigeonhole the performer and dear Clarence knew he would be surplus to requirements when the smoke had cleared. All of the decisions to be made for the solo outing...from album title to wardrobe to niche to timing. It's got to be scary for a big man!
DeleteTo be fair...
ReplyDeleteThese horn players make it look easy and fun.
Most people can't get a tenor sax to make ANY sound.
Bobby Keyes seems to have been hooked into the groove.
Maybe Leon Russell was giving him guidance.
Joe Cocker was too busy becoming the instrument!
Read the piece, Kwai - I'm not disrespecting these guys as musicians at all. We need a Bobby Keys (his real name!) album here.
DeleteForthcoming.
DeleteFirst I need to trim nose hair, and remove some ear wax.
The nose hair I can help with. I saw a Thai guy doing this in the street, close up to a motorcycle mirror (it's what they're for, out here). You get the plastic blade cartridge off a disposable razor, snap it off, and rotate it in the nostril, one way and then the other. Result - say YES to no nasal hair! It's the safe, effective, cheap, and discreet way to depilate the schnozz! Been using the technique for years.
DeleteIt's things like this Al Gore hoped for when he invented the inter-webs!
DeleteNot for nuthin' is th' IoF© lauded as The Fount Of Gentleman's Grooming Advice!
DeleteClarence & Autry DeWalt.
ReplyDeleteNo Peacemaker there...however it was stealthy.
DeleteFirst time that's happened - I'm on it -
DeleteOkay - try this!
DeleteChunks are peaces!
DeleteI'll have the sax.
It worked perfectly.
Thanks, for the quick horns!
Bobby Keys self-titled album from 1972 with:
ReplyDeleteJack Bruce - Bass
Charlie Freeman - Guitar
Jim Gordon - Drums
George Harrison - Guitar
Nicky Hopkins - Keyboards
Corky Laing - Drums
Dave Mason - Guitar
Felix Pappalardi - Bass
Jim Price - Horn, Keyboards
Carl Radle - Bass
Ringo Starr - Drums
John Uribe - Guitar
Mike Utley - Keyboards
Klaus Voormann - Bass
Leslie West - Guitar
Members of the Rolling Stones - Conspicuous by absence.
This almost sounds like outtakes from "Apple Jam" on All Things Must Pass.
https://workupload.com/file/HT2UqVp9f8w
Thank you, for the Bobby Keys!
DeleteAll I have to share is a movie called
Every Night Is Like Saturday Night.
I was going to upload it but it is just over 2GB.
So, I got tired of looking for an uploader.
For those what can read - here's his autobio (mobi/kindle format):
Deletehttps://workupload.com/file/cqWXMesvUae
Thank you, for the book.
DeleteKeith Richards says very nice things about Bobby. I know it will be a captivating read. I'm also curious about the Clarence Clemens album. I have adored his contributions to Born To Run since it came out. I lost interest in Bruce after Darkness On The Edge Of Town. So, I could follow the Peacemaker...out of curiosity to check up on the big man. The Jazzbient term is calling my attention. Thank you...
You might try here to upload the movie:
Deletehttps://ufile.io/
- don't forget to compress it first, and put it in a folder.
Here is the 2.2GB MOV file of:
DeleteEvery Night's A Saturday Night(The Bobby Keys Story)
https://ufile.io/71ocrzip
It said the link will be good for a maximum of 30 days.
I did compress it but I forgot the folder.
This movie is in pristine quality compliments of the Lupine Assassin.
Keith Richards and Charlie Watts have a lot to say about Bobby.
I'm listening to the Bobby Keys album and it's getting two rheumatic thumbs up from me. Color me surprised. From the ho-um reviews it gets (even from Keys himself), I was expecting another nodding dog of an album, but it's a great listen. Energy, propulsion, a great big thick ballsy sound. As far as I understand it, it didn't even get a US release? And it's damn hard to find in any format, so thanks to Dances With Jazz Hands for this. If anyone wants an mp3 rip (DWJH's is pesky WAV format), let me know.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be negative, but I used to have Moody Jr by Junior Walker and if memory serves only Walk in the Night was any good, he's made much better albums than this.
ReplyDeleteHe has.
DeleteWhen I first started getting into the Blues (mid-60's), I mistakenly confused Junior Walker for Junior Wells, and ended up with Junior Walker & the All-Stars Live. Not good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the write up. I had an argument of sorts a couple of years ago on a music board when someone claimes that Clarence Clemons was TECHNICALLY a bad sax player. To which I pretty much said "get outta here with this bullshit argument". I don't care if TECHNICALLY he isn't the strongest player (and seeing how I'm not a musician, how the fuck would I know), but I know his collaborations with Bruce are some of the few in pop/rock music where the sax doesn't make me cringe. He could, a you say, wring a bunch of emotions out of those few moments. Who cares if there's better technical sax players, I just care about how these musical moments make me feel. Plus, you don't disrepect the Big Man, full stop.
ReplyDeleteAlways had the slight regret that I saw Bruce and the E-Street Band slightly too late, two years or so after Clemons passed.
If I made a top ten list of saxophonists, who in my eye are the best, Clarence Clemons would not be on it. That said, what Clarence lacked in (for lack of a better term) "technical proficiency", he more than made up for it in overall sound and enthusiasm. Plus his solos always perfectly into fit the mood/spirit of the song.
DeleteMy parents were Classical music snobs, and considered Coltrane and Sonny Rollins to be "hacks". They also thought Hendrix was a hack, but there, they may have had a point.
I saw Clemons with Bruce, uh, three times, once close up, pre-enormodrome. He pretty much defined stage presence and charisma. A lot of love. That was the thing with Bruce and his band, the love, and Clarence was a mountain of it.
Delete(As to Dances With Jazz Hands getting snooty about Hendrix - you and Five Guns West can share a table. I'll tell you who's a hack - that guy Beethoven.)
I really enjoyed the Clarence Clemens Peacemaker album. I wasn't expecting any such diversity from him. It might be slightly repetitive but it was a new direction and the delivery was beautiful. The last number was a bit modern and almost spoiled the ancient sound of the first five cuts. But, overall, I was able to swim in the waters he was creating. Thank you, Farq!
ReplyDeleteI just realized that it's Clemons not Clemens. I didn't know that Clarence was a member of Springsteen's band until he died. I think that makes his solo career even more interesting. I'm listening to Peacemaker again right now. It is a great album. It is not how I'm used to hearing the instrument. I love it. I will try to listen to Junior Walker afterward.
DeleteHe stole his first name from me.
DeleteOr a lion?
DeleteThanks for Clarence, that was a nice surprise!
ReplyDeleteIt's no lost classic, but not a waste of time, either. I wish he'd gone further in this direction.
Delete