A mellow sonic classic.
James Stegall | joliet, il | 01/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this right here is one of the creme de la cremes in the funk catalog of larry and fonce mizell, a 45-minute sonic funkout of fender rhodes, arps and moogs, and other funky thangs to be heard in this classic of an album. a mizell masterwork."
Gambler's Life
heardrums | chicago, IL United States | 06/11/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is an all around good album worth the import price. The title track "Gambler's Life" has just been sampled by Erykah Badu and her band on her new album "Mama's Gun." Don't worry there are plenty more breaks for those ineterested to enjoy. This is a highly recomended piece."
Hammond's piano album
Dr.D.Treharne | Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom | 06/07/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The eight original tracks of this album all feature Hammond playing either electric piano or synthesiser, rather than his namesake organ. The sound is very 70's, with an enormous amount of percussion/drums in the mix, in the case of a couple of the tracks possibly mixed too far forward.There are also offerings with large brass sections and even some strings. My favourite tracks are the two Hammond penned tracks, "This Year's dream" and "Virgo lady" where he is allowed to emerge from the swamp of sound for significant amounts of time, and turns in some effective keyboard work.Otherwise the tracks are all Mizell brother compositions (seperately and alone) apart from "Rhodesian thoroughfare" which is a Chuck Davis number.You also ought to know that the fade outs on a couple of these tracks are quite extreme. On "Starborne" which is listed at 7.51 the fadeout starts about 1.30 from the end. Three of the four remaining tracks are from a session recorded in 1971, where Hammond plays the B3 (tracks 9,10 &12). "Rock Steady" and "Breakout" are excellent examples of what Hammond could achieve within a small group session, though "Who is Sylvia?" is, in my opinion, a tune beyond redemption. Track 11 is a version of the Stevie Wonder hit recorded in 1974. Overall it's a very satisfactory package, though with reservations about some of tracks from the main part of the album.Buy "Gears" ahead of this one!"