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Avg: 4.5 (58 ratings)
- Date Released: July 29, 2008
- Genre: Blues
- Style: Soul/R&B
- Label: Stax / Concord
Rock n' soul vets still got it
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We Say...
Few musicians, regardless of color, claim the kind of R&B street cred as blue-eyed soul men Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere. Throughout much of the 1960s, the two were often side by side on the charts — Cropper as guitarist on innumerable Stax/Volt/Atlantic recordings by the likes of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave and his own group, Stax house band Booker T & The MGs, and Cavaliere as chief lead vocalist and keyboard player for the "Good Lovin," "Groovin'," "People Got To Be Free" Rascals. Nearly four decades later, these two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are not only still at it but, as this first-ever writing/recording collaboration between them amply demonstrates, still darned good at it, too.
Nudge It Up A Notch plays to precisely the main strengths one would hope for in this kind of project: Cavaliere's rich, emotive vocal style and Cropper's compact, angular guitar lines. On groove-driven tracks such as "One of Those Days," "To Make It Right," and "Without You," Cropper and Cavaliere (ably accompanied by bassist Shake Anderson and drummer Chester Thompson) bob and weave around each other with nonchalant, instinctive ease. Toss in a few instrumentals like "Full Moon Tonight" and "Cuttin' It Loose" to show off those signature Cropper guitar riffs and Cavaliere organ swells, and you've got, as they say, some sweet soul music indeed. -
They Say...
Nudge It Up a Notch is a collaborative effort by Booker T. & the MG's/ Blues Brothers guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper and former Rascals organist, songwriter, and frontman Felix Cavaliere. It was recorded at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, and released on Stax. This trio co-wrote most all of the tunes together, then hired the great drummer Chester Thompson (who else do you know who could play drums with Frank Zappa, Genesis, and Frank Black?) and his pal, former Impressions bassist and musical director Sammy Louis "Shake" Anderson. Backing vocalists Mark Williams and N'nandi Bryant round out the band. David Z. mixed the sessions, which were co-produced by Cropper, Cavaliere, and Tiven. So what's it sound like? It sounds like Felix Cavaliere fronting a completely killer Southern soul band! Their musical structures come from timeless sources of blues, R&B, gospel, and modern funky reggae. The opening cut, a steamy, gritty broken love song, simply choogles its way along a simple breakbeat-driven vamp in a minor key. Cavaliere's voice hasn't lost one iota of its range or its expressiveness since the Rascals disbanded 35 years ago. Here he offers a sultry, emotionally wrought call and response with his chorus. Cropper offers stunning blues fills and a solo above the B-3 and rhythm section. The tune is a signature in a sense, because the tunes themselves are solid, beautifully written, and smartly arranged. But it's not only the cookers that come off this way -- check the very next track, "If It Wasn't for Loving You," which nods to "My Girl" for its verse melody, but it's pure Cavaliere in the tag before the chorus. It's a ballad with near doo wop backing vocals and Cropper doing his slippery chord riffs to center the tune. The bassline is a tight stroll along the snare line, and Cavaliere's organ soars above the top. The instrumentals come off seamlessly as well. Check the nocturnal gritty soul-blues shuffle of "Full Moon Tonight" for proof. Cropper gets to let the high strings cut and slither. The reverbed backing chords are all played in shimmering tension as Cavaliere and the rhythm section bubble and pop underneath. Despite each of these songs being a gem, some production elements in the sound -- in a couple of places -- are a tad strange: on "Impossible" the seemingly looped tablas pull the listener's attention a bit from Cavaliere's gorgeous vocal. The hard funky loops and rap in "Making the Time Go Faster" would have been better served without a synth and using organic hand percussion on top of Thompson's breaks. "Jamaica Delight," a Caribbean-flavored instrumental, has slightly cheesy keyboards, but the tune works anyway because of Cropper's razored guitar inventions. Yet these are minor quibbles -- this album is so groove-laden and loaded with honest, uncontrived songs that minor flubs hardly matter. Just before the record's end, "Imperfect World" uses a dubby, modern reggae cum R&B confection that's so infectious, lean, and punchy that it could make the Police turn green with envy. Nudge It Up a Notch is a top-flight collaborative effort by a veritable soul supergroup that is vital and astonishingly creative, and offers plenty of proof that soul music is very much alive as a force of 21st century musical expression. This set is one of the great surprises of 2008, and further evidence of Concord's genuine commitment to the revamped Stax imprint.
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| 01. |  |
One of Those Days |
4:23 |
|
| 02. | |
If It Wasn't for Loving You |
4:14 |
|
| 03. | |
Without You |
3:48 |
|
| 04. | |
Full Moon Tonight |
4:20 |
|
| 05. | |
To Make It Right |
4:14 |
|
| 06. | |
Impossible |
4:13 |
|
| 07. | |
Still Be Loving You |
4:14 |
|
| 08. | |
Cuttin' It Close |
4:47 |
|
| 09. | |
Make the Time Go Faster |
3:24 |
|
| 10. | |
Jamaica Delight |
3:40 |
|
| 11. | |
Imperfect World |
3:48 |
|
| 12. | |
Love Appetite |
3:03 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 48:08 Total Length
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Credits
- Steve Cropper - Guitar // Steve Cropper - Percussion // Steve Cropper - Guitar (Rhythm) // Steve Cropper - Vocals (Background) // Steve Cropper - Producer // Steve Cropper - Mixing // Chester Thompson - Percussion // Chester Thompson - Drums // Felix Cavaliere - Keyboards // Felix Cavaliere - Vocals // Felix Cavaliere - Vocals (Background) // Felix Cavaliere - Producer // Felix Cavaliere - Mixing // David Z. - Mixing // Jon Tiven - Producer // Jon Tiven - Liner Notes // Jon Tiven - Mixing // Sam "Shake" Anderson - Guitar (Bass) // Dennis Carney - Photography // Robert Honablue - Mastering // Andrea Zucker - Photography // Mark Williams - Vocals (Background)
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