Before or since, you've never heard "Aquarius" played like this. Here's a long [well over eight minutes], lush, opulent version of this new age pop song. The sound is big and lively with a full-bodied flavour available only in the finest jazz performances.
It may have been a hit record, but I got real tired of hearing the Spiral Starecase song "More today Than Yesterday" repeatedly on the radio so long ago. This was a sickenly saccharine love song that, in my opinion at the time, could have been relegated to the remainders bin. Here I am listening to eleven and one-quarter minutes [I've typed the whole thing out just to give a sense of how really long that is] of this song, over and over again. It's wonderful. It's jazzy. It's, well... groovy.
Players on this set included Charles Earland, organ; Virgil Jones, trumpet; Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Melvin Sparks, guitar; Idris Muhammad, drums; and Buddy Caldwell, congas. Together, these highly talented artists make a joyful noise.
Did I tell you that I like this set a lot or that the music is just wonderful. It's true. This music is so creative and innovative that, if it came out today, it would still be setting standards for young artists to aspire toward. Now that's groovy.
This CD includes both Bob Porter's original liner notes from the 1969 album and new liner notes written by Porter in 2006 plus a brief note from sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who made the masters for both releases. These notes give the reader an interesting historical perspective on this artist and the music he created.
Those who may be interested will find a concise biography of the late Charles Earland (1941-1999) on the SoulWalking website. You can find all that and more at Fuller Up, The Dead Musicians Directory.
Black Talk!
Charles Earland
Prestige Records
2006
5 tracks
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