Children Song

Thanks to the Latin-inflected title track, Children of Sanchez became another huge hit for Chuck Mangione. The title song even earned him a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and serious jazz listeners will spot a problem with that award – it was for pop, not jazz. That, of course, is an accurate assessment of Mangione's music, since there isn't much improvisation on the album at all…

Ancient Grease were originally known as Strawberry Dust featuring Gareth “Morty” Mortimer (vocals), Graham Hedley-Williams (guitars), Jack Bass (bass) and Dick Owen (drums), they were spotted by Eyes of Blue drummer John Weathers brought them to the attention of Mercury Records head Lou Reizner who changed the name of the band while Weathers assumed the role of producer for the band’s sole album. The sessions also featured keyboard player Phil Ryan. Featuring a wonderful blend of powerful psychedelic and progressive rock, the album was issued on Mercury in July 1970. Although it failed to make a commercial impression upon its release, the album is now highly sought after by collectors and fans of the Welsh rock scene and Man aficionados. This Esoteric Recordings edition has been remastered from the recently located original master tapes for the very first time, (previous releases having been taken from vinyl), and presents this legendary album in the best ever sound quality.

Stanley Clarke's debut solo effort was issued when he was already a seasoned jazz veteran, and a member of Chick Corea's Return to Forever, which at the time of this recording also included Joe Farrell on soprano sax and flute, and the Brazilian team of vocalist Flora Purim and drummer/percussionist Airto Moreira. Produced by Corea, who plays Rhodes, clavinet, and acoustic piano on Children of Forever, the band included flutist Art Webb, then-new RtF drummer Lenny White, guitarist Pat Martino, and a vocal pairing in the inimitable Andy Bey and Dee Dee Bridgewater on three of the five cuts – Bey appears on four. Clarke plays both electric and acoustic bass on the set; and while it would be easy to simply look at this recording as an early fusion date, that would be a tragic mistake.

Gold assembled a handful of knowns and unknowns to make special cameos on this melodic and fun collection of original and classic Halloween tunes with a pop-rock bent. Among the haunted are David Cassidy, Karla Bonoff, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Bishop, Nicolette Larson, and Gold's children and wife. From the Beatlesesque touches of "It Must Be Halloween" (parts seemingly lifted from "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite") to Boris Karloff's "Monster Mash" and "The Addams Family" theme song, Gold and company offer up treats that kids and their parents will like, including the "Ghostbusters" theme. But with cooler original fare like "The Creature from the Tub" and "Spooky, Scary Skeletons," you have to wonder why they relied on so many predictable cover songs.