Customer Reviews

Destination Motherland: the Roy Ayers Anthology

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I found this two CD set to be an unexpected suprise! Most of the material I was already familiar with since I owned the albums on Wax. However, the song "Memory" has stuck with me! A most enjoyable collection - I recommend it for those who are not Familiar with Roy Ayers. A very broad sweep of the work he had done at Polydor Records in the 70's!

I am first and foremost a disco lover. I have gotten into other styles but my passion lays with the disco sound of the 1970s'. I was aware of Roys funky "Running Away" a few years ago and in many ways it is the perfect disco song: funky,handclaps,urgent and spirited vocals. And then I heard "Heat of the Beat" with Wayne Henderson which is an exciting disco track but sadly not on this compilation.So what attracted me to this was his cover of the standard "Fever", with its interesting string arrangement and his take on the song.It is here in its 12" version and is currently being played a lot by me! "Rock Your Roll" is an interesting track, it has great synthesiser work and some good chantlike vocals, particularly when Roy urges you to "rock it.." and is a high spot for me."Sweet Tears" is available in its original and disco version and I rather like the disco version though at times, it feels forced."Can't You See Me" here in its 12" form has a monotonous groove that turns quite hypnotic after a while and is growing on me.There are four cuts off his African themed album in the early 80s, and I like three of them, "Land of Fruit and Honey" with its name check of African countries, "Destination Motherland" and "Africa, Centre of the World". Most of the stuff on the first disc doesn't really interest me, except the classic stoner cut "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" with delightful slurred vocals and trippy synth, "Running Away" of course, and to a lesser degree, "Hey Uh What You Say Come On". There are other noteworthy songs to fans such as "Searching", "We Live In Brooklyn Baby" and others maybe true fans would know.There are notes by Johnny Chandler.All in all, a lot of this stuff is really not what I'm into, but fans will not be disappointed and disco boys (and girls) will find some stuff to help shake their groove thang...

A very nice collection of Roy Ayer's material from the Polydor years. There is not a song in this collection you won't like....if you dig Ayers in the first place. A good collection for those just discovering Roy. Also, a great buy for those who are familiar, but only have like one or two albums. GET THIS!

Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutherson, Gary Burton: the names we think of when conjuring the great jazz vibes players. Is there room at the top for Roy Ayers.

If not, yet, I know why. When Ayers got big in the 1970s, funk, his brilliant piece of the curb, was still considered pimp hat street music. This is the same reason that Miles' On The Corner got trashed on released, and is now universal among jazzheads as a masterpiece of invention. Funk of all stripes has correctly been put in its proper place as essential to understand African American music.

When placing Ayers correctly, this compilation will go a long way towards nudging for that top elbow room. Destination Motherland contains a wide cross section from the master's 1970s and 80s albums.

Yes, listen to the creamy funk, work that competes with Sly Stone, George Clinton, James Brown, any of the geniuses from the era. But listen also to Ayers: his speed, his harmonic complexity, his ability to make that complexity seem simple, flowing like zen water.

Any cut from here will stimulate your musical palate while steaming your musical windows. Forget the schoolbooks, forget the jazz, forget the genre.

LISTEN! to the music. LISTEN to Roy Ayres

I was quite surprised by the double CD DESTINATION MOTHERLAND: THE ROY AYERS ANTHOLOGY. There's really not a bad track on either of these two disks.

The only music that I knew from Roy Ayers was the soundtrack to Coffy (Score), which I have and love, and the song "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" that I didn't know was by Ayers.

Anyway, I'm glad I investigated further and discovered this set. It has a great mix of all Ayers hits from several of his Polydor albums. In the 70s, Ayers had a group called "Ubiquity," which featured Ayers collaborating with other musicians and singers on various songs, so you get lot's of variation as far as vocals are concerned.

But the music is sublime. A combination of jazz and funk, each song is a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece that touches the soul. Whether it's an upbeat disco song or the slow but fiercely grooving-ethereal "Everybody Loves the Sunshine," Roy Ayers has put his stamp on music with these timeless tracks.

The anthology comes with a small booklet with bio/album info on Roy Ayers, but the info for the songs on the anthology only include writer/publishing information. Great intro to Ayers and makes me want to buy other albums from this great artist.