Customer Reviews

Down to Earth

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3 star:		(1)
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hello, i've never written a review before but need to comment on two other reviewer's remarks. both were disappointed that a song "down to earth" was not on the cd although it allegedly was on the lp. i'm holding the lp in front of me as i'm writing and this song does not exist on my record, which is the original version. the ten songs on my lp are the same ten songs on the cd. by the way, it is a most wonderful lp, very dark and bluesy, unlike his more pop-oriented later stuff. best to you all.

I have always loved the old Ramsey Lewis Trio work before he got into synthesizers and split with Red Holt and ElDee Young. This album brings back the best of Ramsey Lewis. Hopefully this will lead to remastering and CD release of "Stretching Out" and other Trio albums.

Long before he got into foolishness like "Hang On Sloopy" and "The In-Crowd," Ramsey Lewis was at the helm of one of the greatest trios in jazz history. Together with Red Holt on drums and El Dee Young on bass, this old album (originally on Mercury Records) released in the early 1960s is probably their finest effort. Subtitled "Music from the Soil," it is funky, soulful and, most of all, very moving.

The 1960 to 1965 releases by the Ramsey Lewis Trio are some of the most accessible in jazz. While maintaining high quality jazz improvisation, they also feature funky rhythms, beautiful folk melodies, bluesy keyboard work, and the most musically colorful rhythm section in the business (Eldee Young and Red Holt). The Ramsey Lewis Trio was a true jazz trio with a unique musical voice - each member played an integral part to make the sound something special.

Unfortunately, most of those releases have yet to be issued on CD. "Down to Earth" is one of the happy exceptions, and may be the best Ramsey Lewis recording available on CD for the foreseeable future. Pick it up - you won't be disappointed.

Ramsey Lewis in his early years simply cannot be beat! If any Ramsey Lewis fans out there know if and where I can find a CD (or cassette for that matter) for an OLD LP I have called "Choice! The Best of Ramsey Lewis" I would love to know where. The cover of the LP has a picture of a hood ornament on it, and the music is in the same vein as this CD....late 50's-early 60's. Any help would be appreciated muchly! In the meantime, get this CD!

Many years ago I had a copy of the original DOWN TO EARTH album by Ramsey Lewis. It was always one of my favorites, particularly the title song. I lost the album and have been trying to replace it ever since. It was one of his best. I don't know if this is a remastering of the original or not, since I don't see the title song listed, but if it is, it is worth twice the price and a must for a collector of Ramsey Lewis' recordings.

This re-mastered CD left off what I consider the best song from the original LP which I owned years ago, which just happens to be the title song, "Down To Earth". I was very disappointed.

this is a terrific recording...nobody else does the single note jazz stuff. i got it cause i was looking for the original recording of "billy boy", but that's not on here. Otherwise, it's great