BOB JAMES — One (review)

BOB JAMES — One album cover Album · 1974 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
FunkFreak75
After "apprentice" work under Quincy Jones and as an arranger for Creed Taylor and his record label's stable of studio musicians, Creed backed Bob to start up his solo career.

A1. "Valley Of The Shadows" (9:42) great sound, great musicians over a not-so great composition (where are the earworm melodies?) Trying too hard to sound like DEODATO's "Also Sprach Zarathustra: 2001" (17.5/20)

A2. "In The Garden" (3:06) again, like Deodato's prelude here is a smooth-jazzified version of Pachelbel's famous Canon (in D Maj, P 37). It's rather sad in this countrified form. (8.6667/10)

A3. "Soulero" (3:22) a song that is credited as composition by Bob and Richard Evans though it existed since 1965 when Eddie Higgins recorded it (with Richard) as the B-side of his single "Beautiful Dreamer" that sounds a lot like the Ravel "Bolero"-inspired Sketches in Spain. Nicely sophisticated. (8.75/10)

B1. "Night On Bald Mountain" (5:51) the music everyone knows from the Disney use in the uber-popular Fantasia animated film. At least Bob and his gents make it jazzy. (8.875/10)

B2. "Feel Like Making Love" (6:40) Bob & Company's smooth jazz rendition of the Roberta Flack hit. Definitely sounds like a song rendered--and destined--for the Adult Contemporary/Easy Listening/Elevator Music audiences. Pretty, but so was the original. (8.75/10)

B3. "Nautilus" (5:08) Bob's second and only other original composition--and the one that really launched his career as a solo artist. Spacious and slow paced in a way that predicts and feeds into all of the jazz-tinged music that would hit the radio waves in 1975 & 6. There is some great orchestration integrated into this one as well as some awesome bass play (courtesy of Gary King). (9/10)

Total Time: 34:02

B-/3.5 stars; a nice presentation of well-performed and -arranged Smooth Jazz--one that relies too heavily on known songs and too little on interesting and engaging melodies.

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