Love Bug
was an attempt to establish
Reuben Wilson
as an organist with either the vision of
Larry Young
or the fiery style of
John Patton
, and while it comes up short on both accounts, it nevertheless remains quite enjoyable. Working with an impressive backing band of guitarist
Grant Green
, trumpeter
Lee Morgan
, tenor saxophonist
George Coleman
, and drummer
Idris Muhammad
,
Wilson
leads his band through a number of soul-jazz workouts, none of which ever really catch fire. Instead of working tight, funky grooves, the quintet tends to spiral off into vaguely experimental territory, which loses sight of the spirit of the song. Still,
Green
has a number of shining moments, as does
Morgan
and
Coleman
-- in fact, they tend to overshadow
, who nevertheless turns in a fine performance. Nevertheless, there are flashes on
, particularly on
"Hot Rod"
and the bonus track
"Hold on, I'm Comin',"
that demonstrate the organist coming into his own. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine