Friday 4 September 2009

Donald Byrd ”Street Lady”

Donald Byrd

Street Lady
( LP Blue Note Records, 1973 )
Catalog # BN-LA140-F

Tracklisting:
A1 Lansana’s Priestress (7:42)
A2 Miss Kane (7:35)
A3 Sister Love (6:46)
B1 Street Lady (5:39)
B2 Witch Hunt (9:43)
B3 Woman Of The World (6:55)

Personnel & Credits:
Bass [Fender] – Chuck Rainey
Clavinet, Trumpet – Fonce Mizell
Congas – King Errisson
Drums – Harvey Mason
Engineer [Assistant] – Chuck Davis , John Arias
Engineer [Recording] – John Mills
Engineer [Remix] – Chuck Davis , John Arias , John Mills
Executive Producer – George Butler
Flute – Roger Glenn
Guitar – David T. Walker
Percussion – Stephanie Spruill
Photography [Cover], Artwork By – Mike Salisbury
Photography [Liner] – Norman Seef
Piano, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Jerry Peters
Producer, Arranged By, Conductor – Larry Mizell
Synthesizer [Arp] – Fred Perren
Technician [Technical Director] – Chuck Davis
Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals [Solo] – Donald Byrd
Vocals, Arranged By [Vocals] – Fonce Mizell , Fred Perren, Larry Mizell
Written-By – Edward Gordon (tracks: B3) , Larry Mizell

Notes:
Recording Date: June 13, 14 & 15, 1973.
Recorded at Sound Factory, Hollywood, California.
Mastered at Mastering Lab, Hollywood, California.
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold Sleeve
Country: US
Released: 1973

Review:
Not so much a fusion album as an attempt at mainstream soul and R&B, Street Lady plays like the soundtrack to a forgotten blaxploitation film. Producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell conceived Street Lady as a concept album to a spirited, independent prostitute, and while the hooker with a heart of gold concept is a little trite, the music uncannily evokes an urban landscape circa the early ’70s. Borrowing heavily from Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, and Sly Stone, Donald Byrd and Mizell have created an album that is overflowing with wah-wah guitars, stuttering electric pianos, percolating percussion, soaring flutes, and charmingly anemic, tuneless vocals. It’s certainly not jazz, or even fusion, but it isn’t really funk or R&B, either — the rhythms aren’t elastic enough, and all of the six songs are simply jazzy vamps without clear hooks. But the appeal of Street Lady is how its polished neo-funk and pseudo-fusion sound uncannily like a jive movie or television soundtrack from the early ’70s — you can picture the Street Lady, decked out in polyester, cruising the streets surrounded by pimps with wide-brimmed hats and platform shoes. And while that may not be ideal for jazz purists, it’s perfect for kitsch and funk fanatics.
By Stephen Thomas Erlewine (All Music Guide)

By Pier

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