Freddie Roach • The Soul Book - Mocha Motion!

Review by Steve Huey

As Freddie Roach's Blue Note career progressed, his work increasingly celebrated contemporary black culture, and accordingly developed a greater interest in funky, jukebox-ready grooves, a stylistic departure from his initial melodic finesse. Roach took both interests with him to Prestige, as demonstrated on The Soul Book/Mocha Motion, a U.K.-only two-fer compiling his first two albums for the label. Roach definitely brings the hard funk on parts of The Soul Book, but there's a laid-back, even meditative quality to others, which is surprising since his liner notes seem to suggest a concept album about the urban grit of Harlem. That isn't a problem, though; The Soul Book is a fine effort that, even if it doesn't hang together quite as well as his Blue Note dates, does find Roach exploring an impressively wide range of sounds. Mocha Motion is a more consistently funky affair than its eclectic predecessor, and that's both a good and bad thing. Good, because the album works up a solid groove that's maintained from start to finish; bad, because more of the material leans toward the generic. There's an underlying Latin tinge to many of the tracks thanks to conga player Ralph Dorsey, but the dominant feel is unquestionably soul-jazz. Roach partially redeems the less memorable tracks with his fleet-fingered solo work, but it's not quite enough to prevent Mocha Motion from becoming one of his weaker releases. Still, heard in this context as part of a two-fer, it's certainly passable, and the overall package will be worth tracking down for the bigger fans of Roach's brand of soul-jazz.

///////

Reseña por Steve Huey

A medida que avanzaba la carrera de Blue Note de Freddie Roach, su trabajo celebraba cada vez más la cultura negra contemporánea y, en consecuencia, desarrollaba un mayor interés por los ritmos funky y listos para la caja de discos, un alejamiento estilístico de su finura melódica inicial. Roach se llevó ambos intereses a Prestige, como se demostró en The Soul Book / Mocha Motion, una serie de dos fer del Reino Unido que compila sus dos primeros álbumes para el sello. Roach definitivamente trae el hard funk en partes de The Soul Book, pero hay una calidad relajada, incluso meditativa para otros, lo cual es sorprendente ya que sus notas de línea parecen sugerir un álbum conceptual sobre la arena urbana de Harlem. Eso no es un problema, sin embargo; The Soul Book es un buen esfuerzo que, incluso si no se une tan bien como sus fechas de Blue Note, hace que Roach explore una impresionante variedad de sonidos. Mocha Motion es un asunto más funky que su antecesor ecléctico, y eso es algo bueno y malo. Bien, porque el álbum desarrolla un ritmo sólido que se mantiene de principio a fin; Mal, porque más del material se inclina hacia lo genérico. Hay un tinte latino subyacente en muchas de las pistas gracias al jugador de conga Ralph Dorsey, pero el sentimiento dominante es, sin duda, el soul-jazz. Roach redime parcialmente las pistas menos memorables con su trabajo en solitario con los dedos de la flota, pero no es suficiente para evitar que Mocha Motion se convierta en uno de sus lanzamientos más débiles. Aún así, escuchado en este contexto como parte de una oferta doble, es ciertamente pasable, y el paquete en general valdrá la pena para los fanáticos más grandes de la marca de soul-jazz de Roach.

 

Tracklist:
01. Spacious
02. Avatara
03. Tenderly
04. One Track Mind
05. You've Got Your Troubles
06. The Bees
07. Samba De Orfeo
08. (Good) Morning Time
09. Money (That's What I Want)
10. Stinky Fingers
11. Here Comes The Mocha Man
12. Johnnie's Comin' Home No More
13. Warning Shot

Organ, Vocals - Freddie Roach
Saxophone - Edlin "Buddy" Terry
Guitar - Vinnie Corrao
Guitar - Skeeter Best
Drums - Ray Lucas
Drums - Jackie Mills
Drums - Eddie Gladden
Congas - Ralph A. Dorsey
Congas - King Errisson

Soul Book
Recorded June 13 & 28, 1966
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs

Mocha Motion!
Recorded January 5, 1967
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs






MORE Freddie Roach ...

This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive after reading it.
thank for the original uploader

 

Tip: Use JDownloader