GROVER WASHINGTON JR — All the King's Horses (review)

GROVER WASHINGTON JR — All the King's Horses album cover Album · 1972 · RnB Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
First Grover album (as far as I know) on Creed Taylor’s label, and it is a fairly typical CTI product, somewhere close to its often-instrumental smooth jazz reputation. With the usual CTI suspects, like Bob James, Carter, Airto, Gale, etc. you’ll find as well Cobham, Purdie (both on drums), Pepper Adams, Spinozza and quite a bit more lesser-known guests.

To be honest, I never understood how the present album got its reputation as Grover’s best, because it’s often soft jazzy schmaltz, and its title (taken after Aretha’s song covered in second position) is quite misleading as to its contents. Don’t get me wrong, the music in itself is flawlessly played – how could it have possibly been otherwise with such a cast – but the soundscapes coming from the album is more like an insipid soup than a tasty and daring treat. The level of energy simply doesn’t rise above the lethargic (Where Is The Love) and often hovers with the soporific (Body And Soul) and at best/worse with the plain boring (the instrumental cover of Lean On Me). Tracks like Lover Man, despite its Interlude n°2 middle-section, which happens to be the album’s peak of excitement (read mildly interesting). The closing Love Song 1700 quickly ruins the momentum gained, despite gaining a tad of interest with some medieval-baroque folk sequences evolving into a solid fusion in the middle section.

Definitely not essential (CTI Records products are very rarely so). It’s kind of two bad that Grover and the gang waited until the last two tracks to get going. Too little too late to save the album.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Bow Code Post-Fusion Contemporary
SAMPO HIUKKANEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Anthem For No Man’s Land Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ANDREAS SCHAERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cabaret Eclectic Fusion
MARIUS NESET
Buy this album from MMA partners
Living Ghosts Post-Fusion Contemporary
MICHAEL WOLLNY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Live at Donte's, Vol. 1 Vocal Jazz
MIKE CAMPBELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Sunday afternoon
FURIO DI CASTRI
snobb· 8 hours ago
Harmônicos
FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO
js· 22 hours ago
Con Alma
GENE BERTONCINI
js· 1 day ago
Our Walk (Live)
BEN MARKLEY
js· 1 day ago
Solar (feat. Vicente Archer & Otis Brown III)
JERRY LÉONIDE
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed