Back at the Chicken Shack

Jimmy Smith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005H4M
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,571 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is the kind of nasty, back-alley music that makes you wince in ecstasy. With Stanley Turrentine's tenor and Kenny Burrell's guitar sharing solo space, the Hammond master digs in with a blues-drenched shovel. While certainly fluent in the bop idiom, Smith's organ work maintains a direct emotional peg that reflects the swing and jump blues of a previous generation. Turrentine, a relative newcomer at this point (1960), proves a perfect foil for Smith's funky ideas, forgoing flashy bop runs in favor of soulful, expressive passages. Even on chestnuts such as "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street," the foursome boils the melodies down to their barest bluesy core. Back at the Chicken Shack is the prototypical soul-jazz recording. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

CD

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious cooking at the shack July 22, 2002

By G B

Format:Audio CD

First things first: ignore the low average rating for this album -- this is one of Jimmy Smith's best (maybe THE best) albums and a major jewel in the crown of Blue Note records. It's not funky in the James Brown sense, it's funky in the heaps-and-heaps-of-soul, a-groove-six-feet-deep, "What the hell is happening back at that chicken shack?" sense.

As far as groovin', bluesy B3 jazz, you really can't do better than this album. Donald Bailey has a heavy, booting swing and Jimmy Smith's chunky basslines propel the music along. Kenny Burrell's playing is beautiful here -- very subtle and tasteful, the yin to Jimmy Smith's powerful organ yang. And as far as I'm concerned, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine is lifted to deity status by his playing on this session. Saxophone playing doesn't get any more soulful and meaty than this.

The title track is just a blues, but what a blues it is. Jimmy digs in with the riff, Kenny plays one of his marvelous, low-key solos, and then Turrentine makes history with an absolutely mind-boggling huffin' and puffin' solo. Even the standards on this CD (classic interpretations of "When I Grow too Old to Dream" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street") sound bluesy. And despite the fact that the title track is the most famous piece here, I think "Messy Bessie" is the best here. Judging by the song, she must be a fun girl to hang around.

If you like this album, get its twin (recorded the same day), Midnight Special. Other great Jimmy Smith albums are Crazy! Baby, the Sermon, and Cool Blues. But I don't think any of them are as awesome as whatever the hell is going on Back at the Chicken Shack.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! February 20, 2005

By Claude Lapointe

Format:Audio CD

I agree 100% with Guy from New Haven. And even though I don't possess all of Jimmy's albums, this has to be his best... Maybe the the best jazz album ever!!! Never heard anything so groovy; it's B3 organ, Tenor Sax and good rhythm galore!!!

I don't know which track is best because they're all stunning but to name a few, maybe "Minor Chant" by Stanley Turrentine (who brilliantly plays the sax throughout the album), stands out a little... not by much though. "When I grow too old to dream": what a sweet melody!... Messy Bessie (by Jimmy) is so good, I would have appreciated a finale instead of the fade-out we got (but that's okay). And technically, the 1960's Blue Note pure, clear, and no-fuss analog recording sounds flawless.

If you're jaded with the traditional organ-drums-guitar formation, check this out because tenor saxophone truly adds a uniquely elegant and amazingly powerful dimension to Jimmy's already great sound! This will put a smile on your face and make your head bounce!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest jazz albums of all time... September 14, 2004

By j.

Format:Audio CD

What's there to say about Jimmy Smith that has not already been written? He's a true jazz pioneer, the "Miles Davis" of the Hammond (electric) organ, one might say. Like Davis, Smith has changed his sound drastically over the years, from Hard-Bop of early "Sermon" years, to Soul and eventually even Big Band style. But unlike Miles Davis or John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith is virtually unknown outside of jazz circles. This is truly unfortunate (and surprising), given the fact that so many rock and roll bands have used the Hammond B-3 organ in their songs over the past three decades. If it wasn't for Smith, the instrument would arguably not have as widespread appeal among musicians. On this album, widely regarded as his strongest, Smith's playing is groovy and laid back, but not in a lazy way. Continuing with the Miles Davis analogy (because everyone, even non jazz-enthusiasts, are familiar with Davis' work), consider this Smith's version of "Kind of Blue." It's cool, calm, and collected. But at the same time, Smith accents the entire thing with a heavy dose of straight-up soul. Smith, who has had one of the most prolific careers of anyone, deserves more recognition and credit for his work in the genre. But until that happens, there will be plenty of jazz fans grooving to this album, waiting to say, "See, we told you so" to the rest of the music world.

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Great performance and recording but why such a poor transfer? November 2, 2008

By JJ

Format:Audio CD

This is the remaster by RVG, 24 bit transfer reissue produced by Michael Cuscuna I have been comparing to my friend's 1987 transfer by Ron McMaster also produced by Michael Cuscuna.

Apart from the fact that the remaster is much louder and compressed, I was staggered at the difference. Stanley Turrentine's sax is so important to many tracks and drives the rhythm as much as the rhythm section itself but it has lost much of its exquisite contrasting soft/hard expressive qualities, almost like it's been added on top in the new version. Everyone seems to be playing in isolation and the drums are so much louder in the mix I can't believe this was all done with only a 2 track master, that is quite an achievement. Even the organ has lost much of it's "watery" quality. There's just no space left, most of the exquisite pauses are missing, dynamics and much of the texture are all gone. To make everything worse the noise floor even sounds way higher.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm stunned August 27, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

I've NEVER been able to stand the sound of an organ before (any genre). I've seen Mr. Smith's albums in the stores on numerous occasions, but have always shied away 'cause of the organ. Recently though, I heard a jazz tune featuring an organ and decided to give Mr. Smith a try-the swinging/bluesy feel of this music has put this recent purchase into heavy rotation.