Chicken Fat (Dig) [Original recording remastered]

Mel Brown (Guitar), Mel Brown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Impulse Records
• ASIN: B00014AUR8
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,992 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guitar lickin' good!, May 26, 2004

By 

D. Chance "anothermusicfan" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chicken Fat (Dig) (Audio CD)

I'm glad to see this classic album reissued. Mel Brown is a Great! guitar player, and I hope more of his albums are reissued. These instrumentals are some fine funky licks of jazz and blues infused soul. The last person I turned on to the music of Mel Brown became obsessed to hear everything by him he could get his hands on. If you haven't heard this guitar master, do yourself a favor and pick this up. You won't be disappointed!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another great one, June 12, 2008

By 

Bill Your 'Free Form FM Handi Cyber Print DJ ... (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Chicken Fat (Dig) (Audio CD)

Here is one with the black and orange spine that no one should miss.

Chicken Fat is basically a blues record, but Mel Brown's guitar playing lifts the album far above the ordanary. He is the polar opposite of, say, Wes Montgomery or Joe Pass. He is more akin to Zappa's axe work. His solos start out fast and hard and never relent. There are lots of loose, janglely runs and compressed little 16th notes Mel uses to get from point A to B. Everything is very detailed, and layered, but it is the type of detail that emerges in those little spontainous sounds between the music. Lots of rich texture in the guitar playing you'll slowly discover.

On one track, Mel uses a wha-wha peddle to great effect. This was 1967, and while a lot of more adventurous jazz people-say, Charles Lloyd- were putting rock inflections into their work, soul jazz was still a purist game. But Brown took a plunge that really pays off.

A good buy for jazz fans, blues buffs, and music fans.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lost classic - Fat chicken and funky blues!, November 8, 2008

By 

Hilton Royale "Dr. Funk Alligatooor" (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicken Fat (Dig) (Audio CD)

If you're into Booker T. & The MGs, Grant Greens funkiest stuff("Alive!"), John Lee Hooker,
Lou Donaldson or just like tight and smokin' grooves, then this has more than enough fat
chicken and guitar chops on it, to keep you satisfied for weeks.

I didn't even know who Mel Brown was before I stumbled over this album, and after listening
to it a couple of times I couldn't believe that I never even heard of the man, because this
is one of those rare albums where the quality NEVER drops and the groove just keep on building.
WHY ISN'T THIS ALBUM TALKED ABOUT?!!
I just don't get it.

This could be almost anybodys bag. It's rooted in the blues, but brings R&B, funk and soul,
rock n roll, cool organ work and some incredible guitar exchanges.

Tight! Mellow! Cookin'! Raw!

I really hope that some of his other stuff from this period gets reissued, because if it brings the
same amount of juice, it needs to be squeezed.