At the time this record was recorded,
Shepp
was bouncing back and forth between Paris and New York. He also bounced between the
Impulse!
and
BYG
labels. He also bounced between styles. For
, his music reached to grasp the bare beginnings of black music, back to Africa and the
blues
. His music for
tried to embrace the contemporary sounds of
R&B
, with very mixed results that to this day divide his fans. This record is a transitional one. For the traditionalists, there's his shattering and amusing cover of
"I've Got It Bad"
performed by the usual suspects one would think to find on an
Archie Shepp
record, including
Cecil Payne
Joe Chambers
. For those enraptured by albums like
Attica Blues
, songs like
"Stick 'Em Up"
will fascinate, as
's raspy tenor is joined not only by a legion of
avant-garde
brethren (including names like
Beaver Harris
Grachan Moncur
), but also by the funky wood of electric bass, guitar, and organ. Some will find those later tracks a bit hard to take. Some will even find themselves snickering. But for anyone wishing to understand the music and career of this brilliant musician, this is an undervalued piece of the puzzle. ~ Rob Ferrier