BOB JAMES — Touchdown (review)

BOB JAMES — Touchdown album cover Album · 1978 · Pop/Art Song/Folk Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
FunkFreak75
Recorded At CBS Studios, New York / Soundmixers, New York City and released by Bob's fledgling record label, Tappan Zee, I commend Bob for finally putting together an album entirely made up of his own compositions. Bravo!

A1. "Angela (Theme From "Taxi")" (5:42) a sappy-saccharine song that even bugged me when it came out. (Having never owned a television, I've never seen a single episode of the iconic series.) I will grant a respectful acknowledgement of the skills exhibited by Bob and his studio crew to create such an universally-beloved song. (8.75/10)

A2. "Touchdown" (5:42) a pre-Disco or pseudo-disco song that I remember hearing in the discothèques but never really generated as much interest or participation from the dance crowds--most likely due to its lack of singing & lyrics as well to its more laid-back pace and feel. It did, I think, generate a growth in popularity for saxophonist Dave Sanborn. (8.75/10)

A3. "I Want To Thank You (Very Much)" (7:09) opening with a kind of Rat Pack jazz-pop horn play before quickly succumbing to the Fender Rhodes and acoustic guitar Smooth Jazz sound that would become such signatures of both Bob and guitarist Earl Klugh. Awesome solo flute play in the fifth minute from Hubert Laws. (13.25/15)

B1. "Sun Runner" (6:16) a great happy-go-lucky Jazz-Rock Fusion classic from a whole band with excellent performances from Hubert Laws, Ralph MacDonald, Earl Klugh, and, of course, Bob. Great song construct with sophisticated arrangements and awesome earworm chord progressions. (9.25/10)

B2. "Caribbean Nights" (9:22) highlights of this epic-length tune that I used to play to death in the early 1980s are 1)Hiram Bullock's vocal matching of his guitar solo in the opening section, 2) Bob's great Fender Rhodes play next, 3) the sublime dual performances of Earl Klugh's nylon string guitar with Hubert Laws masterful flute in the fifth and sixth minutes, 4) the whole-band recapitulation of the main theme in the seventh minute, and 5) the horn section with Hubert's swallow-like flute in the bridge before the finale (in which Ron Carter solos briefly with his piccolo bass). (19/20)

Total Time: 34:20

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Smooth Jazz and one of the truly defining and exemplary samples of that new (and dominant) genre.

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

Heavy Drops Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ADAM BEN EZRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Remembering Now RnB
VAN MORRISON
Buy this album from MMA partners
破 Old and New Dreams Chapter-2 Jazz Related Improv/Composition
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE
Buy this album from MMA partners
序 Old and New Dreams Chapter-1 Jazz Related Improv/Composition
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pasquale Mirra - Hamid Drake : Lhasa Jazz Related Improv/Composition
HAMID DRAKE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Van Morrison - Down To Joy (Official Video)
VAN MORRISON
snobb· 5 hours ago
Free Palestine
DANIEL FERRUZ
js· 14 hours ago
Yasorey
LAWRENCE FIELDS
js· 14 hours ago
Dub Syndicate - Intercommunications (Official Audio)
DUB SYNDICATE
js· 22 hours ago
Merkurie
JUNGLE PILOTS
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
Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed