Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 08/18/2009
Great Britain's
BGO imprint (an acronym for "Beat Goes On") puts together a pair of well-known full-length titles from the ubiquitous
George Duke. In this two-disc set are his 1977 "official" debut set for
Epic From Me to You (he'd recorded a solo keyboard album in 1976 but the label refused to release it), and his first smash for the label, 1978's
Reach for It. Both albums are presented in fully remastered, 24-bit technology -- the latter album contains a bonus cut.
Though
Reach for It is widely known,
From Me to You, is less so (undeservedly) -- it only reached only number 192 on the
Billboard Top 200. It is divided into two sides, its first six cuts feature
Duke with a startling array of musicians, including guitarist
Michael Sembello, drummer
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, bassists
Stanley Clarke and
Byron Miller, a female backing chorus, and a couple of guest spots from
Dianne Reeves. The set also includes full horn and string sections. In many ways,
From Me to You not only sums up everywhere
Duke had been in his career to that point -- from playing with
Cannonball Adderley,
Frank Zappa, and
Jean-Luc Ponty, and issuing a slew of self-produced jazz fusion dates -- but also pointed to where he was headed.
"Carry On" alone offers the aforementioned portrait in sound: it includes the knotty, impeccably precise keyboard and expanded vocal arrangements of the '70s
Mothers of Invention, the hard-edged roots soul jazz of
Adderley, the Philly soul production model of the time, and the emergent dominance of
George Clinton's
P-Funk sound. The rest of side one showcases the lithe, easy, funky vocal sounds of the era, and showcases
Duke's killer falsetto, inimical of groups like
Earth, Wind & Fire. The second half of the set, is a hardcore jazz-funk instrumental fusion album that commences with
"Up On It," and never lets up the funk.
Reach for It, released in 1978, was recorded after a tour; the material was road tested. It is a much more keyboard- and vocal-oriented set that features the singing talents of
Flora Purim and
Jean Carn (both uncredited for contractual reasons) on the title track, with
Charles Icarus Johnson on guitars.
Chancler on drums, and, with the exception of one track, there is no bass player.
Duke's synth bass does the job), His bandmembers, himself, and a host of female backing singers take the vocals. The album kicks off like an extension of the second side of
From Me to You, with instrumental fusion in
"The Beginning," "Lemme at It," the Brazilian-cum-
Santana-flavored
"Hot Fire," and Latin fusion tunes
"Omi" and
"Diamonds." Other songs such as the title track and
"Watch Out Baby" are simply deep, hard funk, and finally,
"Searchin' My Mind." is a beautiful, sweet soul vocal ballad. These two albums are key parts of the
George Duke legacy; they still hold up as exploratory yet accessible records in which many different musical elements meld together fluidly and seamlessly.
~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
;)
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