Richard ''Groove'' Holmes • Soul Power

Review by Richie Unterberger

The selection of material for Soul Power! was a little pop-oriented, including a few contemporary soul hits ("How Can I Be Sure," "Sunny," "Gimme Little Sign"), "Since I Fell for You," and Neal Hefti's ballad "Girl Talk," rounded out by Horace Silver's "The Preacher" and Richard "Groove" Holmes' own "Soul Power." There's not much that can be said about the performances that couldn't be said about numerous other soul-jazz sessions of the late '60s (many on the same label, Prestige). It's relaxed and funky, organ-paced small-combo music, Holmes perhaps breaking out less of a sweat than some of his more bop-influenced and frenetic contemporaries. The unexpected high point is the cover of the Rascals' "How Can I Be Sure." Far from being a routine run-through of a then-current pop hit, it has some compellingly stuttering, overlapping runs from Holmes and a swinging, tense rhythm backup. That rapid-fire style of organ reappears to a somewhat lesser degree in "Sunny," and for the most part the rest of the set is more in line with the routine Prestige soul-jazz product of the era.

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Reseña por Richie Unterberger

La selección de material para Soul Power! estaba un poco orientado al pop, incluyendo algunos éxitos contemporáneos ("How Can I Sure", "Sunny", "Gimme Little Sign"), "Since I Fell for You", y la balada de Neal Hefti "Girl Talk" completado por "The Preacher" de Horace Silver y "Soul Power" de Richard "Groove" Holmes. No se puede decir mucho sobre las actuaciones que no se podrían decir sobre otras numerosas sesiones de soul-jazz de finales de los 60 (muchas en el mismo sello, Prestige). Es una música combo pequeña, relajada y funky, a ritmo de órgano, que tal vez Holmes esté sudando menos que algunos de sus contemporáneos más frenéticos y más influenciados por el bop. El punto culminante inesperado es la portada de los Rascals "Cómo puedo estar seguro". Lejos de ser una repetición de rutina de un golpe pop actual, tiene algunas secuencias superpuestas y tartamudeantes de Holmes y una copia de seguridad de ritmo tenso. Ese estilo de órgano de fuego rápido reaparece en menor medida en "Sunny", y en su mayor parte el resto del conjunto está más en línea con el producto de Prestige de soul-jazz de la época.

 

A1 Soul Power 5:50
A2 Gimme Little Sign 2:30
A3 How Can I Be Sure 5:00
A4 Sunny 5:35
B1 Since I Fell For You 8:25
B2 The Preacher 7:15
B3 Girl Talk 5:50


Personnel & Credits:
The Richard "Groove" Holmes Sextet:
Richard "Groove" Holmes (org)
Wally Richardson, Steve Wolfe (g)
Jimmy Lewis (el-b)
Ben Dixon (d)
Dave Blume (cga)
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 19, 1967

   

 

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