Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Gotham - Pass The Butter (album review)

Gotham – Pass The Butter   Motown 1972




         With names like John Gatchell, John Eckert, and PeeWee Ellis, how can you go wrong? You can’t. And the lesser-known musicians are just as inspiring specifically drummer Jimmy Strassburg and the explosive voice of lead vocalist Schullar ‘Sky’ Ford. Produced by Tom Wilson who’s resume includes such names as Bob Dylan, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, The Velvet Underground, and the very 1st Simon & Garfunkel album, Wed Morning 3am, Pass The Butter sees Gotham on the attack from the get-go. The suits at Motown kept some of the aggression at bay leaving the group to maroon another albums worth of tunes in the vault. But they could not be contained enough to make this masterful LP. Pass The Butter may be one of the truest jazz and rock hybrids of the era. ****

Key tracks: Ease My Mind, Why Doesn’t The Sun Shine, Use It or Lose It

4 comments:

  1. Not one of the better Horn Rock albums. The reason why is because of Sky Ford's try to hard over the top vocals. The annoy me big time there are good songs on this album for sure. The best would be Behind The Wall. This album would have been better with a different singer for sure. Sky Ford sounds constipated when he sings

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  2. Don't forget the quality of the recording (the sound, the mix) priceless!

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