Goes Underground

Don Ellis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 17, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B000CC3RYM
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,560 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All Over the Map, March 9, 2006

By 

Nick DiScala (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goes Underground (Audio CD)

This is a mixed bag of hits and misses. It is Don's first overtly commercial and rock influenced album-many pop covers, backup vocals, and a featured R&B vocalist. But there are also tunes that would fit perfectly well on any on Don's less commercial and more artistically satisfying endeavors: Bulgarian Bulge, Ferris Wheel, Love for Rent, and much of Goood (sic) Feelin'.

Even with the pop covers, there are many intrinsic touches of the Ellis style that elevate the arrangements above the usual pandering crossover attempts of others. For example, the bridge of "It's Your Thing" with its octave multividers and 1/4-tone trumpets, or the driving "Eli's Comin'" that ends with a soulful "Rock-a-Nova" coda. If you can get over any potential prejudices about the source material, there are many aspects of the arrangements and playing that are quite satisfying.

The featured vocalist, Patti Allen, is a bit of a question mark. There are times when she can rip it, Janis Joplin style, with the best of them; and then there are times when she sounds like she'd be kicked off in the early rounds of American Idol. I actually like the last cut, "Black Baby", which is nothing more than her quietly reciting a poem with Don sensitively ad libbing some blues behind her. Very simple and very effective.

In sum, a mixed bag and certainly not at the top of anyone's desert island list; but second-rate Ellis is often more interesting than the best efforts of others.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Feelin', March 18, 2006

By 

R. Isherwood (Fort Collins, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Goes Underground (Audio CD)

I originally purchased this album (when they made albums) 35 years ago and while it does not recieve as much attention or accolades as Tears of Joy, Soaring, Autumn or Electric Bath it is worthy and valuable document in the Ellis recording saga.

Yes, it does wander a bit, but there are some great Ellis gems in this release (Don't Leave Me, Good Feelin', Ferris Wheel, House in the Country et al). The vocals kinda still throw me, however appreciated as a complete recording this is exceptional music and still puts a smile on my face.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 11, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Goes Underground (Audio CD)

Maybe when they named this The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground, they were aiming for airplay on underground FM radio, emerging when this came out in 1969. But even that does not make sense. A lot of these tracks would have fit on AM. This is the least "underground" of Don Ellis' albums.

But really, NOT a problem. "Underground" is basically a soul record, and a great one at that. You have a Blood Sweat and Tears cover, a Harry Nelson cover, and a Laura Nyro cover. One track has is a Sly Stone homage, and there is a ballad here that could have easily gone top five, as good as anything on Dusty in Memphis or Areatha '69.


Ellis works with singer Patti Allen here, and she is top flight: as a grooner, a belter, and a psychadelic master of ceramonies. Either something really bad happened to her, or labal executives of the era were asleep at the switch. Allen should have been famous.

Gone are the arcane time signigtures, sitars and exotic Turkish shadings that had kids lining up at the Filmore to see Ellis open for top rock acts. This is a jazz band playing soul, giving it a whole lot of texture and meat.

Which brings me back to this whole "underground" labal. This is great, straight ahead music by top writters of the era and a killer band.

Ellis may not have really gone underground here, but I love him above ground just fine.