Jump to content

Dr. Lonnie Smith


Jazzmoose

Recommended Posts

I heard a cut (Paper Tiger) from this disc on KCSM the other day, and decided to give it a spin. Now, I know beans about this Beck guy; I'm sure 90% of you guys here know more about him than I do. I just don't listen to new pop/rock anymore to any great degree. So whether or not this was a good idea is for someone else to decide; all I can comment on is the execution.

Frankly, I can't recommend this disc. Maybe it's because I hang out here, but I can't help but compare other organ CDs to our own beloved Organissimo's effort, and this one comes up short. Lonnie Smith's organ work is cool, but seems awfully simple to me (speaking as a decided NONexpert, of course). Fathead Newman's sax is fine, but it's not enough to carry the disc. Weakest of all to me is the drum work (Lafrae Sci, it says here...). I mean, these drums would go over alright on the latest pop disc, but for jazz? Maybe it's just me, but I've heard drum machines with more soul...

I'm probably making this out to be worse than it is, but still...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be interested to hear more discussion on this, since I"ve been considering picking it up as well.

An independent station here, wxpn, has a great weekly "friday night funk" set, and the host has played two tracks from this, both of which I've found greazzzy as hell; anyone else got the whole thing?

Moose, if it's just weighting down your collection, maybe I could buy it from you?

Peter J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When it first came out several reliable reviewers gave it an enthusiastic thumbs down. Apparently Beck's music is not structured well for this purpose.

I like Beck's music, though he hasn't equalled Mellow Gold IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Turbanator is a truly original voice on the instrument. I haven't heard this new disc yet, but don't let that one disc throw you off. I've seen him live four times and he's an amazing and engaging performer. He coaxes some sounds out of that 50 year old instrument (the B3) that I've never heard before.

Of his new(er) releases, I like the tributes to Jimi Hendrix that were on the now-defunct Music Masters label. I wish someone would record him live as I don't think he's been really captured on record yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Lonnie's playing. Admittedly I haven't heard much of his post-BN recorded output, but I think Lonnie live is a different creature to Lonnie on record. Live, he's amazing, and can whip up a storm like no-one else I can think of. I haven't heard this new one, but 'simple' isn't a label I'd associate with the Dr. Albeit that he's got all the B-3 tricks up his sleeve, he's also got a really deft touch, and a quite unusual (in a good way!) melodic sense. And a really puckish sense of humour to go with it!

I've also never seen anyone apparently enjoying themself so much whilst playing as well, and it's REALLY infectious!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Picked this up recently on eBay, and just got it in the mail yesterday. Had a bunch of "drivin' around town" stuff to do, and discovered it in my mailbox as I walked out the door.

Got through the first 4 or 5 tracks in the car, and I was very pleasantly surprised by this disc. :tup Maybe it helps that I know at least half of the tunes from their Beck versions (but it's not that I'm a Beck fanatic, as I don't own any Beck CD's, I just know what I've heard on the radio over the years). Listening to the rest now, with about the last 1/3 of the disc yet to go.

Not my "album of the year", but based on the feedback I had read in this thread, I'm liking it quite a bit better than I had expected to. Pretty solid disc, IMHO. :tup

For context, perhaps I should add that my favorite organ players are Larry Young and John Patton, particularly when they're with more adventuresome horn-players, and I dig MMW quite a bit, though I tire of the repetition in their music at times. So In that regard, Lonnie Smith's "Beck" album isn't really all that progressive, but it's got a good groove to it, and the playing is fairly imaginative, particularly from Lonnie and Fathead.

I wouldn't run out and buy "Boogaloo to Beck" at full-list price, plus shipping. But if you find a good deal on it somewhere, it's probably worth it, especially if you at least know some Beck off the radio.

By the way, the disc is like 30-seconds shy of 79-minutes long. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but there's a ton of music to be had on this disc. Is it too long and rambling?? - or nearly a double-album for the price of a single?? Depends on how much you like it, I suppose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... and I dig MMW quite a bit, though I tire of the repetition in their music at times.

:blink:

I love what MMW does (I've seen 'em live 4 or 5 times, including the all-acoustic tour), and they get into grooves that are deep as the ocean. But then they'll stay there in those same grooves longer than I think really supports the music. (I think this is more true of their live performances, than on record.)

I haven't heard them live in a while (a couple years, at least), but I used to think that as much as I like and often love what MMW does, I just don't think they're as interesting as soloists, as they are as a collective band. It's like they milk grooves a bit past when they've really hit their critical mass, and the content of their soloing doesn't (for me, at least) sustain the music as far and and long as they want to play it.

Don't get me wrong, I think MMW is one of the best at what they do. And they can cut grooves that are cavernously deep (one of their greatest strengths). And for that, I'll always love 'em. It's just that they don't have that ability to tell stories in their solos at the same caliber as their ability to groove as a band. (At least not for me.)

I know, others will think differently. And I'm not saying "this is my opinion, and I'm right!!", but that is my honest reaction to the music, for what it's worth.

PS: You should hear how my wife thinks they’re nothin’ but repetition. For the life of her, she can’t see at all what I hear in MMW, when I complain about the repetitive and/or simplistic nature of some of the bands she likes. I try to explain it’s the overall groove that’s so killer, but my explanation always seems to fall on deaf ears.

Edited by Rooster_Ties
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see what you're saying Rooster--MMW might be better suited to keep their songs in the three minute range, like funk 45s. Get the groove across and be done with it, and leave 'em wondering how so much funk could be dropped in such a small amount of time. If they are going to stretch out, they should really stretch out and go beyond the original groove they introduce...don't get stuck in a rut like a beat machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soulive tends to get into the repitition of groove thing as well, and I don't find them very interesting as soloists. I saw them on BET on Jazz yesterday, a tune called "Lenny" where Eric Krasno (playing what looked similar to a Pat Metheny Ibanez model) had this boring solo of nothing but blues cliches behind Neal Evans' 3 or 4 long organ chords behind a synth fretless bass line. If they were interesting soloists it'd be ok, but the way they stay on a groove is not that interesting to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, I got through the whole disc, and my review is pretty much the same. Out of a possible five, I'd probably give it 4 stars, or maybe only 3.5 (more likely) -- I'll hafta listen to it some more to know which. Still, a pretty decent disc.

Another "by the way", I never have been able to get my ears around MMW's accoustic work, or more specifically Medeski's piano work. I can appreciate it on some levels, but it doesn't really speak to me. I'm talking about their more recent all-acoustic tour, and disc ("Tonic" I think it was called). I do, however, really like Medeski's piano work on their very first album, way back when. More "pianistic", and less "groovy Cecil Taylor"-esque, in my estimation. Don't get me wrong, I have a bunch of respect for Medeski and the group, but they're speaking to me a little less over time.

Edited by Rooster_Ties
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...