Customer Reviews

In Hi-Fi Stereo

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

 

 

Wow! Maybe it's because I listened to James Brown, the Temptations, Junior Walker, the Four Tops, Archie Bell and the Drells while cruising the strip in the 60s in my hot rod 55 Chevy. Or, maybe from listening to groups like Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and Kool and the Gang in my Harley riding days after a stint in the U.S. Army. For whatever reason I absolutely love this latest effort by the beautiful Mindi Abair.

Every song on this CD has a unique style; with some guest singers, tasteful use of horn sections, organ, piano, guitar, bass, etc. Yet, at no time does any of these outshine her very hot sax work, but rather complements perfectly. Starting right out with "Any Way You Wanna" which is exactly the way I wanna, you get a great mix of funky, soulful, and rocking music. Just listen to her smoking hot sax work in "All Star", "Down For The Count", "Girls Night Out", and "Take Me Home". all arrangements on this CD are excellent.

The guest vocals are also great -- I love the rocking "Get Right" sung by Ryan Collins, again, accompanied by her hot sax playing. And I'm afraid that I disagree with earlier reviews, I think the treatment of James Brown's "it's a Man's, Man's, Man's, World" is excellent. Both the singing of Lalah Hathaway and Mindi's hot sax playing are soulful, sultry, and sexy, yes, it is just my opinion, but I think it is awesome, and the longer it goes, the hotter it gets. I'm sorry to be redundant, but just like all of her previous albums, every song on this CD is good, there is nothing weak on it, and I will be playing this CD a lot. This effort, her latest, is nothing short of brilliant. Buy this CD, you will love it!

The recording quality is also top-notch. If you are an old-fashioned audiophile with a high-quality, high powered stereo system, and you like to rock out, you will love this. You will not be disappointed.
Live from the Inside (CD/DVD)
Blues for You
Sessions, Volume 1
Born 2 Groove

Sultry Soul/Jazz from this beautiful lady saxophonist, the gentle or gritty summery grooves ooze spontaneity.
The set (Mindi's sixth effort and her first with Heads Up Records) reminds a lot of some soul-jazz recordings of the '60s and '70s and combines quality mid-tempo instrumentals with vocal cuts.
She hits the funkier end of Soul/Jazz.
There are several funky grooves like "Any Way You Wanna", "All Star", "Down For The Count" and "Girl's Night Out".
On the vocal tip (maybe the less interesting part of the album) you may enjoy "Get It Right" and the cover of James Brown's "It's A Mans Mans Mans World", which showcases some great, bluesy vocals by the ubiquitous singer Lalah Hathaway (currently there are too many smooth jazz albums where Lalah appears as a guest singer).
Tracks like the sleek "L'Esprit Nouveau" (in French for 'The New Spirit') and mid-tempo "Let The Whole World Know (Sing Your Song)" will make you want more from this very talented artist, who has integrated more vocals on this album in order to widen her musical horizon and to reach into a wider audience.
Mindi has choosen catchy melodies and contemporary grooves, well produced and well played, definitely worthy of your time.
Recommended!
The Look of Love
True Love
Funked Up!

I didn't even have to think twice about buying after I heard the samples. Lo and behold, Mindi Abair delivers again! Great jazz for any mood. Soulful at times, smooth at others...Mindi can do it all. Highly recommended!

I have all the other cds and have seen her live here in the Uk with Jessy J. We chatted for ia bit and she really nice person. but sorry - this is not as good as her other cd's The murder of "its a mans world" is the worst track as the singer just cant do the song credit. JB will be turning in his grave. All in all a shame. it should of been so much better.

Mindi Abair is one of my favorite artists, so I was naturally a bit worried when she announced that this newest album, her sixth, would be a departure from her previous four efforts. Artists need to grow, of course, but Mindi's last four albums already showed a steady progression. (Her first album, not widely available, is Always and Never the Same, in which Mindi mostly sings and plays very little saxophone.) This new album comes across as warm and engaging jazz from the era of the "hi-fi" stereo, hence the name of the album. The instrumentals are all good. The two vocals, by David Ryan Harris on "Be Beautiful" and Lalah Hathaway on the James Brown classic "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World" are the weakest tracks. Neither generates much excitement, and the latter isn't all that well suited to a jazz treatment. Also, Mindi typically has contributed two or three vocals on her previous four jazz albums, but none here, which is a real loss. Nonetheless, it's a good album overall and her fans likely will not be disappointed.

I didn't like this as much as the previous two CDs, but it still has some really good tracks on it.

This is my 3rd Mindi CD and I recognize her style anywhere! I saw her as the opening act for Josh Groban some years back and I have been following her since then.

Having seen Mindi in concert at Palmdale, CA Jazzfest, we just can't get enough of her! This album is just great. MIndi makes the sax talk! She also is a pretty good singer and that's the only thing this CD lacks. Keep 'em coming Mindi.

I have always liked Mindy's music, but, I have felt that some oomhf! was missing. This is a good cd that jazz stations & xm/sirius stations are not jumping on. They seem to play the same song over & over and not the best cut. I am being very general in this review because I want everyone to formulate their own opinions. It is definitely worth a listen & Mindy in concert, especially with Peter White & Rick Bruan in their Christmas show, is incredible.

I was hoping for more diversity and some softer tones. I enjoyed the album, but have already set it aside as being too repetitive and harsh. Her music is very staccato and could use some reverb and/or echo to soften the blow. A little too 'David Sanborn' for me, but if that's your taste, go for it.