1970

The second Cargo album is much more produced than the first, and it works in its flavor, emphasizing the inherent heaviness of their sound, strengthening the sound of the guitar and organ. A couple of the songs are quite good with "Geordy", a terrific moody slow-burner, the best. There's also a bizarre song about how happy they are for their friend who fell out a window to his death.

A groovy groovy electric set from Hammond giant Shirley Scott - a set that really kicks things up in the rhythm department, in a way ties the album as much to Atlantic Records soul of the 60s as it does to some of Scott's earlier work for Prestige! There's a great pulse at the bottom of the tunes - thanks to guitar work from Billy Butler and Eric Gale, and some sweet electric bass from Chuck Rainey - working here in the rhythm section with Jimmy Johnson on drums and Ralph MacDonald on congas. The combination of all these great players on one date really makes things cook - and Shirley's organ sounds groovier than ever - so much so, she also seems free to try out a few sounds here on piano and ondoline as well. Things take on a nicely trippy feel at times, and a funky groove at others.

In concert, the Charles Lloyd Quartet took care of business, so it's fortunate to have this reissue bringing back two of the group's live recordings: a 1968 date from Town Hall in New York and a 1967 concert from a jazz festival in Estonia. The two dates flow together as a unified document of the quartet in its prime. Soundtrack opens with "Sombrero Sam," an expansive piece of soul-jazz with a Keith Jarrett deconstruction of a Joe Zawinul-style line (circa Zawinul's time with Cannonball Adderley). This sets up the leader for a funky excursion on flute. A breathy falsetto soliloquy from Lloyd on tenor then segues perfectly into a dynamic performance of his "Forest Flower." "Voice in the Night" from the original Atlantic release is not included on the reissue…

Recorded at the Decca studios in the summer of 1970, Room's Pre-Flight was an ambitious blend of rock, blues, jazz and classical influences. The album was critically well received but unfortunately like many strong releases of this genre at the time on the classic Deram label, did not achieve the hoped for breakthrough to greater commercial success. Room's only recorded work, the album has been re-mastered from the original analogue tapes and is now presented in this definitive edition from Esoteric Recordings.

Alternating hard-driving blues-rockers with country-folk numbers, Humble Pie neatly showcases the two sides of this band's personality on their first release for a major American label and third album overall. All of the elements are in place for the sound that would reach its studio peak with the next release, Rock On, and culminate with the classic Live at the Fillmore album. "Earth and Water Song" provides a blueprint for the acoustic guitar-based sound Peter Frampton would ride to multi-platinum success as a solo artist later in the decade. "One Eyed Trouser-Snake Rumba" and "Red Light Mama, Red Hot!" show the hard-rocking direction in which Steve Marriott would move the band after Frampton's departure the following year.