egroj world: Reuben Wilson • Bad Stuff!

Friday, February 7, 2025

Reuben Wilson • Bad Stuff!

Review
by Jason Ankeny
This Unidisc label two-fer compiles both of Reuben Wilson's sessions for the Groove Merchant label. The first, 1972's The Sweet Life, follows a series of sugary soul-jazz dates for Blue Note. The title notwithstanding, the session is his darkest and hardest-edged to date, complete with a physicality missing from previous efforts. Credit tenor saxophonist Ramon Morris, trumpeter Bill Hardman, guitarist Lloyd Davis, bassist Mickey Bass, and drummer Thomas Derrick, whose skin-tight grooves sand away the polished contours of Wilson's organ solos to reveal their diamond-sharp corners. The material, while predictable (i.e., standbys like "Inner City Blues" and "Never Can Say Goodbye"), is nevertheless well suited to the set's righteous funk sound. The 1974 follow-up, The Cisco Kid, pairs Wilson with a murderer's-row support unit including guitarist Melvin Sparks, trombonist Garnett Brown, bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummer Mickey Roker, and percussionist Ray Armando. Given the talent involved, it's regrettable that the album adheres to such a pedestrian formula, reimagining the same pop and soul covers as virtually every other jazz-funk session issued at the time. Besides the title cut, a reworking of War's Latin soul monster, the material includes readings of "Superfly," "The Look of Love," and "We've Only Just Begun" -- the energy and intensity nevertheless ratchet up several notches for the Wilson originals "Snaps" and "Groove Grease," elevating the entire endeavor in the process.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/bad-stuff-mw0001019718

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Reseña
por Jason Ankeny
Este disco doble de Unidisc recopila las dos sesiones de Reuben Wilson para el sello Groove Merchant. La primera, The Sweet Life, de 1972, es la continuación de una serie de sesiones de soul-jazz azucarado para Blue Note. A pesar del título, la sesión es la más oscura y dura hasta la fecha, con una fisicidad que faltaba en los trabajos anteriores. El mérito es del saxofonista tenor Ramon Morris, el trompetista Bill Hardman, el guitarrista Lloyd Davis, el bajista Mickey Bass y el batería Thomas Derrick, cuyos surcos ajustados a la piel lijan los contornos pulidos de los solos de órgano de Wilson para revelar sus esquinas afiladas como diamantes. El material, aunque predecible (por ejemplo, temas tan conocidos como "Inner City Blues" y "Never Can Say Goodbye"), se adapta bien al sonido funk del conjunto. La continuación de 1974, The Cisco Kid, empareja a Wilson con una unidad de apoyo que incluye al guitarrista Melvin Sparks, el trombonista Garnett Brown, el bajista Bob Cranshaw, el batería Mickey Roker y el percusionista Ray Armando. Dado el talento implicado, es lamentable que el álbum se adhiera a una fórmula tan común, reimaginando las mismas versiones pop y soul que prácticamente todas las demás sesiones de jazz-funk publicadas en la época. Además de la canción que da título al disco, una reelaboración del monstruo del soul latino de War, el material incluye lecturas de "Superfly", "The Look of Love" y "We've Only Just Begun"; no obstante, la energía y la intensidad suben varios peldaños en los originales de Wilson "Snaps" y "Groove Grease", elevando todo el trabajo en el proceso.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/bad-stuff-mw0001019718

Tracks:
- The Sweet Life -
1 - Inner City Blues
Written-By – Nyx, Gaye

2 - Cream Puff
Written-By – Wilson

3 - Sugar
Written-By – Turrentine

4 - I'll Take You There
Written-By – Isbell

5 - The Sweet Life
Written-By – Wilson

6 - Never Can Say Goodbye
Written-By – Davis

- The Cisco Kid -
7 - The Cisco Kid
Written-By – Dickerson, Miller, Brown, Scott, Oskar, Jordan, Allen

8 - The Last Tango In Paris
Written-By – Barbieri

9 - Superfly
Written-By – Mayfield

10 - We've Only Just Begun
Written-By – Williams, Nichols

11 - Snaps
Written-By – Wilson

12 - Groove Grease
Written-By – Wilson

13 - The Look Of Love
Written-By – Bacharach/David

Credits:
    Bass [Fender] – Bob Cranshaw
    Compiled By – Dean Rudland
    Congas – Ray Amando
    Design [Package Design] – 9th Planet
    Drums – Mickey Roker
    Guitar – Melvin Sparks
    Liner Notes – Dean Rudland
    Organ – Reuben Wilson
    Trombone – Garnett Brown

This album combines two previously released albums on the Groove Merchant label:
Tracks 1 to 6 from "The Sweet Life" (released 1972, although cd booklet seems to suggest 1974)
Tracks 7 to 13 from "The Cisco Kid" (released 1974)

According to the liner notes, the line-up was the same for these two albums.

Label:    Connoisseur Collection – VSOP CD292
Format:
CD, Compilation
Country:    UK
Released:    2000
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Jazz-Funk
https://www.discogs.com/release/746526-Reuben-Wilson-Groove-Grease