BrotherSpanky.

FTR: First Listen #11

Album #285: Quincy Jones – “I Heard That!!” (1976, A&M)

Side One:

1. I Heard That!!

2. Things Could Be Worse For Me

3. What Good Is A Song

4. You Have To Do It Yourself

Side Two:

5. There’s A Train Leavin’

6. Midnight Soul Patrol

7. Brown Soft Shoe

8. Superstition

Side Three:

9. Summer In The City

10. Is It Love That We’re Missin’

11. Body Heat

12. If I Ever Lose This Heaven

Side Four:  

13. Killer Joe

14. Gula Matari

15. Theme from “The Anderson Tapes”

16. Walking In Space

I have to admit that I was relatively unfamiliar with this album — at least the first two sides of this pet project, which are songs partly composed by Quincy’s pop vocal group THE WATTSLINE, a group assembled via a pre-reality show nationwide audition contest. The second half, being comprised of rereleased material, is much more recognizable to me, but I look forward to re-listening to them with as much focus as I will give to those songs that are new to me. 

• The album opens with the title track: a funky introduction, featuring simple chord changes and a synthesizer solo that brings the all-too-short piece to a close.
• While there are definitely songs that tend toward the hokey in their lyrics and vocal arrangements (“Things Could Be Worse For Me” and the cover of Stevie’s “Superstition” is an example), their instrumental arrangements are consistently solid. 
• On the first side, there seems to be a consistent overuse of choral harmonies and elaborate arrangements (perhaps due to the fact that Q had to feature a vocal quintet) that sometimes weaken lyrics that could have been delivered more poignantly with fewer vocal lines. “What Good Is A Song” is an example of this.
• Dave Grusin puts his entire foot (or perhaps hands) in this album. His keyboard and synthesizer work definitely livens up several songs that could have otherwise been considered relatively uninspiring.
• “You Have To Do It Yourself,” a song used for children’s public television show “ReBop” features legendary drummers Harvey Mason and James Gadson. As a drummer and huge fan of both, I’d give a pinky finger to go back in time to watch how they tracked that studio session.
• The opening to “There’s A Train Leaving” is HARD. If I had any choice in the matter, I would definitely be flipping that sample. 
• I spoke too soon. “Midnight Soul Patrol” is that JAM. An instrumental par excellence, even featuring an acoustic/Moog drum solo by Billy Cobham.
• Side Three is billed as the “Award-Winning Side,” featuring the Pharcyde and Roots-sampled “Summer In The City,” George Johnson’s “Is It Love That We’re Missin,’” the 2Pac-sampled “Body Heat,” and the De La Soul-sampled “If I Ever Lose This Heaven.”
• Side Four (the “Grammy-Winning Side”) closes with jazz standard “Killer Joe” and masterpieces “Gula Matari,” “Theme From The Anderson Tapes,” and “Walking In Space.”

Track #: 2 - “Things Could Be Worse For Me”

-BrotherSpanky

FTR: First Listen #10

Album #277: Quincy Jones – “The Dude” (1981, A&M)

Side One:

1.     Ai No Corrida

2.     The Dude

3.     Just Once

4.     Betcha’ Wouldn’t Hurt Me

Side Two:

5.     Somethin’ Special

6.     Razzamatazz

7.     One Hundred Ways

8.     Velas

9.     Turn On The Action

Sometimes, I’m not quite sure about Quincy Jones. There, I said it. He is indeed a veritable giant of the music world. He is talented beyond compare. I ultimately respect his art even more than I do his fine, racially-ambiguous daughters. But there are those small moments (read: the Ray Charles/Chaka Khan remake of the Brothers Johnson’s “I’ll Be Good To You” and the entirety of “Soul Bossa Nostra”) that sometimes cause me to raise my eyebrow for just a moment. But even with those infrequent and temporary miscues, I have to admit that as a composer/arranger/producer, Quincy is the G.O.A.T. I’m looking forward to sitting down to a full listen of The Dude.

• Both “Ai No Corrida” and “Turn On The Action” tend towards the flashy and over-produced, but still serve as solid bookends to open and close the album, respectively.

• I didn’t remember this, but MJ definitely sings background vocals on “The Dude.”

• I had almost forgotten about my Patti Austin fandom. Listening to her on the Stevie Wonder-penned “Betcha’ Wouldn’t Hurt Me” did wonders to remind me of that.  She’s no slouch on the playfully jubilant “Razzamatazz” either. Definitely goes into my “underrated” list. I know she better get an “Unsung” episode on TVOne soon.

• I didn’t realize that this record was actually James Ingram’s debut. He definitely impresses throughout, especially “One Hundred Ways” (the song I secretly hope I don’t get assigned, since MF DOOM already killed it for “Rhymes Like Dimes,” flipping that perfect synthesizer solo).

• Songs like “Somethin’ Special” that have Quincy’s name listed nowhere in their extensive liner notes make me wonder what his involvement looked like during some of these sessions, and wish that I could have seen that process. I’d fill my life with music documentaries if I had the time and money. I’m definitely hoping it wasn’t a Diddy/Dre-type-of-nodding-toward-the-board-in-approval sort of thing. Maybe because my own composition/arrangement/production process is so intermingled, lines are blurred between the tasks.

• Ladies and Gentlemen: the incomparable Toots Thielemans, whistler and harmonica player extraordinaire. (Yes, that’s the sample for Jodeci’s “Get On Up.”)

Overall, the album is definitely a product of its historical situation (the early 80s), but is simultaneously emblematic of how Quincy changed the musical landscape as a pioneer who was emulated to the point of quintessence. Well worth the focused listen.

SIDENOTE: After re-listening to this album, I have come to the conclusion that if I could play a Yamaha CS-80 in person, I’d be really happy. 

Track #: 5 – “Somethin’ Special”

-BrotherSpanky