Buddy Rich – The Roar Of '74

The Roar Of '74 is a perfect album. The songs are amazing. No, this isn't an album for the Jazz purist, but that doesn't make it flawed in any way, just not a pure Jazz album. But isn't that what Jazz was all about from the beginning? Exploring new styles and possibilities?

In this case, the stylistic possibilities include Jazz, Funk, Rock, with a hint of Progressive Rock on a couple tracks. "Nuttvile," is an amzing track, and one of the best songs ever to appear on a Buddy Rich album. It moves from funky Latin Jazz to Swing, back and forth - something that a few musicians have noted made it a challenging song to play. But the band just nails it. "Kilimanjaro Cookout," is one of those songs that blends multiple styles and genres into something that is Jazz in spirit, if not specific form. Prog Rock legend Tony Levin plays bass on this album, and his playing here blends Prog and Jazz, and the song as a whole takes Prog Rock and blends it with Jazz and Funk to create something new and exciting. From there the proceedings get even funkier with the massive, "Big Mac." "Big Mac," is a phenomenal blend of straight up Funk, with bursts of Jazz influenced by Hard Rock, with some great Big Band touches that you just can't get from a smaller group. Buddy's groove on this one just kills, and the band is just slammin'! Hard! This is SO 1974 - in a good way! After those three songs Buddy could have put out a bunch of slop and it would still be a great album - but he didn't!

"Backwoods Sideman," is a great composition from John La Barbera, who provided Buddy with a perfect arrangement for his band. This is an uptempo, high energy Jazz track. Not your grandfather's Jazz, but 1970's Jazz. Big, bold, and grooving! It's got a certain amount of swing to it, but it's grooving too much to be a purely Swing song. The solos, including one from John's brother, Pat, are excellent (as they are throughout the album). And that's how the first side ends. Pure musical nirvana.

But, wait - there's more! Side 2...

You want modern (circa 1974) Swing? Well, on Don Menza's amazing, "Time Check," you've got it! This is one of the all time great Jazz songs. It isn't just a great Big Band Jazz song, it's a great song, period. Again, high energy, high octane, uptempo, slammin' at times, grooving and swinging at others. Menza knocked this one out of the park. This song is timeless. Truly great.

Oh, but lest you Jazz fans think that this album is without dynamics, well - first you haven't been paying attention, as the first five songs are all fairly different from each other - but, second, the album has a great ballad in, "Prelude To A Kiss." Buddy was a master with the brushes, and he shows it here. Playing with a ton of both finesse and sophistication, showing great technicality combined with amazing feel. The song is dynamic and cinematic, and is the perfect ballad for this album.

"Waltz Of The Mushroom Hunters," is a great song in 3/4 (as the title makes clear), and there are just the subtlest of Prog Rock hints here in a song that is really, really Jazzy. Electric Piano is used very effectively here (and, let's face it, electric piano sounds great on most Jazz songs - it's a great instrument for Jazz). And then the album closes out with, "Senator Sam," a song loaded with R&B elements, and some great guitar from Joe Beck. It's bluesy, groovy, and a ton of fun. Dynamic, too, making great use of the Big Band.

Not a weak track on the album. Nothing less than very good, and most of the songs are great. Speaking of great, the audio production/mix of the album is flawless, too. Big and bold, and crystal clear - this is what a Big Band sounds like live!

The Roar Of '74 is an album that rarely gets the accolades it deserves, but it truly is a phenomenal album that should be in the collection of every Jazz fan who has an open mind towards Funk and Rock influences on some of the songs.