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"…Bayou Bottoms…"
"Images" by THE
CRUSADERS was first issued in a single sleeve LP in July 1978 in the USA on
Blue Thumb BA-6030 and on ABC Records ABCL 5250 in the UK. This single CD
reissue is a straightforward transfer of that long forgotten Jazz Funk album.
US-released June 2009
(September 2009 in the UK) - "Images" by THE CRUSADERS on
Universal/Verve 0602517995710 (Barcode 602517995710) is part of Universal's
'Originals' CD Reissue series and is issued in a card digipak (no booklet
unfortunately) at mid-price. It breakdowns like this (39:46 minutes):
1. Fairy Tales (Joe Sample
song)
2. Marcella's Dream (Nesbert
"Stix" Hooper song)
3. Bayou Bottoms (Wilton
Felder song)
4. Merry Go Round (Joe sample
song)
[Tracks 1 to 4 made up Side 1
of the original LP]
5. Cosmic Reign (Robert
"Pops" Popwell song)
6. Covert Action (Wilton
Felder song)
7. Snowflake (Joe Sample
song)
[Tracks 5 to 7 made up Side 2
of the original LP]
THE CRUSADERS line-up for
"Images" was:
JOE SAMPLE - Keyboards
WILTON FELDER - Saxophones
BILLY ROGERS - Guitar
ROBERT "POPS"
POPWELL - Bass
NESBERT "STIX"
HOOPER - Drums & Percussion
Additional Guests were:
DEAN PARKS - Guitar (All
Selections)
ROLAND BAUTISTA - Guitar (On
"Fairy Tales", "Bayou Bottoms" and "Covert
Action")
PAULINHO DaCOSTA - Percussion
(All Selections)
Possessing not the greatest
album sleeve in history - "Images" was nonetheless a bit of a
Jazz-Funk peach. Produced by "Stix" Hooper, Wilton Felder & Joe
Sample for "Crusader Productions, Inc." and mastered by long-standing
expert Bernie Grundman, it followed so much of their Seventies output - really
well-produced instrumental funky tracks followed by mellow ones that filled
both the floor and the heart at one and the same time.
Remastered from the original
tapes by KEVIN REEVES at Universal Mastering in the States, it now sounds
FABULOUS - really clear and defined - and virtually hiss-free.
With juts a poor-sounding
1990 US CD to go on - and only "Snowflake" and "Fairy
Tales" on the superior sounding "Gold" 2CD set from 2007 (see
separate review) - that means that 5 of these 7 tracks are only now getting the
sonic upgrade they've deserved for so long. The funk bliss that is "Bayou
Bottoms" now sounds stupendous and had me throwing some very embarrassing
shapes on our living room carpet. Other tracks like "Cosmic Reign"
and “Merry Go Round” are so "Aja" in their arrangements too - and to
be compared with Steely Dan's 1977 masterpiece is the highest compliment
really.
After a whole decade and
umpteen albums of their particular type of funk & jazz, the same team that
handled "Images" would finally hit paydirt a year later in 1979 with
the global smash of "Street Life" and make Randy Crawford a star.
"Images" is a
forgotten Crusaders album and one that now sounds as fresh as it did over 31
years ago - recommended.
PS: For those interested in delving a little deeper - I've posted a full
list to 2009 of the 120+ titles in the "ORIGINALS" CD series in the
'Comment' section attached to this review…
