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Stay Loose...Jimmy Smith Sings Again


Cliff Englewood

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Well, YMMV--I really enjoy this side. No, JOS ain't the best singer, but when he sticks to the organ it's good and the arrangements aren't bad either. Is it essential? No, and it's probably a bit of a "product of it's time" (i.e. pop through the eyes of jazz in the late 60's), but I really like it. I got mine new for twelve bucks, a good deal to me. I say go for it.

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Grabbin' Hold and One For Members is enough reason to pick this Verve offering up. Sure, the singing features aren't much, but they ain't bad either. I also dig the SOUND of Jimmy's organ on this one. He uses the chorale effect throughout (leslie on slow speed) which he didn't do a whole lot back then. Might have been the first LP he did this on. (Of course he always used it later from the 70's on). Anyway....I dig it and always like these "fun" records of his. This and "Got My Mojo Working" aren't heavy albums, but they're some good examples of Jimmy just ripping up the blues like no one else!

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I was scarred for life after hearing JOS sing "Ain't She Sweet" on "Fourmost Return", so how many are instrumentals and how many vocals? The Jury seems to be split on this one.

Make no mistake, all but 2 are vocals. Some better than others. "Outskirts of Town" is a slow blues and the playing is superb, vocals don't really affect it that much. Others that require more of a real "singer" suffer more.

Like I said, it ain't on top of the JOS pile, quite near the bottom....but it is very "listenable" and enjoyable to my ears. :D

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Well, YMMV--I really enjoy this side.  No, JOS ain't the best singer, but when he sticks to the organ it's good and the arrangements aren't bad either.  Is it essential?  No, and it's probably a bit of a "product of it's time" (i.e. pop through the eyes of jazz in the late 60's), but I really like it.  I got mine new for twelve bucks, a good deal to me.  I say go for it.

I pretty much agree here.

My first impulse was to sell the thing back to a used cd store, but after giving it a few more listenings, I realized that there's enough good stuff here to make it a keeper.

Not essential, but if you're a big Jimmy Smith fan...

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cool, I'd just wanna get this one for the fun factor too.  I would like to d/l  "Respect" from Verve's OOP site, but my uncle told me unless you burn tunes onto Apple hardware, they aren't compatible with other stuff, even burning onto CDR

I have a Dell with itunes and have downloaded and burned the Verve OOPs with no problems, so I have to disagree with your uncle.

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cool, I'd just wanna get this one for the fun factor too.  I would like to d/l  "Respect" from Verve's OOP site, but my uncle told me unless you burn tunes onto Apple hardware, they aren't compatible with other stuff, even burning onto CDR

I have a Dell with itunes and have downloaded and burned the Verve OOPs with no problems, so I have to disagree with your uncle.

How's the music?

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Well if you could only have one, "The Sermon" wouldn't be a bad one to be stuck with. :tup:tup

My previous comment probably sounded a bit more morose then I intended, I added the picture as it shows Jimmy in front of a Hammond with his mouth open, but clearly, not a vocal mike in sight, more than likely laying down some amazing sounds, while Kenny B. looks around to someone else on the session, with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face, to check and make sure he's not the only one hearing this.

Thank God, or whatever other Deities there are out there, that James Oscar Smith was a frustrated, maybe even shit, Piano player.

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Smith on Blue Note is the best, end of story.

Edited by Cliff Englewood
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