Lou Donaldson - Hot Dog (1969) [re-rip>flac]

From the title, to the cover, to the gritty grooves way down in the wax - this has got to be one of the funkiest Blue Note albums ever - a real landmark from the legendary Lou Donaldson! The set kicks off with a hard and heavy groove from the very first note - thanks to some super-tight drumming by a young Idris Muhammad - still billed under his birth name of Leo Morris on the sleeve, but already hitting the kit with that snapping post-Popcorn style that would revolutionize funky jazz in years to come! Donaldson's plenty smoking himself on electrified alto sax - played with that great mix of flatness and echo that you'd hear in Eddie Harris' albums of the same time - and the rest of the lineup is equally cooking, with Melvin Sparks on guitar, Charles Earland on organ, and Ed Williams blasting away on funky trumpet! Titles include killer remakes of "It's Your Thing" and "Who's Making Love" - plus Donaldson originals "Hot Dog" and "Turtle Walk" - all nice and long, and with a really raw sound!  © Dusty Groove, Inc.

A wildly erratic slice of funky soul-jazz in keeping with Lou Donaldson's late-'60s commercial accessibility, Hot Dog isn't a total washout, but it's just as hit-and-miss as many of Donaldson's albums from the era (even if you are a fan of the style). The main sticking points are the contemporary R&B covers that open and close the album. "Who's Making Love" has an out-of-tune group vocal that fails to be charming in its amateurishness, and the funk of "It's Your Thing" sounds leaden and lifeless despite the best efforts of breakbeat legend Leo Morris (later Idris Muhammad) on drums. Take those away and Hot Dog would be a fairly decent effort. Also featuring guitarist Melvin Sparks, organist Charles Earland, and trumpeter Ed Williams, the ensemble really catches fire on "Turtle Walk," a Donaldson original where the groove sounds natural and helps push the soloists. The Donaldson-penned title cut also gets pretty funky, though the underlying vamp is a little insubstantial to stretch out over ten minutes. The Tommy Turrentine ballad "Bonnie" returns Donaldson to the sweet, romantic territory he's mined so well over the years. So Hot Dog does have some worthwhile moments; it's just a pity the overall finished product isn't more consistent -- the cover photo is great. ~ by Steve Huey, AMG.

Blue Note, BST 84318, 1969

Recorded 25^th April, 1969 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Lou Donaldson - Alto Sax [Varitone], Vocals (#A1,B2)

Ed Williams - Trumpet

Charles Earland - Organ

Melvin Sparks - Guitar

Leo Morris - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Who's Making Love? {Homer Banks, Bettye Crutcher, Don Davis, Raymond Jackson} (6:44)

A2. Turtle Walk {Lou Donaldson} (7:53)

A3. Bonnie {Tommy Turrentine} (4:55)

B1. Hot Dog {Denny Dedmon, Lou Donaldson, Buck Owens} (10:42)

B2. It's Your Thing {Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley} (8:58)

Credits:

Producer - Francis Wolff

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Art Direction, Cover Photo - Frank Guana

Back & Inside Photos - Clyde Stringer

Liner Notes - George Butler