I remember this record, along with Charles Lloyd's Forrest Flower, it was a bit of a "crossover" hit, an effect that still lingered on into the 70s, which is when I found it. Interesting that both were live albums that featured extended pieces that were really good for "grooving" to, in whatever condition you found yourself in at any given moment.
I like this record well enough, it's good stuff with a really unique band, unhackneyed voices, if you will. One of those "moments in time" things, for sure, when the right band is in the right place at the right time and the tape is rolling.
Handy's Roulette sides should not be overlooked. The impulse! sides, otoh, are strictly of sociological intrest, imo, and this coming from somebody who is not automatically opposed to "that type of thing". But geez, "Hard Work", the song, was a HUGE R&B hit, good lord, that thing was everywhere on Black Radio. the Frat Party Band I was in at the time...I had a feature where I'd start out doing "Mister Magic" on tenor, then there would be a break where I'd play tenor and alto simultaneously, riff a while, and then hit the "Hard Work" lick on both horns to bring the band back in and we'd keep going with me on alto now. Community Show Business Music Showtime at it's...uh....well, the crowd went wild, whatever that means.
But apart from those two, anything with John Handy on it is something I will want to listen to at least once, even that silk album, that one was not really hearty, but, as they say, I kinda dug what they were trying to do. And this Monterrey album, maybe a bit of catching lightening in a bottle, but if that's a problem, I've yet to figure out what it might be.