Lou Donaldson
Hot Dog (Blue Note 28267)

Hot dog! Another thoroughly enjoyable Lou Donaldson record to add to your Make-A-Wish list. Perhaps not a very ambitious use of the Make-A-Wish program, but it's your wish, sickie! What's your disease again, terminal groovin'?

For this session, Lou is joined by Melvin Sparks (guitar), Charles Earland (organ), Leo Morris (drums), and Ed Williams (trumpet) for a straight-ahead R&B jazz set. "Who's Making Love" opens up the album, peppered with some group vocals and some seriously smooth soloing from Lou on alto sax. "Turtle Walk" comes next, a song which could have its seven-and-a-half minutes chopped up into two-second samples to create 225 good hip-hop songs. I shall get to work on that in a few minutes.

I do sort of worry that this and other "acid jazz" roots records do not get their due because few people listen to them for the actual expression of the album (rather than seeking samples, or what have you). Than again, I suppose it's just a good thing that the album stays in print and that we never forget the glorious funkdifyin'.

Tommy Turrentine's "Bonnie" is the ballad, then Lou's "Hot Dog" and a smokin' version of "It's Your Thing." The players all seem to be having a good old relaxed time. They knew they weren't making Blue Train, but this bag is no throwaway either.

Hot Dog is probably a mediocre album, or boring, or unimportant. But I keep playing it, and that's a call-out to all would-be critics to get over it, and to get their groove on. If you can only have one Blue Note rare groove in your collection, or even one Lou Donaldson album, you'd probably be better off with Alligator Bogaloo or Everything I Play is Funky. But what kind of cheap-ass are you? Get 'em all and get happy, kid.

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Review by Chubbo Fenderson