Housed in one of Blue Note house graphic designer Reid Miles' most delightful covers -- a powder-blue image featuring a nattily-dressed
Freddie Roach receiving a heaping helping of the soul food in question -- the outstanding
Mo' Greens Please serves as a stepping stone between the more studied soul-jazz of the organist's label debut
Down to Earth and the looser, deeper grooves of the following
Good Move! In his liner notes,
Roach credits contemporary dance crazes like the Twist, the Hully Gully, and the Bird for inspiring the tempos and moods of
Mo' Greens Please's ten cuts, while the titular promises of moments like "Party Time," "Nada Bossa," and the blistering "Blues in the Front Room" serve further notice of the eclectic menu in store. Though the product of two separate studio sessions, the first featuring the great
Kenny Burrell on guitar, for all its stylistic detours the album hangs together beautifully -- each of the players is at the top of his respective game, and in particular
Roach attacks the organ with all the passion and flair of his most incendiary outings. ~ Jason Ankeny