Hank Mobley "A Slice Of The Top"

[Soul Stream]

Been a long time coming...seen it for many years and finally made the 27 buck plunge for the CD....worth every cent. GREAT session.

[sidewinder]

Been a big fan of this one since the days of the 'Rainbow' series LP. Particularly like the bottom-heavy sound with euphonium and Mobley solos like he's been let off the leash (which he had, of course). My Conn Series LP will be going on a bit later.

[ASNL77]

Been a big fan of this one since the days of the 'Rainbow' series LP. Particularly like the bottom-heavy sound with euphonium and Mobley solos like he's been let off the leash (which he had, of course). My Conn Series LP will be going on a bit later.

Are these 'Rainbow' series any good, Bob? I have seen the King pressing on Ebay a few times but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I assume the Rainbow usually go for much less.

Edited January 26, 2008 by ASNL77

[sidewinder]

Been a big fan of this one since the days of the 'Rainbow' series LP. Particularly like the bottom-heavy sound with euphonium and Mobley solos like he's been let off the leash (which he had, of course). My Conn Series LP will be going on a bit later.

Are these 'Rainbow' series any good, Bob? I have seen the King pressing on Ebay a few times but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I assume the Rainbow usually go for much less.

Yves - the 'Rainbow' LP is certainly worth picking up (around a tenner at most should do it). Sonically I would definitely go for the King of 'Slice'. Haven't heard that one but suspect it's better (although I don't think the quality of the original recording is amongst BN's greatest of the period - a bit on the 'thin' side). The King pressing is a rarity, I believe - and expect to pay big bucks. The Conn is recommended if you can find it - easier to get for sure.

Edited January 26, 2008 by sidewinder

[sidewinder]

Just spinning the Conn LP - yes, the original sound isn't the greatest. Quite muffled, lack of top end. The music though, is incendiary. Not least McCoy Tyner's solo on the first track.

Adding Kiane Zawadi (euphonium) and Howard Johnson (tuba) to the mix was a masterstroke. The bottom-heavy arrangements remind me very much of Horace Tapscott's imaginative charts for Sonny Criss's 'Sonny's Dream' and the near-contempoary session of Andrew Hill's for Blue Note - 'Passing Ships'. There's also the bonus on 'Slice' of having James Spaulding and Lee Morgan completing the front line. Dream team.

Edited January 26, 2008 by sidewinder

[ASNL77]

Just spinning the Conn LP - yes, the original sound isn't the greatest. Quite muffled, lack of top end. The music though, is incendiary. Not least McCoy Tyner's solo on the first track.

Thank you. This one is in my high priority list. I think I have nearly all the Hank BN sessions as a leader on King reissues except that one. Glad it is a good one as I have read mixed reviews about it.

Edited January 26, 2008 by ASNL77

[sidewinder]

It's one of his very best IMO - from any period. Unbelievable that it wasn't released 'back in the day' and had to wait for Mr Cuscuna's 70s reissue tsunami.

Edited January 26, 2008 by sidewinder

[ASNL77]

It's one of his very best IMO - from any period. Unbelievable that it wasn't released 'back in the day' and had to wait for Mr Cuscuna's 70s reissue sunami.

I have to admit that I am often thrown by a lot of decisions made by BN at the time. A lot of gems didn't get to see the day of light in due time. Also, why is it that a lot of stuff was only released in Japan? I am thinking of the King input here.

[sidewinder]

At the time the 'Rainbow' series came out in the US (the early batches also issued in UK but not the later ones) King were the licensee for BN in Japan and my understanding is that they worked with Mr Cuscuna to release over there many of the previously unissued titles put out under the 'Rainbow' series plus several other gems which didn't make it at that time for release in the US (some of the Grant Green/Sonny Clarks and Bobby H's 'Oblique' and 'Inner Glow', for example). The cover art on the Kings was also totally different (much more in the classic BN tradition compared with the arty-farty "neon 'n' buildings" stuff on the 'Rainbows').

[ASNL77]

Thanks! the Bobby Hutcherson 'Oblique' is a crcker.

[Big Al]

As much as I love Mobley's playing and arranging on this album, I find it difficult to listen to all the way through simply because of the presence of James Spaulding. He overplays damn near every solo he has, screaming into the upper registers of his alto sax AND flute, so much so that I usually end up hitting the FF button through his solos.

[Shawn]

Great songs, tasty Pearson charts and Mobley is fucking BRILLIANT throughout. There's A Lull In My Life just kills me everytime I hear it.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I love that album; yes, it's the instrumentation that does it. Never thought of the Sonny Criss in that connection but I guess it does have quite a bit in common with that. But it's also that the way Duke Pearson handles these instruments is quite unlike the rest of his work; much as I like Pearson's arranging for Stanley T and others, it's quite smooth. The arrangements here are every bit as visceral and in your face as Tapscott's for Criss a couple of years later.

I'm still using the Rainbow edition. I dare say that, as others have said, there are better sounding versions but, for me, the way the Rainbow one sounds seems absolutely correct for what the music is.

MG

[jazzhound]

I love that album; yes, it's the instrumentation that does it. Never thought of the Sonny Criss in that connection but I guess it does have quite a bit in common with that. But it's also that the way Duke Pearson handles these instruments is quite unlike the rest of his work; much as I like Pearson's arranging for Stanley T and others, it's quite smooth. The arrangements here are every bit as visceral and in your face as Tapscott's for Criss a couple of years later.

I'm still using the Rainbow edition. I dare say that, as others have said, there are better sounding versions but, for me, the way the Rainbow one sounds seems absolutely correct for what the music is.

MG

rainbow lp pressing quite good. better than latter reissue and much better than awful conn cd version. don't waste money on King pressing.

[MartyJazz]

Just spinning the Conn LP - yes, the original sound isn't the greatest. Quite muffled, lack of top end. The music though, is incendiary. Not least McCoy Tyner's solo on the first track.

Thank you. This one is in my high priority list. I think I have nearly all the Hank BN sessions as a leader on King reissues except that one. Glad it is a good one as I have read mixed reviews about it.

I have the Rainbow LP. Wouldn't mind parting with it at whatever a reasonable price for this LP is. By coincidence I just listened to the wonderful "There's a Lull in my Life" off the CD today.

[montg]

I love this session, everything about it! The writing, Mobley, the wonderful Billy Higgins, and so on. I found it used a few years ago at a very good price (under ten bucks as I recall) at a record store in St. Louis. Actually I didn't know much about the session at the time and passed on it, came home and did a search on the O board, found the high praises, and then snapped it up. One of my personal favorites of all time, desert island for me

[AndrewHill]

Also a fan of this album. Bought when the Conn came out in 1995 and have enjoyed it more and more over the years. Like Third Season, I could never understand what made Lion and Wolff keep this session in the can. This is top shelf Mobley IMO.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

THIS IS IN THE HANK TOP FIVE

[mikeweil]

Just spinning the Conn LP - yes, the original sound isn't the greatest. Quite muffled, lack of top end.

That was often the case with "rainbow" series LPs - I sold them all after the CDs were out as they sounded better in every case!

[danasgoodstuff]

metoometoometoo...bought the rainbow LP for $3-4 w/in a year or two of it's release, been digging it ever since...but I think I sorta can see why it didn't see the light of day back in the day...'little big bands' weren't really 'the thing' and it's too subtle to convert the uninitiated on first hearing...

[danasgoodstuff]

metoometoometoo...bought the rainbow LP for $3-4 w/in a year or two of it's release, been digging it ever since...but I think I sorta can see why it didn't see the light of day back in the day...'little big bands' weren't really 'the thing' and it's too subtle to convert the uninitiated on first hearing...

[danasgoodstuff]

metoometoometoo...bought the rainbow LP for $3-4 w/in a year or two of it's release, been digging it ever since...but I think I sorta can see why it didn't see the light of day back in the day...'little big bands' weren't really 'the thing' and it's too subtle to convert the uninitiated on first hearing...

[Stereojack]

I remember reading an interview with Mobley in the early 70's, possibly in Down Beat, where he said he was pissed at Blue Note for not releasing one of his best sessions. Of course, he was referring to this one. I bought it when it came out in the Rainbow series, and was thrilled to hear a "different" side of Hank. A beautiful session. I think that Blue Note was struggling financially at the time, and probably didn't feel that a record such as this would have sold. The Rainbow series contains a number of sides that just weren't commercial enough for the mid to late 60's.

I've never felt the need for an upgrade. Although this series has lame covers, I like the pressings fine.

[Chuck Nessa]

The Conn is way too bright but has other qualities. Just back the treble off a bit. In the vinyl days folks used tone controls all the time. Today, it's a lost art.

[Larry Kart]

I bought a nice new amp a ways back, a Creek 5350:

http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/327/

Imagine my surprise when I realized that it has no tone controls. In practice, this had proved to be no problem; it kicks the best out of whatever you put into it to such an extent that very seldom do I think about the lost ability to tweak, but not being an equipment nut, I wonder whether the lack of tone controls is common on amps above a certain price.