George Duke • The Aura Will Prevail

 

Review by Alex Henderson
In 1975, George Duke was dabbling in R&B vocals. But instrumental jazz-fusion was still his primary focus, and he had yet to be played extensively on any of the genres' stations. When The Aura Will Prevail came out that year, no one bought the LP for its occasional R&B vocal — the main attraction was Duke's keyboard playing. "Fools" is a melancholy soul ballad that finds him singing lead and predicts what was to come on R&B-oriented releases like Don't Let Go (1978) and Master of the Game (1979), but it isn't typical of the album on the whole. This is a fusion effort first and foremost, and Duke has plenty of room to stretch out and improvise on instrumentals that range from the insistent "Floop de Loop" to the Brazilian-influenced "Malibu" (which shouldn't be confused with the Hole/Courtney Love gem). Two of the songs were written or co-written by Frank Zappa: the fusion instrumental "Echidna's Arf" and the gospel-minded soul item "Uncle Remus" (another tune that gives Duke a chance to sing lead). Without question, The Aura Will Prevail is among this artist's finest fusion-oriented albums.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-aura-will-prevail-mw0000901259

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Reseña de Alex Henderson
En 1975, George Duke incursionaba en las voces de R&B, pero su enfoque principal seguía siendo el jazz fusión instrumental, y aún no sonaba con frecuencia en las emisoras de ninguno de los géneros. Cuando The Aura Will Prevail apareció ese año, nadie compró el LP por sus ocasionales voces de R&B: el principal atractivo era el teclado de Duke. “Fools” es una melancólica balada soul en la que canta como solista y anticipa lo que vendría en lanzamientos más orientados al R&B como Don’t Let Go (1978) y Master of the Game (1979), pero no representa el tono general del álbum. Este es, ante todo, un trabajo de fusión, donde Duke tiene amplio espacio para explayarse e improvisar en temas instrumentales que van desde la insistente “Floop de Loop” hasta la brasileña “Malibu” (que no debe confundirse con la pieza de Hole/Courtney Love). Dos de las canciones fueron escritas o coescritas por Frank Zappa: la instrumental de fusión “Echidna’s Arf” y el soul de inspiración góspel “Uncle Remus” (otra pieza donde Duke canta como solista). Sin duda, The Aura Will Prevail se encuentra entre los mejores álbumes de fusión de este artista.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-aura-will-prevail-mw0000901259

Tracks:
1 - Dawn - 4:54
2 - For Love (I Come Your Friend) - 4:34
3 - Foosh - 3:08
4 - Floop De Loop - 6:43
5 - Malibu - 4:07
6 - Fools - 4:29
7 - Echidna’s Arf - 3:33
8 - Uncle Remus - 5:09
9 - The Aura - 1:26

Credits:
George Duke – vocals, Moog bass, Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric piano, clavinet, ARP Odyssey and String Ensemble, pedalboard
Alphonso Johnson – electric bass
Leon “Ndugu” Chancler – vocals, drums, congas
Airto Moreira – percussion
Gee Janzen – vocals
Kathy Woehrle – vocals
Sylvia St. James – vocals
Producer – Baldhard G. Falk
Engineer – Kerry McNabb
Design – Wilfried “Sätty” Podriech

Label: MPS / BASF
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Jazz-Funk, Fusion
https://www.discogs.com/master/122795-George-Duke-The-Aura-Will-Prevail

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