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In those benighted pre-Chili Peppers dark ages of the mid-'70s, the notion of a bunch of Caucasian Scotsmen laying down heavy funk seemed an odd one. Even a cursory listen to AWB puts any such reservations quickly to rest. Alan Gorrie's soulful vocals and percussive, syncopated basslines interact perfectly with Hamish Stuart's funky, rhythmic guitar work. On the band's signature tune, the mostly instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces," the theme is stated by a punchy-but-slinky horn section, with sinuous interpolations from Hamish. Here the band demonstrates its impressive rhythmic facility and its ability to stop on a dime (the death-defying groove rivals the JBs in their prime).
For a group capable of such intense polyrhythmic interaction, the Average White Band keeps things surprisingly song-based, and Gorrie's vocals are the central focus of everything but "Pick Up the Pieces." "Nothing You Can Do" and "Just Wanna Love You Tonight" dip into romantic R&B love balladry, while "Keepin' It To Myself" finds the boys mining the contemporaneous Al Green/Willie Mitchell arrangement style. Conversant in all the variants of mid-'70s funk and R&B, the Average White Band succesfully married pop smarts with dance-floor groove power.
Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, New York.
Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, New York and Criteria Sound Studios, Miami, Florida. Originally released on Atlantic (7308). Includes liner notes by A. Scott Galloway.
Engineers include: Gene Paul, Ron Albert, Howard Albert.
Average White Band: Hamish Stuart, Alan Gorrie (vocals, guitar, bass); Onnie McIntyre (guitar, background vocals); Roger Ball (alto & baritone saxophones, keyboards); Malcolm "Molly" Duncan (tenor saxophone); Robbie McIntosh, Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion).
Average White Band: Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart (vocals, guitars, bass); Onnie McIntire (vocals, guitar); Roger Ball (alto & baritone saxophone, keyboards); Malcolm "Molly" Duncan (tenor saxophone); Robbie McIntosh (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Jim Mullen (guitar); Herbie Mann (flute); Joe Farrell, Sonny Fortune, David Newman (alto saxophone); Michael Brecker, Dick Morrisey (tenor saxophone); Jaroslav Jakubovic (baritone saxophone); Randy Brecker, Mel Davis, Marvin Stamm, Don Ellis, Gilman Rathel, Lew Soloff (trumpet); Alan Kaplan, Barry Rodgers (trombone); Richard Tee (electric piano); Ken Bichel (Mellotron); Ralph MacDonald (congas, percussion); Raphael Cruz, Sammy Figueroa (percussion).
Additional personnel: Michael Brecker (saxophone); Randy Brecker, Marvin Stamm, Mel Davis (trumpet); Glen Ferris (trombone); Ken Bichel (keyboards); Ralph McDonald (percussion).
Uncut (1/04, p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 - "AWB had sufficient grit to appease the purists, but enough melodic and rhythmic hooks for it to reach No 1 in America."
FUNKY MASTERPIECE! The tunes, the playing, the voices and the production of this album add up to one stunningly classic disc. This - after 'Show Your Hand' - was the Scot's band's second album, and while their debut was great, this one is a HUGE step up. True, they did some wonderful stuff after this ('Cut the Cake', 'Soul Searching'... ), but the loss of original drummer Robbie McIntosh diminished the momentum. But on this album, everything is working wonderfully. 'Got the Love', 'I Just Can't Give You Up', 'Work to Do'... every tune's a winner. Submitted by wayne.b1 (Fredericton, NB, Canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Not So Average Had the Tape,I even seen them for free/with Rare Earth. There are some nice tracks on this.You will want to turn it up and just relax and listen/Then again you might want to grab your instrument. BUY IT NOW Submitted by pil215 (Princeton N.C) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
GREAT BUY MY FAVORITE AWB CD OF ALL TIME. THESE ARE THE ORIGINAL AWB MEMBERS AND THEIR FIRST CD. I FIRST BOUGHT IT ON CASSETE OVER 30 YRS AGO. IT IS VERY HARD TO FIND. I'M THINKING OF BUYING ANOTHER ONE JUST FOR MY LIBRARY. THIS IS THE CD THAT ROBBIE MCINTOSH ORIGINAL DRUMMER FOR AWB PLAYED IN BEFORE HIS TRAGIC DEATH. GREAT BUY. IF YOU LIKE AWB THIS IS ONE OF THEIRS YOU MUST HAVE. Submitted by REC349 (SPFLD MA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Average White Band: You Blow My Mind, Band!!!! Average White Band. I am a loyal fan of yours. You blow my mind. I can not believe that you play the instruments like a black jazz band. This is very good to me because your music is very good. Music will last for forever and forever. Average White Band. I love you for forever. Where are the concert dates to this band. This is an album for any Average White Band fan. Submitted by jejr9 (San Bernardino) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
31 Years and still going strong The first time I heard this album I was at Bert Murray's apartment off campus at LSU smoking an excellent bong of Columbian Redbud. It was 1974 and I was a smiling stoner grooving on what I thought was an outstanding new black band. Bert told me they were white--like real Scottish white, which REALLY blew me away-- and showed me the album cover. Thus was born my unending love of AWB. To this day their first album is in my top 5 to listen to, along with Dark Side of the Moon, and others, and can get my aging body grooving and moving any time I put it on. A true masterpiece Submitted by infauxman (Lafayette, LA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
FUNKY MASTERPIECE!
Not So Average
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