js In the early 70s Herbie Mann was on a roll, producing one groovy RnB/jazz record after another and gladly raking in the cash. Herbie was always tops with the fans, and often derided by the critics, for his fun crowd pleasing semi-jazz that was easy on the ears and often great for dancing and partying. Despite the easy approach, some of these records can be quite good, while others tip the scale of commercialism and come across as complete disco fluff. “Turtle Bay” falls right between those two extremes, not a great album, but not too bad either. As is the case with a lot of Herbie’s records, there are some gems buried in the pabulum.

The album opens strong with a great cover of Sly Stone’s “Family Affair”, but then lapses into mediocrity for most of the rest of side one. The watered down pop-reggae of “Never Ending Love Song” is probably the best of the rest on this side. Side two is a little stronger all the way around with a spaced out take on the Allman’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” being the highlight of the album. This cut is a must have for any good acid jazz DJ, and so is the Latin flavored take on Steely Dan’s “Do it Again".

Overall this is a worthwhile purchase for Herbie Mann fans, as well as fans of proto acid jazz and groove based music in general. There are a couple great cuts on here and no outright bad ones, just a few that are a little bland.