Deodato - Prelude (1972)

Eumir Deodato started out as an arranger using bossa nova material from his native Brazil. After the military dictatorship took power there, Deodato moved to New York and eventually became known to Creed Taylor through mutual acquaintances. Prelude is most known for the opening track "Also Sprach Zarathustra," an crossover jazz adaptation of the classical piece penned by Richard Strauss and famous at the time of Prelude for its incorporation in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. This track has a lengthy Rhodes introduction that leads to almost transcription of the orchestral piece over a funk groove. Once the orchestral namesake has been covered, the tune goes into a funk breakdown full of solos until the tune comes back to the classical material to close to tune. "Spirit of Summer" is a fairly laidback tune dominated by strings characteristic of the 1970s. Deodato takes a solo on the Fender Rhodes and guitarist Jay Berliner takes a memorable flamenco-tinged solo, which leads into an orchestral outplay. "Carly & Carole" is actually my favorite on the album, probably because it's the most similar to latin jazz music in the same vein. "Carly & Carole" has a lot of influences of bossa nova with the funky Rhodes groove and the melody in the flute. This track also has an extended Rhodes solo by Deodato which really shows off his Latin roots; something not as clear on the other tracks. "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" is an arrangement of a tune from the 1953 music Kismet which is itself borrowed from the second movement of Borodin's String Quartet in D. It is essentially a riff tune with extended solo breaks for guitarist John Tropea, a musician noted for his studio work. "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" is an adaptation of Debussy's symphonic tone poem of the same name. As far as the classical adaptations go on this album, this is probably the strongest and most developed arrangement (CTI must have thought so to, as it is the track to give its title to the album). This track has marvelous transitions and features trumpeter Marvin Stamm and flutist Hubert Laws during various sections. As far as incorporation of all the musicians, this track is probably the finest because it has the most expansive scope. The album closes with "September 13," another riff based tune which opens up to feature John Tropea. The end tune opens up to include the trumpet and flute sections repeating the groove that underlays the whole tune. This is one of the most successful albums CTI ever had, and it shows the key to CTI's success and demise. While some of the original material and classical adaptations are fine spectacles of musicianship and musical conception, some fall short or are just based on simple riff tunes that don't really develop. 

Kool & the Gang - Kool & the Gang (1969)

Kool & the Gang's debut sounds nothing like much of the material the general public know by them. Formed in Jersey City, NJ in 1964, the band was originally called the Jazziacs until they were mis-billed as Kool & the Gang during a gig and just stuck with the name. Despite, their penchant for funk tunes later in their career, Kool & the Gang is much jazzier on this album. Call it soul jazz. Call it jazz-funk, but whatever genre you label it under, it's much more jazz than anything. The title track of the album opens the album to a great start; a funky guitar riff and a tambourine build to introduce the horn line of saxes and trumpet. This track, "Kool & the Gang," was a surprise hit and reached #59 on the Billboard Top 100. This track is a great indication of what the album will be like; there are lots of funky grooves that create a great vehicle for the three horns. "Breeze & Soul" is a personal favorite of mine and opens with a relaxed electric piano solo that transitions into a harmonized melody carried by the horns. This track is different than most Kool & the Gang material in that the piano is the primary source of harmony rather than the guitar; the guitar typically ornaments what the piano is doing for most of the track. "Chocolate Buttermilk" is another highlight to a great album. This track some really great unison horn writing with great transitions. Towards the end of the track the alto plays extensions of the chord that makes for a harmonically close to the track. "Sea of Tranquility" moves to a laidback feel and adds vibes to create "moon sounds." I call them "moon sounds" because the Sea of Tranquility is on the moon. "Give it Up" is an medium tempo funk marked by tremolos on a bluesy-sound piano and horn lines that build up to a solo by tenor sax player Khalis Bayyan. "Kool's Back Again" recalls the first track as the opening guitar shares close similarities to the one that opens the first track albeit much slower. "Let the Music Take Your Mind" is a great close to the album, and is the only track that has extended vocals. The lack of vocals on the majority of this album is really what sets it apart from the rest of the Kool & the Gang discography and aligns the album much more definitively in the realm of jazz. There's not much variation in how the horns are orchestrated, but that's not really what funk music is about. It's about the groove, and this album experiments with a variety of them. "Breeze & Soul" and "Sea of Tranqulity" incorporate instruments like the electronic piano and vibes that are uncommon in funk, but the majority of these tunes are straight-ahead funk with a jazz sensibility.

Bread - Manna (1971)

Bread's third album Manna unknowingly highlights what eventually would drive the band to fall apart. Despite having a rock songwriter in James Griffin and having a talented pop rock songwriter with a tendency to write ballads in David Gates, it was David Gates' songs that gained the most popularity and consequently drove the band's financial success. This rift in the acceptance of their music grew into the lives of the two men, eventually causing the band to split in early 1973. Bread is a fundamental part of the genre of soft rock that flowered in the early 70s with bands like America. The first song "Let Your Love Go" is a Gates penned tune which is unusual given its driving rock feeling. The opening track showcases the vocal harmony which is very typical of Bread. In fact, Bread was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006. "Take Comfort" is an interesting for the juxtaposition of the driving rock sections against the halftime ballad sections. Don't let my introduction mislead you, Griffin could write a good song, his songs were just financially outshone by Gates' material. "Too Much Love" is a great song that blends the sounds of electric and acoustic guitars and shows Bread's partial roots in country music. "Too Much Love" has a bass line that sounds like it is right out of a country song, but it is the bluesy guitar and the rhythm of the hi-hat on the drums that makes this song sound much more than a country song. "If" is the highlight of the album and personally one of my favorite Bread songs of all time. Harmonically, "If" is a very interesting pop tune. While "If" is primarily based on A(I), D(IV) and E(V) chords, Gates frequently uses borrowed chords (mostly the minor iv) from the parallel minor to create a fantastic ballad. When all of the elements of the wah-wah effect on electric guitar, the arpeggios on the acoustic guitar, and Gates' falsetto are mixed together "If" becomes a terrific example of great songcraft. "He's a Good Lad" is another personal favorite and stylistically very similar to much singer/songwriter material of its time. The layering effect created as instruments slowly enter the song, orchestrated strings, and the piano maintaining the pulse are all pretty common in music of the time. "I Say It Again" highlights many of the elements that made Bread famous; its mixing of electric/acoustic, vocal harmony, and Gates' falsetto are all at the fore of this song.  "Come Again" combine a lot of influences into an interesting track. The track starts in a ballad feel with the piano playing in unison with Gates. The track then moves into a semi-jazz feel with brushes on the drums. This juxtaposition continues with the ballad progressively becoming more orchestrated and the "response" section becoming stylistically varied. "Come Again" reiterates a lot of the elements that make Bread an interesting band. Harmonized vocals, a mixture of electric/acoustic, orchestrated strings, and an embrace of other genres are the primary elements of Bread's music and why I continue to listen to their music year after year.

Badfinger - Straight Up (1971)

Furthering the exploration of a singer/songwriter "kick," Straight Up is notable when compared to previous posts as it was produced by Todd Rundgren. Released in December 1971, Straight Up is one of the finest albums by Badfinger, one of those groups you didn't know you knew. Developing out of a group The Iveys, Badfinger got its name from the working title of Lennon-McCartney's "With a Little Help from My Friends" and is known for such hits as "Baby Blue," "Day After Day," and "No Matter What." Unfortunately, as is the case with many bands, the tragedy of the suicides in the band often overshadow a serious look at the music. Music critics will refer to Badfinger as "power pop," but as was the case in my review of Egg and Canterbury scene I'm hesitant to embrace the term as the musicians themselves didn't use it. (The term originated from an interview with Pete Townshend of The Who, but in its context it's unclear if he is actually labeling himself as such). Straight Up opens with the medium-tempo ballad "Take It All" penned by Pete Ham. This track is a fantastic opener because of the gradual entrances in the beginning of the track; the track starts with piano, voice, and harmonics on the guitar and builds to include organ, drums, and bass. "Baby Blue" is the next track on the album and one of my personal favorites. "Baby Blue" is a good example of why Badfinger is considered "power pop" because of the liberal use of power chords in the guitar. Yet, it seems senseless to base a genre around the frequent use of one type of chord. "Baby Blue" is an interesting track because despite tending toward the major key (the exception being the bridge) the words of the song are very melancholy. This creates a great tension in the listener which is resolved in the minor bridge and the outro. "Flying" is a quaint piece because of the word-painting it uses along the concept of flying. The long notes in the verse and especially the suspended held notes later in the track give a sense of gliding. "I'd Die Babe" is a great track with a notable driving bass line, and syncopated comping in the keyboard synced with the crash cymbals. This track is also testament to the tasteful use of vocal harmony that is key to a number of Badfinger songs. "Name of the Game" is a great ballad noteworthy for the sporadic harmonized vocal backgrounds and Ham's work on piano. The bass primarily outlines the roots of the chords and isn't very busy until the choruses. Despite making some good solo vehicles on guitar, the piano seems to be just as integral to the Badfinger sound. "Day After Day" is indefinitely one of Badfinger's most well-known singles and one of my favorites. "Day After Day" uses a lot of the elements of its other songs such as prominent piano, vocal harmony, and driving bass lines in an excellent execution. This track is also noteworthy for George Harrison's slide guitar solo, who was the record's producer until he left to produce The Concert for Bangladesh. The closing track "It's Over" seems to be a bit tongue-in-cheek when its subject matter is compared to its place on the album. "It's Over" is a great feature for the vocals of the group as well as one more taste of Ham's piano and Molland's guitar.