Customer Reviews

Cool Cat Blues

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was listening to a London jazz station on the internet and they played Georgie Fame's version of MOONDANCE. It was just fabulous, so I emailed the DJ to find out more about the artist.

Come to find out, Georgie Fame's been around longer than me..and that's saying something. I never heard of him, but I ordered the CD solely on the merits of MOONDANCE.

It's terrific...His cut with Boz Scaggs IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME is super...and, of course, having Van Morrison jam on MOONDANCE is the icing on the cake. I also liked his cut YEAH, YEAH....I can't remember who did it in the 60's, but this is every bit as good.

This is happy music...and I listen to it every chance I get.

Enjoy!

An anonymous donor sent me this cd recently, its title having agonisingly lingered on my wish list for some time. I can only proffer my apologies to Mr Fame for having taken so long to discover this album's excellence and to my generous benefactor a humble and most appreciative thank you.

Mr Fame is a legend in his own right, with a career spanning some forty years, he needs no introduction. Originally a blues aficionado his skills began to lend to the jazz genre in the early eighties. Mr Fame is indeed a talented man and has that rare pleasure of being not only a first class vocalist but a talented musician too. I'm blessed too have his title "Name Droppin" (Live) and I didn't really think it could be beat. But of course Mr Fame pulls off excellence with frightening ease time and time again and this album exudes the essence of an album that was a joy to produce. A self-contained and extraordinary album, it flows effortlessly in its excellence from track one to track thirteen all too disappointingly soon.

I normally like to quote my favourite track but dam, aint it so hard to do. Maybe its Moondance but then maybe its Yeah, Yeah .... no its definitely It Should Have Been Me ... no wait its Georgia ..... all wonderful classics in their own right and if my humble opinion is worth anything you should stop reading this and go press the purchase button.

This is a great CD. And to the reviewer who was wondering who did the 1960's version of "Yeah Yeah," it was none other than Georgie Fame himself (I still have the single). I like his original version best, but this one is good too. I especially like "Every Knock is a Boost." This is a CD I would buy for my music-loving friends.

This is a tremendous album. Mr. Fame has a great voice and he joined by several other outstanding artists such as Van Morrison. I recommend this album highly.

I heard a couple of cuts from the cD on the radiio almost 20 years ago. I could not find new or used in any store. Over the holidays I decided to give Amazon a try and they came through. The CD has great covers of Moondance (with Van Morrision and Jon Hendricks) and the Muddy Waters tune "I live the life I love and I love the life I live" Really support for Georgie Fame, Boz Scaggs Robben Ford and Steve Gadd among others. All in all a great CD and thanks again to Amazon.

If you have not listened to Georgie Fame you don't know what you are missing. Highly recomended.

Produced by Ben Sidran, this Georgie Fame CD has one great track after another - and a stellar array of musicians. I am addicted; I'm so glad I stumbled upon this CD!

Credits aside from Georgie Fame:

1. Cool Cat Blues (Fame/Ryan) (a tribute to Mose Allison) (4:02) - features Richard Tee on organ; Steve Gadd on drums; Will Lee on bass; and Ronnie Cuber, Lawrence Feldman, and Bobby Malach on saxophones

2. Every Knock Is a Boost (Jordan/Waters/Fame) (5:17) - features Richard Tee on piano, Steve Gadd on drums, Will Lee on bass, and Hugh McCracken on guitar (Georgie Fame plays organ on this one; he and Richard Tee trade off organ and piano on various tracks)

3. Moondance (Van Morrison) (6:42) - Van Morrison and Jon Hendricks on vocals, Robben Ford on guitar, Richard Tee on piano, Steve Gadd on drums, Will Lee on bass, and Ralph MacDonald on percussion - GREAT performance!

4. It Should Have Been Me (Curtis) (5:01) - Features Boz Scaggs on vocals and Robben Ford on guitar, along with Steve Gadd, Richard Tee, Will Lee, and same horns as track 1

5. Yeah Yeah (Hendricks/Grant) (5:10) - Same as above without the horns and with Ralph MacDonald on percussion

6. I Love the Live I Live (Willie Dixon)* (3:15) - Same as track 4 except that Georgie Fame does the vocals (Boz Scaggs isn't on this track)

7. Big Brother (Mose Allison) (4:55) - Same as above

8. Georgia (Hoagy Carmichael) (3:59) - features Robben Ford, Steve Gadd, Will Lee, and Richard Tee

9. Cat's Eyes (Fame) (6:20) - Same as track 5, plus horns as in track 1

10. You Came a Long Way from St. Louis (Brooks/Russell) (4:28) - features Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Will Lee, and Bob Malach

11. Survival (Fame/Ryan) (9:02) - features Richard Tee, Robben Ford, Bob Malach, Steve Gadd, and Will Lee

12. Little Pony (Hefti/Hendricks) (2:39) - features Jon Hendricks on vocals, Michael Weiss on piano, Dennis Irwin on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums

13. Rocking Chair (Hoagy Carmichael) - features Richard Tee, Robben Ford, Steve Gadd, and Will Lee.

Extensive, informative liner notes by Ben Sidran mention that "this album happened live. Georgie sang and played live and everything you hear here is a first or second take."

*From the liner notes: "...unquestionably my favorite few moments came during the recording of 'I Love the Life I Live'. This Robben Ford arrangement of Willie Dixon's classic literally came screaming onto the tape in one take. When it was over, I was stunned. I found that I was on my feet and didn't remember getting out of my chair. This performance had sort of temporarily redefined my whole space/time perspective. And then the guys casually strolled back into the control room to hear the playback and Robben, grinning like a big kid, turned to me and said, 'I just love the blues; it's like one big playground.'"