Search - King Curtis :: Night Train

Mother's milk -

Will Flannery | Berkeley, CA | 01/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone who grew up on rock and roll in the fifties and sixties, the sound of King Curtis' saxophone is just about as satisfying as mother's milk. Curtis was the ultimate rock and roll sax man, he defined the idiom, he was the idiom. His playing is pure pleasure. This disc contains some great blowing.Curtis's sound is huge, every note forcefully played, driving, and still, while he plays with tremendous power, his sound is also completely nuanced. Probably every sax player who has played rhythm and blues has played some of King Curtis's licks, but his power and finesse are unmatched; no one can play these licks as well as Curtis. Curtis invented rock and roll sax, but this was not the limit of his inventivenss, for an example of his playing outside the idiom, check out "Hot Saxes", this track features a tenor battle with Sam "The Man" Taylor, with both players in top form; and Curtis's playing in particular is superb, and he plays some licks you never heard on "Short Shorts" to keep one step ahead of "The Man". My favorite cut is "Hully Gully Twist", it has a super funky guitar riff a la New Orleans's Earl King, and Curtis's four chorus solo is pure power start to finish.The disc has some great players, like Taylor, Jack McDuff on organ, Billy Butler on guitar. They're playing the rock and roll idiom, track that are two or three minutes long, with easy melodies and easy chords, but even so, there is some great playing on this disc by any standard."

KING CURTIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST SIDE MEN IN MUSIC.

Will Flannery | 05/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE ALBUM "NIGHT TRAIN" USES SOME OF THE BEST IF NOT THE BEST MUSIC MEN OF THERE TIME .I BOUGHT THIS ALBUM A 33 1/3 RECORD AND I PLAYED IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN .I THINK I WORE IT OUT.IN MY MIND I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE BEST I'VE EVER OWNED."