Customer Reviews

Spice of Life

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In keeping with the ongoing philosophy of genre-bending eclecticism that has driven all of his solo work, Earl's "Spice Of Life" embraces a range of styles - jazz, funk, pop, soul and more.
This new collection, inspired by the music of Klugh's life, offers up a soulful collection of songs designed to warm even the coldest night.
Some of the tracks are backed by full, lush orchestration, while others feature the strength of his fantastic acoustic guitar alone.
He reinterprets four of his favorite standards, but there are some Klugh originals: "Ocean Blue", "Driftin' ", a soft, melodic pop piece; the funky "Sleepyhead", "Snap!""and "Venezuelan Nights".
The latter is a pure gem, a soft, classical piece that showcases Klugh's nimble fingering. This is a Klugh original and he says he wrote it to honor Antonio Lauro, a classical guitarist and composer from Venezuela.
"One of the solo pieces I wrote is directly in the style of Antonio Lauro, a classical guitarist and composer from Venezuela" he says. "When I was young, there wasn't a lot of sheet music for classical guitar. Antonio's waltzes were some of the first transcriptions I ever had, and they are beautiful. I wrote and named the piece "Venezuelan Nights" in honor of Antonio".
A master class in jazz/soul, blues and R&B, the legendary Grammy winner guitar Maestro transforms the thoughtfully selected covers into his own, and succeeds in producing an intensely passionate and diverse album.

For Earl Klugh fans it's been 9 long years since his last "full production" CD, Peculiar Situation. Spice of Life is a welcome and thoroughly enjoyable return. There are three main reasons for this:

1. This CD highlights and features Earl's clean and melodic guitar work instead of a lot of solos by other instrumentalists (sorry saxophone lovers - there's nothing for you on this one), and the non-guitar solos that are on this (mostly keyboard and flute) are well placed and non-distracting.
2. It sounds like Earl is very present and enjoying his playing on this recording (the cover photo seems to illustrate this). As a very long time fan of Earl's it's delightful to hear this almost intangible element come through so clearly.
3. There's a nice mixture of styles and genres on this CD but the songs transition smoothly (which is tough to pull off).

Regarding the last point, this CD features a few classic Earl upbeat originals (Ocean Blue, Sleepyhead, Morning in Rio), a couple nice ballads (Driftin', Heart of My Life), a playful alternate version (or vice versa) of Heart of My Life (Lucy's World), a couple beautiful solo guitar numbers (Venezuelan Nights, The Toy Guitar), four well crafted and orchestrated "oldies" (Canadian Sunset, C'est Si Bon, My Foolish Heart and a Brazilian stylized rendition of Monk's Bye Ya), and even a little funk (Snap!). There isn't a nicer combination of the various styles Earl has become known for in one recording.

For those unfamiliar with Earl Klugh this is an excellent introduction to his amazing catalogue of music and a very welcome return for any fan. It's great to have you back, Earl!

Earl Klughs new cd is a delightful ,awesome,superb , fantastic. The arrangments are awesome his musicianship is awesome. Id say going out as quick as you can & buy his new Cd.

"I wanted to create something that would encompass a wide spectrum of directions: solo, standards, originals, electronic, acoustic and orchestral. I wanted to make a recording that would reflect where I am at this moment in my life, and something I am proud to present to my fans." ~ Earl Klugh ~

True to his word, multi-Grammy winner, Earl Klugh made his conception into fruition with this latest offering from one of the best guitarists ever, "The Spice of Life," a beautiful album that contains thirteen tracks. It is more of a showcase of his original compositions and a few notable standards each rendered in an eloquently tasteful manner. The lush orchestrations of a fine arranger/conductor and also a multi-Grammy winner, Don Sebesky, can be heard on my top three favorites from this set; the smooth and breezy "Canadian Sunset," a gorgeous French classic, "C'est Si Bon" and a charming all-time gem of a tune, "My Foolish Heart."

From among his original compositions marked by pleasing harmonic chords, I so enjoyed the opener "Ocean Blue," "Morning In Rio," "Driftin'" and "Venezuelan Nights," a tribute to one of his favorite classical guitarists/composers, Antonio Lauro from Venezuela whose transcriptions truly impressed Klugh when he was young. In addition, Klugh reinvents and revives a rarely recorded Thelonious Monk melody "Bye Ya" with a new groove that shows off his skilled guitar riffs.

This recording will surely give a delightful listening adventure not only to fans of Earl Klugh, but also to anyone who appreciates lovely guitar music and a talented musician such as Mr. Klugh.

With my heartfelt recommendation. You'll love it as much as I do.

I have been listening to Earl Klugh since the mid seventies. He has a distinct style of playing the guitar. His music gets better within each passing year. I enjoyed this album immensely.

...for nearly thirty years of musical perfection. If you already know of Mr. Klugh's wonderful music, then this CD is for you...it ranks up there among his best. If not, do yourself a favor and give this a listen. Here's hoping for (at least) thirty more years of musical magic from a true artist.

I've been listening to Earl Klugh's records since the mid seventies. Along with the great George Benson, Mr. Klugh is without a doubt one of the tastiest players ever. As a guitar lover, I can appreciate the light touch and the groove in his playing. Some of my musician friends gave up on Earl in the 80s, when they thought everything he released started sounding the same - and I have to admit I also let many of his albums pass me by after "Midnight In San Juan" - still one of my favorites.

But I was curious to hear "Spice Of Life" when I saw it available on Amazon. Happy to say I am not disappointed. Earl's expertise has increased, if that is possible. His ad-lib soloing has more meat on it. The lovely "Venezuelan Nights" is reminiscent of Antonio Lauro's style and I wouldn't be surprised if Earl has been been spending time studying Lauro's compositions. A couple of tracks - "Snap" and "Morning In Rio" sound a little cliched and could have come off one of his albums from twenty years ago, but I really don't wish to criticize a truly original and innovative guitarist. I thank Earl Klugh for all the listening pleasure he's given me and so many others. If you haven't heard Earl Klugh before then I can recommend this CD as a great entry to his vast repertoire. If, like some of my friends, you gave up on him years ago just give this a listen. You'll hear more to like with each playing. I know I do.

Absolutely fantastic stuff. Listen to it by yourself and drift away to wherever you wish to go.

Heard on satellite "tv" radio.
Discovered on Amazon "listen to album".
The album is so good, don't have a favorite track yet

His first release in many years and nothing has changed. A good value and every track is a winner. Great tunes for a back yard barbecue or just relaxing!