Name: Mystic Voyage by Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Brand: Roy Ayers Ubiquity
SKU: 073145195672
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (70 reviews)

ALBUM

Depending on who you talk to, 1975's Mystic Voyage is either a classic or an example of a talented musician lowering his standards in order to make more money. Many funk and soul aficionados consider Mystic Voyage a classic, and the album has been sampled extensively by hip-hop and acid jazz artists. But jazz snobs have about as much use for Mystic Voyage as they have for George Benson's Breezin' and Patrice Rushen's Pizzazz, both of which found artists who used to specialize in straight-ahead jazz burning up the Billboard charts with more commercial music. Mystic Voyage doesn't pretend to be jazz; its primary focus is R&B, and it must be judged by R&B standards instead of jazz standards. Judging Mystic Voyage by jazz standards is like ordering a pizza and complaining that it doesn't taste like Vietnamese food; pizza isn't supposed to resemble Vietnamese cuisine, and similarly, Mystic Voyage isn't meant to impress jazz's hardcore. The only tune on the album that has anything to do with jazz is the title track, a laid-back pop-jazz instrumental that became a favorite with the quiet storm crowd. But Mystic Voyage is dominated by vocal-oriented R&B, and that includes gritty funk items like "Funky Motion," "Evolution," and "Spirit of Doo Do," as well as Ashford & Simpson's mellow "Take All the Time You Need." Although Mystic Voyage is a favorite among Ayers fans, it isn't the best R&B-oriented album that he recorded in the 1970s -- Vibrations and Everybody Loves the Sunshine are actually stronger and more essential. But it's definitely enjoyable and pleasing if you fancy 1970s soul and funk and aren't a jazz snob.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo

1. Brother Green (The Disco King)

by Roy Ayers

Background Vocals: Byron Lee Miller
Debbie Darby; Performer
Bass Guitar: Byron Lee Miller; Performer
Primary Artist: Roy Ayers Ubiquity; Main Performer
Bongos: Chano O'ferral; Performer
Clavichord: Roy Ayers; Performer
Drums: Ricky Lawson; Performer
Guitar: Calvin Brown; Performer
Keyboard: Roy Ayers; Performer
Percussion: Roy Ayers
Willie Michael; Performer
Performer: Ricky Lawson
Calvin Brown
Roy Ayers
Onzy Matthews
Byron Lee Miller
Chano O'ferral
Joe Brazil
Debbie Darby
Edwin L. Birdsong
Willie Michael; Performer
Producer: Roy Ayers; Production
Soprano Saxophone: Joe Brazil; Performer
Synthesizer: Roy Ayers; Performer
Vibraphone: Roy Ayers; Performer
Vocals: Calvin Brown
Roy Ayers
Debbie Darby
Edwin L. Birdsong; Performer
Engineer: Ralph Moss
Neal Teeman
Buzz Richmond; Production
Recording Arrangement: Roy Ayers
Onzy Matthews; Production
Conga: Chano O'ferral; Other
Recording: Ron Gangnes; Production
Studio Personnel: Ralph Moss
Neal Teeman
Buzz Richmond
Ron Gangnes; Production
Composer: Edwin Birdsong
Roy Ayers; Composer
Composer Lyricist: Edwin Birdsong
Roy Ayers; Other