Customer Reviews

Clarke Duke Project

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Sweet Baby", "I Just Want to Love You", "Touch and Go"- these were some of my favorite songs during the summer of '81. I didn't really purchase the album(or rather cassette) until the summer of '85. The three killer songs mentioned above were a staple of the Black AM radio station in my hometown. Before recording "Vol. 1", George Duke and Stanley Clarke were Jazz and Pop superstars in their own solo careers. This first pairing had strong songwriting and vocals. Amazingly, both Mr Clarke and Mr. Duke have very similar vocal timbres and styling. Musically, the album is very staightforward and simple. Since the duo wrote their own material and play most of the instruments, they no doubt knew exactly how each song should sound. The rest of the album has some okay material (althought some of it is truely embrassing), but the three pop singles mentioned above carry the set as a whole.

Stanley Clarke and George Duke,two musical titans who'd
worked together for years finaly get around to doing a duo album,
namely one that emphasises the funk that both artist's regular
releases tended to skim over and considering funk is both artists
best asset,that's a wonderful thing.the big pop hit "Sweet Baby"
is a decent FM ballad but is not representative of this album
as a whole.The slick,uptempo R&B of "I Just Want To Love You",
the quirky cover of Richard Berry's infamous "Louie,Louie" and
Dukes "Finding My Way",a catchy pop-rock number are obvious
highlites-the latter being among Duke's Top 5 all-time best
compositions.But it's in the slamming funk splatters of the
rousing instrumental opener "Wild Dogs" and the vocal numbers
"Winners" and "Let's Get Started" where this collection finds it's full flower."Touch And Go" is a slightly more R&B-sy ballad
then "Sweet Baby" while the brief intro "Never Judge A Cover By
It's Book" (clever tital,George!) deserves to have been drawn out
a bit longer.A veritable collosus!

If you want to hear some great bass lines, I strongly suggest this great cd because it is perfect for you. Stanley clarke is truly a great bass player and he sure comes out in this cd. It's no wonder why Clarke has inspiered so many great bass players. One of whom is Les Claypool from Primus.With Clarke and Duke together they make a great combo. This is a great cd and I hope you enjoy it.

Considering both of these men made their contributions felt more strongly in hardcore fusion it's sort of interesting to note how unlike them this album actually sounded. But those who'd followed their careers up to this point could see it coming a mile away. Stanley and George both were based in fusion and funk but George tended to have a strong Brazillian element with Stanley focusing more on the rock side. Either way both had a way of scrambling musical elements together to create something pretty unique and very stimulating creatively. When this album came out expectation undoubtly seemed to rule the day as the two talented and inventive writers/multi instrumentalists made an album the leaned far heavier toward the R&B/funk side than jazz fusion. What some of these detractors may have missed was that whatever style this album embraced it would certainly not qualify as a sellout project no matter what genre it embraced.

Singing,playing and writing the majority of this music Stanley Clarke and George Duke spent a good deal of this album exploring different ways to bury any musical barriers between pop,funk,fusion and R&B in the urban context. The production is uniformly of it's era but the songs showcase their knowledge of pop experimentation-two things that often don't seem to go together but that Stanley and George always seem to work to their favor. Their cover of "Louie Louie",still in a P-Funk rock style comic satire has a slicker produced bluesier/funk flavor than the lo-fi style of the original. Two of th strongest tunes actually come from Stanley more in "I Just Want To Love You" and "Winners"-the former an urban groove similar to his own solo "Straight To The Top" and the latter having a stripped down new wave styled "naked funk" electro groove with a strong synth/electric slap bass combo groove.

Aside from the collaborative instrumental rare funk groove of "Wild Dogs" and (to an extent) the funk synth bass call and response of "Let's Get Started" Duke's primary contributions tend to be most eclectic. The ballads "Sweet Baby" and Touch And Go" illustrate the overly melodic urban ballad mood he was in at the time-a Jay Graydon/David Foster type sound is all over these songs. The final track on the album is the most fascinating-"Finding My Way" again is illustrative of the influence of Frank Zappa with a song that throws the differences between jazz-funk and progressive jazz rock fusion right out the window with it's blend of anthemic choruses and some strong jazzy soloing. For an album based so heavily in vocals,funk grooves and a pop orientation this album is one of the more wide reaching and ambitious of it's type. And if I was the type to do this I'd challange any naysayers of this album to find another that sounded quite like it.

I've been priviliged to see this duo twice, the 1st time was at the PARK WEST in my hometown of Chicago in 1981. The 2nd was in 2006 at Chastain Park in Atlanta, in which the opening act was none other than MARCUS MILLER .The bottom line is you will not see a better show for your money whether you see them as a duo, of you see them individually, as I have seen them both multiple times since moving to Atlanta in 1996.They are my number 1 concert ticket,along with the Temps,New Edition(collective & individual),Najee,& Euge Groove.What can you say about the music other than each of these icons is the GOLD STANDARD in their respective instruments and have infulenced many musicians that have come after them, leaving an imprint on the industry that will be felt and heard for years to come.Add to that the simple fact that they just "THROW DOWN". When they make new music,BUY IT!!!.When they are in your town,SEE THEM!!!

these are two of the Greatest Musicians ever on the first of 3 projects.this is the best of them.the great slow jam Sweet Baby still is tight.hearing Duke on Boards&Clarke on Bass is a treat to the ears.a must have.

The explosion of fusion in the 1970s provided a venue for jazz artists to not only reach a wider audience, but also to dip into spin-off projects that served two purposes; keep fresh product on the shelves in record shoppes and to dabble in cross-over appeal, as FM radio was still powering forward with room in many formats for different styles from musicians with proven track records to quickly move units into the hands of customers and not into dusty cut-out bins.

Stanley Clarke and George Duke were riding a crest of incredible popularity with jazz, rock and R&B fans, which makes the mostly plodding nature of the first volume in their collaboration quite disappointing. Leaning heavily on the sounds from Earth, Wind & Fire, the 1981 release plays it safe on most of the nine tracks that clock in at a skimpy 36:16.

The cover of the classic garage band tune "Louie, Louie" is embarrassing, as the funk is nothing but junk. "Wild Dog" finds the duo sizzling, with Clarke delivering heavy bass lines as if he is smoking the chords on a Fender Stratocaster. An interlude - the smartly titled, "Never Judge a Cover by Its Book" - paves a direct path to clubland with "Let's Get Started" and "Winners."

The Duke ballad "Sweet Baby" is about as good as it gets with the pace taking a romantic angle - though "I Just Want to Love You" and "Touch and Go" consist of interchageable parts - and the closer "Finding My Way" having enough punch for AOR playlists.

Due to the elements that the pair brought into the studio, there is no way that a record company suit would question the stuff contained on the master tapes. But even when the skies seem cloudless on Earth, a little Wind can bring the Fire contained in heavy rains that will wash away the plans to what appeared to be a slam-dunk artistic endeavor.

This was a big disappointment. What happened to Stanley? And why is Duke co-signing this b.s.? Unbelievable how this piece of s*^t sounds. This is not jazz. This is commercial b.s.. Save your cash. Do not purchase.

Although it took longer than expected to arrive, the CD sounds as good as the album I used to have.