Charlie's Greatest Hits

構成数 : 1
合計収録時間 : 00:59:27
Personnel: Charles Earland (organ); Rudy Copeland (vocals); Jimmy Heath (soprano saxophone, flute); Houston Person, Rusty Bryant, Grover Washington Jr., Billy Harper, Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Virgil Jones, Gary Chandler, Lee Morgan, Eddie Henderson, Gary Chandler (trumpet); Clayton Pruden (trombone); Hubert Laws (piccolo); Dr. Patrick Gleeson (ARP & Moog synthesizers); Melvin Sparks, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Maynard Parker, Eddie Arkin (guitar); Jimmy Lewis (electric bass); William Thorpe (bass); Bernard Purdie, Idris Muhammad, Jimmy Turner, Jesse Kilpatrick, Billy Cobham, Harvey Mason (drums); Buddy Caldwell, Sonny Morgan (congas); Larry Killian (percussion). Engineers include: Rudy Van Gelder. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey between 1969 and 1972; Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California on December 11, 1973; live at the Key Club, Newark, New Jersey on September 17, 1970. Includes liner notes by Larry Hollis. Digitally remastered by Kirk Felton (2000, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Personnel: Charles Earland (organ); Rudy Copeland (vocals); Eddie Arkin, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Maynard Parker, Melvin Sparks (guitar); Jimmy Heath (flute, soprano saxophone); Hubert Laws (piccolo); Grover Washington, Jr., Houston Person, Joe Henderson, Rusty Bryant, Billy Harper (tenor saxophone); Eddie Henderson, Gary Chandler, Virgil Jones (trumpet); Jesse Kilpatrick, Harvey Mason, Sr. , Idris Muhammad, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Billy Cobham (drums); Buddy Caldwell, Sonny Morgan (congas); Lawrence Killian (percussion). Audio Remasterer: Kirk Felton. Recording information: Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA (12/15/1969-09/17/1970); Key Club, Newark, NJ (12/15/1969-09/17/1970); Van Gelder's Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (12/15/1969-09/17/1970). Unknown Contributor Roles: Eddie Henderson; Grover Washington, Jr.; Houston Person; Idris Muhammad; Melvin Sparks; Rusty Bryant; Bernard "Pretty" Purdie; Billy Harper; Virgil Jones; Rudy Copeland. Greatest Hits is not such a hot, or accurate, title for an album that has seven songs recorded between 1969-1974. Even if Earland's stint at Prestige during this time is reckoned to be his peak on record (as it usually is), that's not such a thorough overview of a period that saw him do about ten albums. That's particularly so as five of the seven songs here are covers of contemporary pop hits, including two versions of his renowned take on "More Today Than Yesterday" (the 1969 studio recording and a 1970 live one). "More Today Than Yesterday" is his most famous track, yet at several decades' remove it still seems as though his pop covers -- also including the Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together" and "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" on this anthology -- do not challenge Earland's imagination as much as other material would. It's easy listening jazz, in the better sense, but not great jazz (or great pop-jazz), although a boatload of fine players help him out at various points, including guitarist Melvin Sparks, drummer Idris Muhammad, tenor saxophonist Houston Person, drummer Bernard Purdie, and (making his recording debut, according to the liner notes) Grover Washington, Jr. on the live "More Today Than Yesterday." In contrast, Earland's two originals, the cooking ten-minute "Morgan" (with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Hubert Laws on piccolo, and Billy Cobham on drums) and "Leaving This Planet" (with Joe Henderson on tenor sax), are more ear-stretching and satisfying. "Morgan"'s good straight-ahead jazz, while "Leaving This Planet" is a quirky yet interesting detour into Stevie Wonder-influenced fusion, complete with cosmic vocal philosophizing and moogs aplenty. The disc concludes with a good previously unreleased live 11-minute cover of "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" (mainly known as an Aretha Franklin track) from 1970, again with Grover Washington, Jr. on sax. ~ Richie Unterberger
録音 : ステレオ (Studio)