Joe Newman

After his one-album stint at Asylum Records with Luxury You Can Afford in 1978, Joe Cocker was without a record label until 1981, when he signed to Island Records. Island head Chris Blackwell took him to the Compass Point studios in the Bahamas, where he recorded a 12" single, "Sweet Little Woman"/"Look What You've Done," released in May 1981, then continued working on a full-length album. When that album, Sheffield Steel, appeared a year later, listeners could be forgiven for imagining, during the instrumental portions, that they were hearing not a Joe Cocker disc, but rather a Robert Palmer record.

After his one-album stint at Asylum Records with Luxury You Can Afford in 1978, Joe Cocker was without a record label until 1981, when he signed to Island Records. Island head Chris Blackwell took him to the Compass Point studios in the Bahamas, where he recorded a 12" single, "Sweet Little Woman"/"Look What You've Done," released in May 1981, then continued working on a full-length album. When that album, Sheffield Steel, appeared a year later, listeners could be forgiven for imagining, during the instrumental portions, that they were hearing not a Joe Cocker disc, but rather a Robert Palmer record. The instrumentalists were the Compass Point All-Stars, led by drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, and including keyboard player Wally Badarou and guitarist Barry Reynolds, and they maintained a steady tropical groove on most tracks that strongly recalled their work on Palmer's series of albums…

David "Fathead" Newman - Bigger & Better (1968) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27128}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 210 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 76 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 198 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1968, 2012 Atlantic / Warner Japan / WEA / Rhino | WPCR-27128 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Jazz Blues / Saxophone

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The sessions that resulted in Bigger & Better feature Newman with a string section and studio musicians for forgettable versions of two Beatles songs, a pair of Sam Cooke R&B pieces and a couple of lesser items. David "Fathead" Newman probaly is not the best saxophone player you will ever listen to. But he is a lyrical player and he has such a signature sound that you just got to love him. Like Hank Mobley, David "Fat Head" Newman kinda gets lost in the shuffle when you compare him to Sonny, Trane, Dexter, or even Stanley Turrentine!

Following the disastrous failure of his 550 Music debut, Have a Little Faith, Joe Cocker tried what must have seemed like a couple of surefire commercial ideas: first, hire Don Was, who has made a career out of organizing salvage operations on stars of the '60s and '70s, as producer; and second, do an "unplugged" session, albeit under another name…

Although Joe Beard is a country-based bluesman and fellow guitarist Ronnie Earl (who brought along his Broadcasters for this set) is strictly city, they work together quite well. The emphasis is often on Beard's expressive vocals (which sometimes look toward John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins but display their own personality). Beard and Earl contribute contrasting guitar solos, pianist-organist Bruce Katz fuels a grooving rhythm section, tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman has a couple of cameos and the harmonica of Joe Dubuc is a strong asset on three songs. Even with its nods toward the past, this release is a fine example of blues in the mid-'90s.