Richard Groove Holmes – Soul Power
Richard Groove Holmes – How Can I Be Sure
Richard Groove Holmes – Sunny
I don’t know about you, but most of the time when I run across a “Groove” Holmes record, I’m often disappointed. It’s not that Holmes was not in fact a “groovy” organ player, he certainly was. In terms of pure organ playing, he should be considered with the greats, definitely a player with greater soul feeling. But for a guy who recorded during the heyday of truly funky soulful jazz, a lot of his LPs leave a lot to be desired for my post-hip-hop ears. In my book, there are 4 “good” Groove Holmes records for fans of seriously funky jazz, Onsaya Joy on Flying Dutchman, Comin’ On Home on Blue Note, New Groove on Groove Merchant and this LP on Prestige, which is actually the oldest of the bunch. Strangely enough, it’s just in writing this post that I realized that out of 30+ Groove Holmes recorded in the 1960s & 1970s, he released exactly 1 super solid LP on each of the 4 labels he was associated with! Those 4 records are so good, I really wish the man had gotten a bit more funky during this period of time, but these are the breaks and we should feel blessed for output as funky as “Soul Power.”
I ran into this copy of Soul Power at Amoeba Berkeley back in the day where it was $4 because of the condition. Haven’t seen another copy of it since. Due to an unfortunate post-purchase incident, only Side 1 is playable now, but thankfully that is the “good” side featuring all of these tracks. “Soul Power” is truly a monster. With that guitar intro and then into those funky shuffling drums from Ben Dixon, I’d put that track up against almost every single funk-jazz track from the Prestige catalog (well…at least all of those not named “Fire-Eater”).
“How Can I Be Sure” is a cover of a tune from the Rascals, that more or less follows the original melody, but the arrangement with Holmes group is actually MUCH better than the original. Dual guitars and bright sunrise notes from Holmes’ organ and then more fabulousness from Ben Dixon and that waltz rhythm. I love Holmes’ solo on this track once it begins in earnest, just has this swoozy bluesy vibe to it because of the organ effects. “Sunny” is the kind of song you’re more likely to find on the majority of Groove Holmes records, more swinging than overtly funky, but he does light things on fire during his solo, so I think it rounds out things nicely here.
Cheers,
Michael