Mention Grady Tate's name to most bop lovers, and his excellent drumming is the thing that immediately pops into their minds. His singing isn't the first thing they think of, which is regrettable because he really is a fine singer. One of the impressive vocal albums he did was Windmills of My Mind, a jazz/R&B release recorded when he was 36. This album (which DCC reissued on CD in 1998) underscores the fact that Tate was never a radical or abstract type of singer; the smooth, elegant crooner heard on "And I Love Her," "The Windmills of Your Mind" and "A Little at a Time" has a lot more in common with Johnny Hartman, Arthur Prysock and even Johnny Mathis (up to a point) than hardcore beboppers like Jon Hendricks, Babs Gonzales and Eddie Jefferson. Although Tate's backing group includes pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Bob Cranshaw, much of Windmills isn't jazz -- "Don't Fence Me In" and "Would You Believe," in fact, are pure '60s soul music. One of the best tunes on the album is "Work Song," a riveting account of life on a chain gang. The disappointing thing about the CD reissue of Windmills isn't the material, but the sound quality. An abundance of pops, clicks and crackling make the CD sound like a vinyl LP that's been played too often -- one would expect an audiophile label like DCC Compact Classics to do a much better job of digitally remastering a 1968 recording. Nonetheless, this is an album that both jazz and R&B enthusiasts should hear. ~ Alex Henderson
Grady Tate is renowned as a session drummer extraordinaire, having worked with just about everybody in the late '50s/early '60s, yet he has also displayed a warm, flexible, rhythmically agile baritone voice, which is less well-known than his drumming. Gary McFarland thought enough of Tate's singing voice to record a number of vocal albums for his short-lived Skye label in the mid 60s. One of the impressive vocal albums he did was Windmills of My Mind, a jazz/R&B release in 1968. This album underscores the fact that Tate was never a radical or abstract type of singer; the smooth, elegant crooner heard on 'And I Love Her', 'The Windmills Of Your Mind' and 'A Little At A Time' has a lot more in common with Johnny Hartman, Arthur Prysock and even Johnny Mathis than hardcore beboppers like Jon Hendricks, Babs Gonzales and Eddie Jefferson. Although Tate's backing includes pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Bob Cranshaw, much of Windmills isn't jazz -- 'Don't Fence Me In' and 'Would You Believe', in fact, are pure 1960s soul music. El. 2005.
GREAT MUSIC, BUT NOT CLEAN THIS DISC HAS GREAT MUSIC, BUT IT'S NOT A REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL ANALOG TAPES. THE DISC IS A REPRODUCTION OF A VINYL COPY OF THE ORIGINAL ALBUM. STILL, I MUST RECOMMEND THE DISC FOR THE MUSIC, AND IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE ANALOG TAPES ARE JUST NOT AVAILABLE. Submitted by RREV4RALPH (MANHATTAN, NY, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
OUTSTANDING THIS IS WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT A GREAT ARTIST TO CREATE. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SOUNDING JAZZ SOUNDS THAT IS SO HARD TO FIND IN MUSIC TODAY. I SIMPLY LOVE IT. Submitted by BJPERKIN (RCH CUCAMONGA, CA, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
MY MAMA LOVES THIS MUSIC AND SO DO I I can remember cleaning the house and taking out the trash, doing my schoolwork, playing with my dog, looking out the window at the neighbors walking past, watching out for my mama, and seeing the joy on her face every time she put the Grady Tate Windmills of My Mind record on the stereo. I loved it then and I still find it to be one of my personal favorites of all time! Thanks Mama Lo ;-) Hardy Keith "That's my JAM Tammi Jo!" chuckles Submitted by Harkey8 (Los Angeles, CA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
There is a Mistake By way of fond reminiscence, I was listening to the music samples from this album yesterday, and was disappointed to find there is a mistake in the playlist at No.7: that song is NOT "T.N.T.," nor, moreover, I found after listening to all the samples, is "T.N.T" even included among the songs on the playlist. Is this a manufacturing glitch, or yours? Submitted by Donald (Afro-America) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
GREAT MUSIC, BUT NOT CLEAN
OUTSTANDING
There is a Mistake
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