Comin' At Ya!

Inevitably, many artists will be plagued by the dreaded sophomore curse -- they will impress you with a very promising debut album only to disappoint you with their second album. That was the case with Comin' at Ya, Coke Escovedo's follow-up to his generally excellent debut album, Coke. Released in 1976, Comin' at Ya isn't a bad album, it's generally decent, if uneven. But after a debut as strong as Coke, one couldn't help being disappointed by an album that was merely decent. While Linda and Calvin Tillery were the lead vocalists on Coke, Errol Knowles provides the lead vocals this time, and his performances are likable but not fantastic on soul/pop material that ranges from the funky "Runaway" to Carlos Santana's "Everything Is Coming Our Way." Jazz great Joe Henderson (tenor sax) is featured on three covers -- Ernesto Lecuona's "The Breeze and I," Johnny Bristol's "I Wouldn't Change a Thing," and Jose Feliciano's "Stay with Me" -- while guitarist Gabor Szabo is heard on the Latin-influenced "Vida." But the presence of those well respected musicians doesn't erase the fact that this LP, although competent, is the least essential of Escovedo's three solo albums. ~ Alex Henderson