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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Music Worth Trumpeting,
This review is from: Chase (Audio CD)
Back in the late 60's, as the Beatles were breaking up and a wave of experimentation hit popular music, "rock bands with horns" became a Big Thing. The leading practioners were Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. (Although I hesitate to call BS&T "rock", since their rhythm section always sounded to me like jazz-oriented college professors 'demonstrating' what rock should sound like. But I digress.) There was also a second tier of horn bands. Some were one hit, or no hit, wonders like the Ides of March and Rubicon; some were funk-oriented -- Tower of Power and Earth, Wind & Fire come to mind. And then there was Chase.Chase was about trumpets. All trumpets, all the time. Bill Chase was a section leader with Woody Herman, and his scream playing was as strong as anyone's -- even Maynard Ferguson's. He formed his band around a four member trumpet section, all of whom could really play. The result, on this album, is amazing. Every piece holds something of interest for a trumpet aficionado. Not only the high notes and ensemble playing, but the arrangements as well. Chase pioneered a sort of "kaleidoscopic" effect as the trumpets cascaded through chord changes. Some of the best moments come after the trumpets move through a particularly difficult set of fills, and then repeat them in the next verse -- an octave higher. ("Get It On" is a good example.) The album has its flaws, though. The lyrics are banal at best ("You're at the top of my grocery list, You're the dessert I don't want to miss."), the singing leaves a lot to be desired and the rhythm section can be a bit wooden. (All of which improved on the next two albums, which have been combined on a single CD and are worth checking out.) And, the CD transfer is not great so don't expect big improvements in fidelity. Chase fans from the 70's will want to pick up the CD. If you're a younger brass player -- or maybe you've heard "Get It On" played by college pep bands for years and wondered, "Where'd that come from?" -- this CD is definitely worth a listen. You'll be amazed.
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
NOT the original LP version,
By
This review is from: Chase (Audio CD)
Chase was great. They played our town's Holiday Inn and blew the roof off. But if this CD sounds weak in the low end, it's because it is a 2 track reduction taken from the QUAD LP master (as was the Japanese import CD). After I called One-Way Records, I was able to confirm that the original LP master is MISSING (lost perhaps in CBS' vault fire that consumed much of Chicago's and Simon & Garfunkel's master tapes). The original album producer has a DAT copy of the original master, but was not used for this CD. Other than sounding somewhat tinnier than the original LP, other not so subtle differences are the slightly different vocals on Grocery List and Bill Chase's intro Trumpet solo on River. If you have the original yellow label Epic (or even orange label 2nd pressing) LP, A/B it with the CD and you will see what I mean. If you have the 2 LP reissue (with Ennea) on the blue Epic label, the you have this two track mix-down from Quad. So hit the old record stores (or ebay) and find the original LP because, until they re-release this CD as a multi-channel SACD from the Quad mix and release the ORIGINAL 2 track master recording as well, this is the only way to find the original.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This HAS to be one of best trumpet albumns ever,
This review is from: Chase (Audio CD)
Anyone who knows anything about trumpet playing will be stunned by Bill Chase's technical expertise (as well as the rest of the band). Yes, I too have a dozen or so of Maynard Ferguson's CD/albums, and yes, Maynard is awesome (just bought a couple more of Maynard's from Amazon tonight, as a matter of fact). The two artists' ranges are comparable, but Chase's accuracy exceeds that of MF. I had all three Chase albumns (Chase, Ennea, and Pure Music) around 1972, but was so young and naive, I thought I could always get them again, so didn't take of them - they didn't last long. And for the past 20 years, I have made regular trips to various music stores trying desperately to order the albums or CDs, but no luck. As a last hope, I checked Amazon - success! For people not familiar with Chase, I would like to point out two things. First, the group is more like Chicago or Earth Wind and Fire than a purely instrumental band like Maynard Ferguson - that is, the songs feature singers with the band providing backup ("dazzling" backup, actually - and there are plenty of trumpet solos, and even a song or two that exclude vocals). Second, the style of music it is very dated. The albums were released around 1970 and the band died soon afterwards (that is why only 3 albums were ever made). The music is definitely tied to that era. However, don't let this discourage you - I think if you listen to the songs enough times, they will easily grow on you: there is REAL music on the CD - there are melodies (Boys and Girls Together is my favorite), great chord progressions (Handbags and Gladrags, for instance), and the band's full "thick" brass sound.
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