Search - Jimmy Smith :: Back at the Chicken Shack

The Album that Inspired Everyone... !

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 09/12/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"BACK AT THE CHICKEN SHACK is one of those anthems that if you play organ you're expected to know...

Prior to that it was Bill Dogget's Honky Tonk... but once CHICKEN SHACK hit in 1960, that was the new anthem, and people haven't grown tired of it yet... (One thing that's recently caught me after all these year's is Donald Bailey's oh so cool backbeat behind Kenny's solo... and Stanley's come-in for his solo.)



The album features Jimmy Smith's classic BLUE NOTE era ensemble of Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell and Donald Bailey, the opening number is a great vehicle for him to show of his trademark licks which combine classic blues riffs with numerous slick runs under a ridiculously steady bass line (especially considering the tempo.)



Of the four tunes on the album, I'd have to rank MINOR CHANT as my favorite though... written by STANLEY TURRENTINE, its not quite a minor blues, but has that type of feel and really cooks.



The two other tunes on this album include a bouncin' but in the pocket version of WHEN I GROW TOO OLD TOO DREAM, a great TURRENTINE vehicle, though JOS definitely gets his word in too, unlike most the other tunes on the album playing in a more boppish context, yet still with that classic JOS blues feel. - - MESSY BESSY (a JOS original) also has a nice happy bouncy feel... and is at a tempo well worth studying for guitarists and organists... both Jimmy and Kenny definitely play some classic lines on it.



All and all, this album is a lot less HOT than the alternatives of the era (WILD BILL and JACK McDUFF especially) - - it stands out for just that... Jimmy Smith's ability to play in a style that's both laid back, swinging and boppin' at the same time... now, listen to any organists and you'll hear a bit of the roots that started in the album... for this reason, if you consider yourself a Jazz organ fan, this album is definitely worth listening to, and if you're a play, HECK... you better study it. Donald Bailey's playing, incidentally is deceptively simple yet imaginative, for example subtle ways he displaces the high hat and fills that are in the pocket, provide space, yet say a lot more than you'd expect !



Conclusion: Get it ! ! !"