 Grant Green One of the things I love about Grant Green is that he was unafraid to be lazy. He made some of Blue Note's most incredible records (Idle Moments may be, in fact, the single best record Blue Note ever released), yet his catalog is fleshy with just-short-of-comedic genre exercises like Goin' West. This one was recorded in 1962, just before Feelin' the Spirit, a gospel-themed record that is as much of an exercise, though a superb one. On that one, Grant clearly identifies with the music and plays from his soul. On Goin' West, though, the vague "country/western" focus is more obviously someone else's idea of a good concept, so Grant takes it real easy. Which by no means makes it bad … it seems to have been impossible for Grant Green to make a bad album in the early-to-mid 60s. The music is light, breezy, almost bossa-nova in spots, and occasionally rises up to a simmer. But there's only so much soul that might have been wrung from, like, "On Top of Old Smokey" or "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Goin' West went unreleased until '69, when it quietly came and went, Grant's music having by that point moved into funkier terrain. With some of Blue Note's vault releases, I am amazed that they could have let such great music sit on the shelf. With Goin' West, I can't argue. It's totally inconsequential. But, like a homemade grilled cheese on a drizzly Saturday afternoon, it's comfortingly warm and tasty. Not the best grilled cheese you'll ever have, certainly, but still a classic flavor that you can't really screw up.
Review by La Fée |