mobley's "the flip"

[Guest akanalog]

this is one conn. i have not really heard any comments on. how is it? or let me ask this-unless i am a mobley nut is this album worth it? is it more than just another solid mobley session? thanks for any input. i mean from not hearing it-the lineup is a little intriguing since it is not a typical blue note conglomeration of musicians. also the cover intrigues me since it reminds me of mr. shing-a-ling which is a pretty decent album itself...

[Dan Gould]

Its generally considered to be a solid but unspectacular effort. It is Hank's last recording for Blue Note that came out at the time, and one thing that recommends it compared to his prior album, Reach Out, is the fact that it sticks with the hard bop with no unfortunate covers of then-current pop tunes. Down sides include the fact that the pianist is justly forgotten and the sound on the LP left a lot to be desired. However, in the October Conn thread, someone did remark that the sound is very much improved.

Being a Hank nut, I tracked this down on LP a few years ago and was glad that I did, and not just for the historical nature of the set. Nevertheless, the sound and the pianist were definite disappointments.

[Jazzmoose]

There are a few comments on the "New Conns are in" thread in the Reissue forum.

[Jazzmoose]

Oops!! Make that the "October Conns" thread in the reissue forum!

[JSngry]

I've had it for years and enjoy it quite a bit, actually. The pianist (somewhat not his fault - the instrument he's stuck with is not the best) and bassist (no such excuse for him, sorry to say) ain't too hip, but Philly Joe pretty much renders them irrelevant, and with a frontline like that, everything else takes care of itself.

Somewhat of an unpolished gem, I'd say, and much better than often given credit for, imo. I'd recommend it.

[Dan Gould]

I recommend it too, Jim, I was kind of giving the "generic" review instead of my personal one, which is, its Hank, its good.

And another good thing about it is that you get the first recording of "Early Morning Stroll" and you can compare it to the one on his final album, Breakthrough.

Edited October 10, 2003 by Dan Gould

[BruceH]

I'll go with what Dan said.

Any Hank fan should have it. The album is not quite Hi Voltage but it's got more snap than Thinking of Home.

[JSngry]

Got mine in and spent a few hours listening to it. Still gets the big thumbs up from me, and enthusiastically so.

First things first - this CD sounds different than the LP. The LP gives a credit for "rerecording" to RVG, and I think that basically meant adding reverb to give a more "typical" (of the time) Blue Note "sound". I don't hear that reverb on this CD, and I like that.

Also, there's no hiding the fact that the piano used for this session is not a quality instrument (and I'm being VERY polite here) and that it is not recorded/EQ'ed/whatever worth a damn (ditto). But Vince Bennedetti is NOT a bad player at all. His few solos are very nice, and his comp is right-on. He and Philly hook up QUITE nicely in a more than a few spots. But if you can't get past a bad sounding instrument not at all well recorded...

Also again, Alby Cullaz is...uh....

Ok - Alby Cullaz is not a primary contributor to the overall grooviness that otherwise permeates this date, how's that?

But folks - Hank is ON on this date, walking that rhythmic/tonal tightrope so characteristic of his later period. He's constantly poking and prodding the time and using that "passive agressive" tone of his that sounds so smooth on the outside but is absolutely SEETHING on the inside. Hearing this CD reminded me again why it's long been a favorite of mine amonsgst Hank's recordings. He sounds like he's loaded but not fucked up, and that's the way you want Hank to sound. At least I do.

And speaking of Loaded, Philly is DEFINTIELY loaded, and might even be fucked up. There's a moment or two where he ALMOST veers into chaos. But he's HOT on this record, kicking everybody in the ass, pouring gasoline on the fire whenever it looks like it might even slightly be beginning to lessen. This is not the "disciplined" Philly of the "classic" era, this is the looser, less disciplined Philly of the mid-60s and beyond. If you're not familiar with it, you might be shocked at first listen, but stick with it and feel the heat. It's there, and it's GOOD!

Dizzy and Slide are both in excellent form too, Dizzy really reaching harmonically in spots, and Slide playing with effortless mastery throughout. America's loss was definitely Europe's gain for as long as these two were over there.

The writing is SUPERB. The title tune is a REAL "flip of the bird" not-quite boogaloo, more a "shuffaloo" or a "boogaluffle". But the players dig in deep. The rest of the material is in the classic Mobley mode, lyrical, hip, sophisticated, and very specific in mood and content. The guy was a master (but who am I trying to convince HERE? ) The arrangements are really well written and played too, very full and rich. The removal of the reverb from the LP give them a degree of clarity heretofore lacking. "Snappin' Out" absolutely BURNS in a "Recuerdo Bossa Nova" vein, the horns blending perfectly on the shout chorus. The same thing happens on "Feelin' Folksy" - it sounds like 3 horns, but it FEELS like more. No tricks, no gimmicks, just perfect voicings executed the way they need to be.

The form of what is here called "Early Morning Stroll" (but which fans of BREAKTHROUGH probably insist on calling "18th Hole") seems to trick up the rhythm section and maybe all the soloists except Hank. Another take might have gotten it, but the circumstances might not have allowed for such. This album definitely has an "off the street" feel to it, and it feels to me as if what some people were doing before they came in off the street might have led Mr. Wolff to leave well enough alone, if you know what I mean.

Not a "masterpiece", way too much "roughness" for that, but still one of my more favorite Hank albums overall. I like the way it feels. It feels raw and real. It feels "straight, no filter", coughs and all. It's Blue Collar AND Blue Note. I'd not recommend it to anybody who is a stickler for excellent (or even good) overall recording quality, nor to anybody who gets a little nervous about a bit of "roughneck" vibe in their jazz. But otherwise, I say go for it. It's the sound of Hank in France, hooking up w/Philly Joe again (and doing God know what in the process), and they sound like they're diggin' the shit out of each other's company from start to finish. The spirit seems to have been contagious, because other than the unfortunate Alby Cullaz, it sounds like a splendid time was had by all.

Like the man says, HELL YEAH!

[bertrand]

I listened to this yesterday and noticed that the track called 'Early Morning Stroll' on The Breakthrough is the same as the one called '18th Hole' on The Flip.

I will look at the copyright deposits at the Library of Congress next time I'm there. I know that both these tunes are in the Mobley box. I'm no musician, but my rudimentary piano skills should be enough to figure out what's what.

Bertrand.

[Dave James]

I listened to this one on the plane to Minneapolis last week. I followed it with Hill's Passing Ships. I think the quality of the latter made me less attentive to the former, but I've since listened to The Flip a few more times and I must say, it does tend to grow on you. My only disappointment, as I've stated elsewhere, is that it doesn't include a ballad. I love Hank playing ballads so the lack of one here is a genuine disappointment. There's a truncated sense about this one...like maybe they intended to do more but never did. Certainly worth having, though, and not just for the fact that it's Hank's Blue Note swan song.

Up over and out.

[BruceH]

Just listened to this again today and the last three tracks are just very good tunes. But then I listened to Hi Voltage and I have to agree with Dave: Where's the ballad? Compositionally, "Flip" seems like 3/4's of a good album. (Sonically, it's a dry-run demo for a good album.) Very worth having, just the same.

[DrJ]

And speaking of Loaded, Philly is DEFINTIELY loaded, and might even be fucked up. There's a moment or two where he ALMOST veers into chaos. But he's HOT on this record, kicking everybody in the ass, pouring gasoline on the fire whenever it looks like it might even slightly be beginning to lessen. This is not the "disciplined" Philly of the "classic" era, this is the looser, less disciplined Philly of the mid-60s and beyond. If you're not familiar with it, you might be shocked at first listen, but stick with it and feel the heat. It's there, and it's GOOD!

Jim, as usual, you have hit it right on the head. I was listening in the car the other day and almost spit out my coffee on hearing just HOW close Philly comes to losing it altogether in a couple of spots (but yet, as you mention, then he reigns it back in and plays some really grin-inducing stuff). Remarkable, really, that they released the material at all - BN had certainly rejected takes for MUCH less than this, although I'm really glad they didn't can it. Maybe that's one difference between Lion and Wolff, that tolerance for the raw and spontaneous seemed NOT to be one of Lion's many strong suits.

Anyway, THE FLIP is cool and I feel like I can really enjoy it for the first time now that all the reverb and muffle have been stripped away.

[lukrion]

I've had this one for a few years too on vinyl. The title tune 'The Flip' was available on one of the those Blue Note Funk/Soul compilations about four or five years ago. Hank plays solid, but at least on the title track, this is not one of Philly Joe's better recorded moments. Yeah, he comes close to closing down the tune a few times, but its the accents that he is trying to sync with;often times being between an 8th note to a 16th note behind the whole figure, that really makes it unenjoyable for me to listen to.

Anyway, while I never asked Philly Joe about this record( I didn't even know about it), I know that this was around a time where he was dealing with his "demons", so to speak. I've certainly heard him playing better.

So yeah, as a Mobley fan, I had to update it, but Philly Joe definately had better moments, IMO.

Then again, if you ever saw the Grateful Dead live, you might be familiar with the potential trainwreck just waiting to happen, and not cringe at the warts revealed.

[bertrand]

Following up on the '18th Hole'/'Early Morning Stroll' confusion:

I remember that back on the old board, someone (Aric?) mentioned that 'No Room For Squares' and 'Up A Step' were also inverted. Do I have these right? Are these the two tunes that were supposedly switched?

I could check all four Mobley tunes. The Library of Congress has been helpful in the past in clearing up these kinds of controversies. I was able to decide between Wayne Shorter's 'Harry's Last Stand' and 'Blues A La Carte' which was which.

Sometimes, they cause more confusion. The copyright deposits for Jackie McLean's 'It's Time' and 'Snuff', both from It's Time, are inverted. This time, however, my guess is that it's the copyright deposits that are wrong, and that the record has it right. The one called 'Snuff' on the record is the same tune as 'Iddy Bitty' (from the untitled 1962 session with KD), and I just don't see that tune being retitled as 'It's Time' (although that's what the copyright deposit seems to say).

I'll let you know if I reach any conclusion on those two pairs of Mobley tunes.

Bertrand.

Edited October 24, 2003 by bertrand

[JSngry]

I have to think that "Early Morning Stroll" as heard on BREAKTHROUGH is properly titled. Seems like there was no opportunity for confusion there - Hank had the tune in for the session, and there was nothing else of his to confuse it with except the title tune, and that would have been almost unthinkable. Seems like the opportunity for mistitling would have been much higher on THE FLIP, where all the tunes were Hank's.

Besides, I get the vibe from the music that THE FLIP might not have been the most tightly organized date in the history of Blue Note, if you get my drift so a transpostiotion of tune titles could certainly be understandable.

[bertrand]

I was able to make a brief trip there at lunch today.

A *very cursory* first glance at the lead sheet for '18th Hole' seems to show that it is consistent (at least for the first few bars) with the tune that has that title on The Flip. In this case, the track on The Breakthrough should be called '18th Hole', not 'Early Morning Stroll'.

Now what Hank had in mind is a whole 'nother ball game. Who knows who sent in these leads sheets for copyright.

More to come...

Bertrand.

[Guest ariceffron]

JSNGRY: do you think philly joe was on lsd, beacuse it was paris 1969. or was he still big into heroin?

I've had the flip on cd for at least 3 years now beacuse the really big hank fans in the world took action and bootleged that shit on cd like 10 years ago probably. blue note kind of sucks now. the new reissues arent the 11.99 price ie. GOT A GOOD THING GOIN' ON (a few mos. ago) but now they are like 19 bucks ea. or some rediculous shit like that at borders. fuck. what the hell? does anyone have any info. onto the new pricing policy? I thuoght the gov't is making cd prices go DOWN???!?

[Brandon Burke]

Aric,

Got a Good thing Goin On was a Rare Groove reissue while The Flip is a Connoisseur. Conns are more expensive. Always have been.

[JSngry]

Aric, you guess is as good as mine.

[Brad]

Aric,

See the following thread: Blue Note Pricing.

[Tom 1960]

I happened to come across this thread since this is now along with "Reach Out", one of the only Hank's Blue Note's which has eluded me. From what I've read here "The Flip" is worth purchasing while "Reach Out" might be worth passing up. Looks like I can pick up a used copy for a reasonable price.

[Chuck Nessa]

Both are worth having in my book. OTOH, I think all Mobley is worth owning. If you can think of "Reach Out" as a 10" lp, it's a masterpiece.

[Rooster_Ties]

Most of Reach Out is pretty good (and almost any Woody Shaw is worth hearing, IMHO). The two pop tunes (#1 & #4 below) are not as interesting as one might like (some days I like 'em less than others), but there's otherwise 24 minutes of solid material here. Don't spend a mint on it, but don't pass it up if you see it reasonable.

1. "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" (Dozier, Holland) - 6:49

2. "Up, Over, And Out" - 5:52

3. "Lookin' East" - 5:19

4. "Goin' Out of My Head" (Randazzo, Weinstein) - 7:25

5. "Good Pickin's" - 5:30

6. "Beverly" (Johnson) - 7:01

Oddly, The Flip is the one Hank BN date I don't own (yet), and I really should fix that someday -- if for no other reason than the presence of Dizzy Reece. I've had every Hank BN date for over 5 years, save for this one.

[Chuck Nessa]

[Stereojack]

I've owned "The Flip" for at least 30 years. I passed on it when it came out originally because I'd gotten a little tired of what seemed like a routine with records like "High Voltage", "A Caddy For Daddy" and "Reach Out". Eventually somebody pulled my coat on it, and I'm glad they did, because, in spite of some of the faults mentioned earlier, it's a solid date. "Feelin' Folksy" is one of my favorite Hank tunes.

Oh, and before anybody comes to the defense of the records I seem to have dissed, I'm talking about how I felt some 40 years ago. Nowadays I'm with Chuck - just about all Mobley is worth hearing.