js Its interesting how some music ages better than others. Back in the mid-70s, this sort of commercial jazz-funk seemed like a sell-out in the wake of more adventurous fusion from the likes of Miles Davis and Billy Cobham. Going back and re-visiting this music on its own terms today reveals some great funky grooves topped by hot solos, and like a good wine, a lot of this music has somehow improved with age. “Feels so Good” was Grover Washington’s sixth album and it came hot on the heels of his hugely popular “Mister Magic” album with its hit crossover single of the same name. If you are thinking this was a quick knockoff to capitalize on his new found popularity, there might be some truth to that, but they at least took the time to craft a great timeless RnB/jazz album.

If you aren’t expecting some sort of tribute/extension of his “Mr Magic” single on here, then you don’t know the world of RnB. Artists in this genre are encouraged and even expected to reference their previous hits and even build on them with endless variations. Think of how many “Popcorns” James Brown has out there for a good example. The title song, “It Feels so Good”, is Washington’s ‘remake’ of “Mr Magic” and it has very similar verses, choruses and horn breaks, but in typical RnB fashion it also shows off some new tricks with more complicated breaks and a more extended chorus structure. It’s a great song and satisfies his audience’s craving for another “Mr Magic”, only better.

There’s a lot of nice surprises on here. “Moonstreams” is a spacey fusion ballad, almost psychedelic, with a very nice melody and no pop sugar-coating. With a song title like “Knucklehead” you expect some hard funk, and you get it, plus a great screaming electric guitar solo from the usually mellow Eric Gale. All through this album the funk beats are hard and real and unhampered with slick production or compression. Grover plays many excellent solos and shows why he is one of the best in modern tenor players and not too bad on the soprano as well. Some of the choruses have the strings and other discoisms of the day, but its all good once they get back on the verse and ride for another great solo.

Sean Trane After the excellent MM release, Feel So Good is another brilliant JR/F album and might even be a tad superior to its predecessor, because it’s more even, as it doesn’t bear a weak track. You’ll find almost the same list of usual-CTI-suspects, including arranger Bob James,but as opposed to albums like MM, Grover hogs the songwriting, only allowing BJ and RMcD one credit each.

Opening on the Bob James-penned Sea Lion, FSG still has a mid-70’s fusion stamina, one that keeps going on the slow but excellent Moonstreams, where McDonald’s guitar and Grover’s sax dominate the wind-blows throughout the track. The following Knucklehead keeps the funk-fusion aesthetics rather high, with again a sold guitar solo. On the flipside, the title track is a smoking hot piece with killer brass section interventions and for once BJ’s string arrangements are discreet enough. The closing album-lengthiest Hydra is probably the weaker track on FSG because it remains within the strict groove boundaries, thus already somewhat overstaying its welcome halfway through. As said above, FSG is a pleasant JR/F album. I’ve seen the album coupled on a 2on1 with his other best work, Mister Magic, so you might want to cast two strikes from one stone.