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Love Byrd
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Love Byrd
Current price: $13.99
Barnes and Noble
Love Byrd
Current price: $13.99
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Recorded in 1981 and produced by
, trumpeter and composer
's first recording for
is the sound of a musician who has truly lost his way.
's nearly decade-long collaboration with the
ended when he left
for
. It wasn't so much that
left "
" for
and
, the latter elements had been part of his sound since 1972 with
(some would say the real transition to more
based music began before that with
in 1965). The period with
, though decried by
critics everywhere as a sellout, was a fertile one for
creatively and married his vision of being a viable and accessible artist, one who sought out the direct experience of
as a way of getting his music across. It was also a successful one commercially -- his albums sold to a wider audience and were played on commercial FM radio. But by the time he went
,
was caught between a rock and a hard place, and this set proves it. With vocals being handled by
'
quartet, and the producer himself playing piano, vibes, Rhodes, and writing, along with
's
, there was little left for
to actually do.
' stamp on this record is thorough. There are some slick but effective
here, such as the album's finest moment,
written by
(with beautiful vibes work by
and acoustic piano by
, as well as the most prominent work by
's trumpet); the bandleader's sole contribution
is here, along with
' own
(a slow-ish, sultry burner). The up-tempo tracks fall flat as
. There is something canned sounding about most of them, such as
which opens with a majestic guitar and piano intro before kicking off the two-note
vamp and handclap, which makes the track feel empty and cold. The deep
cover of
is a bad joke despite some killer clavinet work by
, and
is more a vamp and a hook than a song. The set ends with another ballad with
' voice out in front of his
. The question here is daunting: where's
? His playing is simply an accessory to
' arrangements, and his fills, while present on every cut, never really bite and take hold; they're just there.
's artistic vision was cloudy at best when he was with
, and this exercise in blandness is a case in point. ~ Thom Jurek