 Various Artists Yet another CD trying to cash in on these supposed DJs obsessed with sampling old jazz albums, Talkin' Verve – Groovy! is a collection of mostly weaker moments from otherwise great artists like Chet Baker, Jimmy Smith, Quincy Jones, and Wes Montgomery. Five years ago I would have thought this was the funniest/greatest thing of all time, but I find it really hard plodding through this disc. These tracks weren't good to begin with, and there's no reason to allow labels this much latitude in revising their own history. So suddenly Blood, Chet and Tears is a hidden gem of an album? No, it's yet another session Chet did for H money. You need to hear Chet tearing through "Vehicle" or "Evil Ways?" Just imagine it and you've got it. It's not notably bad or cheesy, just boring and not especially jazzy. Most of these tracks were blatant attempts at commercial hits, so the jazz content is admittedly low, but unlike collections that illustrate pure wrongheadedness (a la Golden Throats), this one just documents naked selling-out, pure and simple. Only tracks by Willie Bobo ("Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine") acquit themselves with real enjoyability. You'd think the idea of Jimmy Smith singing "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" would at the very least have a camp factor, but the arrangement is so by-the-numbers it's almost non-music. (Though there's a half-chuckle when he says "I'm 'onna tellyou 'bout it" and launches into an organ solo.) Too many of the tracks suffer from the Verve 60s big-band obsession, when it was apparently deemed safe and viable to put the likes of Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, and Jimmy Smith in front of a big-band. God forbid they actually play real jazz. But a lot of these records were commercially successful, so blame the public. Real jazz is offered by Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson on a cover of "Satisfaction," and Montgomery's tracks, while not his best possible sides, are still enjoyable because his playing is still unbeatable. Quincy Jones' take on James Brown ("I Got You" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag") is ridiculous, and furthermore, not particularly sample-able. Given that this disc is purportedly an offering to the "acid jazz" crowd, it's surprising that there's almost no good breakbeats or otherwise sample-worthy moments. Really, it's closer to the Ultra-Lounge series in approach. Only the Willie Bobo tracks make this disc worth a listen, but "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is available on Juicy, so only "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" is a "rare groove" here. Whether that's worth it to you to endure Jimmy Smith's "trippy" "Spill the Wine" and Chet Baker's overblown "Spinning Wheel" is entirely your call.
Review by Wimpsom Turl |