Recorded and issued in 1966, this is one of the weirdest
Jimmy Smith records ever.
Smith is on his B-3 playing the hell out of the blues and backed by
the Oliver Nelson Big Band. But that's not what makes it strange.
Smith is the instrumental soloist to be sure, but he is also fronting the band as a vocalist and accompanied by
Buddy Lucas on harmonica to boot! It's a kind of companion LP to
Got My Mojo Workin', with three vocal performances. The original LP issue contained six cuts. This CD version on Lilith contains seven, and the definitive Verve CD version has 15 tracks. These seven will do in a pinch, though, and this set is better than its predecessor -- perhaps because
Nelson has a killer band and, as always, has written amazing charts. The players in this lineup include
Phil Woods,
Ernie Royal, Dick Williams,
Billy Butler,
Kenny Burrell,
Grady Tate,
Richard Davis on upright bass, and
Bob Cranshaw on Fender electric bass, among many others. The vocal tracks here -- the title cut, "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," and
John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" -- are excellent for what they are, and
Smith is gritty and soulful enough to pull off the vocals, but it's his organ that gets real in the solos. Other tracks include fine versions of
Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth," and "Hi-Heel Sneakers." This may seem a curiosity piece, but it's more than that -- it's well worth taking in and making a part of your
Smith shelf. ~ Thom Jurek