Southern Comfort (The Crusaders album)

Southern Comfort
Studio album by The Crusaders
Released 1974
Recorded 1974 at Wally Heider Recording, Hollywood, California
Genre Jazz-fusion
Length 63:25
Label ABC/Blue Thumb Records
Producer Stewart Levine
The Crusaders chronology
Scratch
(1974)		 Southern Comfort
(1974)		 Chain Reaction
(1975)

Southern Comfort is a 1974 album by jazz-fusion band The Crusaders.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[2]

The Allmusic review by Jason Elias

The follow-up to 1973's Unsung Heroes was the first of the group's Blue Thumb efforts to be distributed by ABC Records. The label switch also coincided with the inclusion of lyrical guitarist Larry Carlton as a full-fledged member. Although much of Southern Comfort puts a gloss on ideas made definitive on earlier efforts, the complaints are minimal and this remains the most appealing, multi-faceted incarnation of the band. The first track, "Stomp and Buck Dance," is an offhanded and skilled approach to the group's patently earthy style. The insistent "The Well's Gone Dry" has the edginess of some of the better tracks on Unsung Heroes, and has Carlton doing great work on the bridge. Not surprisingly, it is Carlton's presence here that adjusts the band chemistry and makes the best of Southern Comfort even more so. The best track here, the poignant "When There's Love Around," has Carlton's guitar attaining the perfect sense of longing that meshes well with Joe Sample's trademark Fender Rhodes tones. The last tracks here are also in a thoughtful ballad vein: "Lilies of the Nile" has great horn work from Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson, and the last track, "A Ballad for Joe (Louis)," is a heartfelt rumination on the death of the famed boxer, featuring Sample's inherent sense of melody. A good representation of the Crusaders' tasteful and intelligent playing, Southern Comfort is more than recommended to their fans.

Track listing

  1. "Stomp And Buck Dance" (Wayne Henderson)
  2. "Greasy Spoon" (Stix Hooper)
  3. "Get On The Soul Ship" (Joe Sample)
  4. "Super Stuff" (Henderson)
  5. "Double Bubble" (Sample)
  6. "The Well's Gone Dry" (Larry Carlton)
  7. "Southern Comfort" (Henderson)
  8. "Time Bomb" (Sample)
  9. "When There's Love Around" (Hooper)
  10. "Lilies Of The Nile" (Wilton Felder)
  11. "Whispering Pines" (Henderson)
  12. "A Ballad For Joe (Louis)" (Sample)

Personnel

Charts

Year Album Chart positions[3]
US US
R&B		 Jazz Albums
1974 Southern Comfort 31 3 1 (1975)

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[4]
US US
R&B		 US
Dance
1974 "Stomp And Buck Dance" — 41 (1975) 12

References

  1. ↑ Jason Elias. "Southern Comfort - The Crusaders | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  2. ↑ Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 53. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  3. ↑ "The Crusaders | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  4. ↑ "The Crusaders | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
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