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Robert Bly Ellwood Blues Peter Aykroyd

Finally got to this! An interesting listen for sure. Here are my thoughts as I listened...  Track 1 - The drums! Perfection. Tasty! Hell yes... this is how you build a groove. I feel like I'm in a Masterclass. That guitar riff is killer and I love how it locks in with the bass part and the 2nd guitar. How do I not know this? God Made Me Funky? Damn. Love it. Getting shades of Larry Graham from the bass player. Sax solo unfortunately is a bit too "heady" for me though... I'm waiting for them to cut loose and it's not happening. Feels too controlled. The only thing out of place for me on what is a killer track. Oh hold the phone... wtf just happened? Is this another sax player? Or the same person with effects? I take it all back. Holy smokes... was not expecting that. Off the charts! Five stars for this. Track 2 - And now for something completely different? This is very cool. Wasn't sure what was generating the sounds initially, but is this all triggered by a trumpet? Wow. Oh man, what the hell? Hey Jude? This is nuts! In the best possible way. Hahaha! This is epic. I seriously love this. The marching band part is fantastic. Damn! How big is this band? Hold everything... is this Don Ellis?? Zoinks. I really thought this was something much more recent. Never thought I liked Don a whole lot but I really dig this. Most excellent. Can only imagine what it must have been like to be in the audience at this show. Those hits near the end are POWERFUL. Yowwww! Track 3 - Nice feel right from the beginning and I dig the horns a lot... the way they're recorded too. This is definitely "of a time" and that's a good thing. Is this another pop tune reinterpreted? Seems familiar... there are a few notes in the melody that sound suspiciously like "You've Got a Friend." Nothing earth-shattering for me on this one but it's very enjoyable. Wait, is this a Simon & Garfunkel tune? Damn, this is killing me. Track 4 - A hip hop interpretation of Romeo & Juliet is not something I thought I needed, but what the hell? I like the groove but this is just ok for me. I really just dabble in hip hop and am pretty picky about what I like. This is obviously very good but doesn't push many buttons for me. Track 5 - So this sounds like one of those DJ things where someone overlays new grooves & sounds over an older recording? I think this one will probably fall a little flat for me too. Would love to hear the original recording, I like the vocalist here a lot. But the "drums" are just annoying to me honestly. Wish I could do this but I can't. Track 6 - The beginning of this is a bit distracting for me as I'm having trouble finding the downbeat! I assume that's intentional? Sounds like there's some rhythmic trickery happening but in the end the net effect for me is that it sounds very un-swinging. Or maybe the organist and drummer are from another planet and I'm just not advanced enough to get the language. The tenor player helps things along a bit. Boy. Yeah, I am having trouble with this one for sure. Just not getting it. Maybe I need to listen again. Track 7 - Yikes, that keyboard sound. Once the tune gets going I can hear some good stuff happening here though. But wow this is dated. OK, is this 80s Sonny Rollins? I like some of that stuff quite a bit but not sure about this one so far. Feels very stilted and stiff. There are good moments here but overall this is just ok for me. Track 8 - This is kind of interesting. Lush arrangement for sure! I like the wordless vocals and the strings. This is almost Esquivel-adjacent. The trombonist-- very nice. Great sound. Guitarist sounds a bit like Burrell to me maybe? This was fun. And I dig the drum hits there right at the end on the fade-out. Track 9 - Well, it's the Godfather of Soul! 'Nuff said! Don't know this one though. What a great band. Is this Bootsy era? I like the bit of distortion on the bass, not to mention of course the actual playing which is killer. Give the bass a taste!! Yeah this is fantastic. Definitely a mixed bag for me, but an interesting listen nonetheless! And there are a couple things in here I'm definitely curious to know more about. Thanks Jim! 

Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound "Soledad" (Pa'Lante Records) 1985 .... lead vocals by Piro Mantilla ....

From the new, big Charles Ives box: Wonderful.  

Count Basie, 1944 and 1945 (Circle)