Customer Reviews

Buddy Rich Collection

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As a self confessed Buddy Rich fanatic, I can safely pin the blame for this on having being exposed to this double album (on vinyl,that is)at an early age! The rest of the enlightenment followed suit. If you ever wanted an insight to the sound of the Buddy Rich Big Band in the seventies ( en route to its further excellence in the eighties ) then I would proffer that you need look no further than this album. Each and every track is a delight. When my original album wore out (literally!) it took me nearly 15 years to find a replacement (vinyl) copy (in the USA). Now it is available on CD and, unbeliveably, at a cheaper price than the original album in 1977! I urge any Buddy Rich aficonados out there not to miss the opportunity of owning, and relishing, this essential piece of the band's discography

I have wandered about Buddy Rich's big band work from the 60s, so this compilation gave me all the answers I needed.... GROOOVY! Some hot (quite often live) jazz,

propelled by Buddy's energetic drumming (with no egocentric drum-solos) but often quite cleverly arranged, with fine solos.

This CD comprises several Buddy's albums from the 60s (naturally, showing slight influences of modern jazz), but swing is the main ingredient in this fine mainstream CD.

Soloists on various tracks include Art Pepper, Ernie Watts, Richie Cole - (as), Bobby Shew, chuck FIndley, George Zonce, Bill Prince (tp), Jay Corre, Pat LaBarbera -(ts), John Boice, Rick Stepton -(tb), John Bunch, Ray Starling - (p)...

Arrangers include: Bill Potts, Bob Florence, Don Priestup, Harry Betts, Don Menza, Don Sebesky, Oliver Nelson, Bill Holman...

Composers include: Bill Potts, Bob Florence, Burt Bacharach, Harry Betts, Don Menza, Oliver Nelson, Bill Holman, Vernon Duke...

I'm sure glad I bought this CD; if you trust my judgement (and, as I can see, judgment of others who posted their comments) you can even skip this compilation and build your collection of Buddy's 60s albums, but if you're already crowded by various big band CDs, this may (I'm venturing a wild guess here)

very well be the best Buddy Rich big band CD to buy....

Yes, this is absolutely a fabulous collection--just play the excerpts and I think you'll be convinced (assuming you like hard-swinging, big-band jazz, of course!). I'm adding my two cents here only to correct an error in the previous review: while the original vinyl album may have come out in the 1970s, the recordings were made in the 1960s. This is a "best of" compilation drawn from several other albums on World Pacific Jazz, such as "Swingin' New Big Band", "Big Swing Face", "Keep the Customer Satisfied", "Mercy Mercy", and "The New One!" If you like this CD, the good news is that all of those others are available too, and with lots of bonus tracks not on the original LPs, so you won't have to feel guilty about the overlaps with this one! ;-) Enjoy.

CD 1: Backwoods Sideman

1) Nuttville 5:47

2) Kilimanjaro Cookout 6:14

3) Big Mac 5:43

4) Backwoods Sideman 4:46

5) Time Check 3:47

6) Prelude to a Kiss 3:31

7) Waltz for the Mushroom Hunters 7:13

8) Senator Sam 4:07

9) Three Day Sucker 5:11

CD 2: Pieces of Dream

1) Tommy Medley 10:55

- Eyesight to the Blind

- Champagne

- See Me, Feel Me

2) Pieces of Dreams 4:04

3) Ease on Down the Road 3:09

4) West Side Story 5:48

5) Playhouse 6:25

6) Lush Life 4:09

7) Nik-Nik 3:06

8) Layin' It Down 2:51