Customer Reviews

Stick It

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

 

 

Having seen Buddy Rich many times (I lost count after 75 different events) I must say no drummer since until Dave Weckl ever approached the instrument with such mastery.

The critics argue that Rich was technically a genius but could not swing. So much for critics. I played drums for 40 years and the only drummers or musicians who saw Rich as non-swinging musician were the ones who were jealous of his ability to swing them into the ground and drive and propel bands to greater heights better than any drummer in the history of the instrument.

This contribution by the Rich Band features some excellent work by Pat Labrbara and a great brass section. The tunes are contemporary 70's and hold their own even now for jazz-rock lovers.

We are fortunate to have a growing library of The Buddy Rich Orchestra and thanks to Cathy Rich people can have more access to the Master of the Drum set Buddy Rich. I remember seeing this band play this entire album in Candlewood Lake Summer Theater, Conn., and USA one
summer evening. Mr. Rich said he was coming off 250 one niters and was going to play a long concert before the band took a break for a month. 3 hours later Buddy Rich and company left us speechless. This album represents that evening in a studio setting. If there were a time machine that worked I would go back to that night again and again. Buy this and all the albums by Buddy you can find if you love drumming! -Hong Kong 2003

Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey is worth the price of this cd alone....make's you want to hang out in a "swank" Vegas nightclub. A must addition to any collection.

"Stick It," although not one of Buddy's best efforts, does have some redeeming qualities to it. Material-wise, this is the best of the three RCA albums from the early-70's, and the only one of those so far to be released on CD. ("A Different Drummer" and "Rich In London" are not available on CD, although what worthwhile material there is on those two albums has been released on various collections.) John LaBarbera's high-energy "Space Shuttle" is the highlight of the album. Two standard ballads stick out: "God Bless The Child," featuring some nice alto work by Joe Romano, and a slow rendition of "Wave," with a great performance by Bill Reichenbach on bass trombone and also some nice trombone ensemble work. "Best Coast" hums along with a jaunty 70's waltz beat, and "Sassy Strut" is one of the better rock-beat charts the band played.

A couple of things mar the perfomance. One is that this is not Buddy's best band. They suffer from sloppiness from time to time, particularly Lin Biviano's frequent insistance on screaming one final note out after the rest of the trumpet section has finished. To an 18-year-old in 1972, it sounded kinda cool, but to an old codger in 2001, it just sounds [bad]. The other problem is with the production. The folks at RCA just couldn't get the balance right. On "Stick It," the treble is way too high and there is no depth in the bass. When I first bought the vinyl, I thought that maybe it was my cheap equipment. But now that I hear the CD on decent equipment, I realize that it was RCA all along. Buddy was obviously none too pleased with RCA for whatever reasons, because when he went on Johnny Carson one night to promote the album, he announced the title and then added, "...and that's what RCA can do!"

There are better Buddy Rich albums out there, but "Stick It" isn't bad. If you're adding to your BR collection, I'd recommend it.

This release has been stigmatized by several factors: Buddy didn't have a good relationship with RCA Records, who released the recording; and, both Buddy and his listeners thought this record fell short of expectations when it first appeared on LP in the early 1970s. But the CD release has at least one significant difference from the original LP, a game-changing one, as I will explain later.
Buddy's quarrel with RCA had to do with the label's failure to promote the several records he made with them. Fans often thought his RCA recordings sounded dynamically compromised, were sloppily pressed on noisy vinyl, or had other technical issues that could plague LPs. Needless to say, the CD release obviates the issues related to vinyl records, so the music is presented against a quiet background, a customary aspect of compact discs.
As for the performances, critics are correct to say that Buddy and his various bands over the years often did better work. But one of the standouts in this set, "Space Shuttle", is represented by two performances, the second not having been included on the original LP. In the second version, added to the end of the CD program as a bonus track, Buddy concludes with a solo, making this one quite a bit more special.
The second, longer version of "Space Shuttle" did not make the original LP, I am convinced, for time considerations. LP records could only hold so much high-energy content, so Buddy's 'Killer Force' releases commonly ran less than forty minutes, much like contemporary rock music recordings in the same format. Freed from the LP time limitations, the added track brings the CD closer to 48 minutes--not overly generous but, again, significant due to Buddy's solo.
The final track on the LP version of 'Stick It' was "Bein' Green", a song once associated with the Muppets' Kermit the Frog, but lent classic status in recordings by the likes of Frank Sinatra. Here, Buddy sings, accompanied only by an electric guitar whose languid, unobtrusive statements provide just the right support. Although Buddy made a number of recordings as a vocalist in the 1940s and, particularly, the 1950s--indeed, he considered abandoning the drums for a career as a singer (or a dancer, or an actor)--I am unaware of other recordings of his singing in the 1970s. So, hearing this one may amount to a rare privilege.
Other than the aforementioned tracks, little else moves me here, and I might otherwise agree with those who disparage this recording. But given the alternate take of "Space Shuttle" featuring Buddy's solo, and the possibly rare-for-its-time example of a vocal recording by Buddy, I cannot do without this disc. There will not be another Buddy, and this recording could be treasured on that basis alone. But there are also some nice moments here for those willing to seek them.

There is a lot of Buddy Rich on record, and this release (mid-seventies as I recall) is not among the strongest. Some great Lin Biviano lead (and screaming solos)but the real killer (for me) is the Joe Romano "God Bless the Child solo." The band behind him is subtle, but this is some of the most genuinely soulful ballad playing I have heard to this day.

Not one of Buddy's best efforts...weak charts and songs compared to his almost uniformly great Pacific Jazz albums (Buddy & Soul being the exception...not bad but not great, either). He hated it himself, having been stuck with the set up by the record company..

I was of the firm mind that Their was no such thing as a weak BR release until I purchased this. Do yourself a favor and get "Wham!" or "Time Being" instead. Your money will be better spent.
Long live Buddy!!!!