Search - Jr Walker & All Stars :: What Does It Take

Blow The House Down!

David Wayne | Santee, CA United States | 04/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent budget CD, containing Junior's two biggest hits ("Shotgun" and "What Does It Take?') and adding some rare cuts from later in his career, especially his second stint with Motown (after a brief stint at Whitfield Records). If you never heard some of the exciting music Junior was making during the 80's, here's your chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I had the pleasure of seeing Junior in concert twice, over the last year of his life. Both performances were at The Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA. The first of these live shows was nothing short of electric. Junior played, in two sets, ALL of his classic Motown hits, and included many of the best tracks on this CD ("Ball Baby" "Blow The House Down" "Until You Come Back To Me" "Urgent"). His blistering live version of "Sexpot" (the original also on this CD) had a jam-packed dance floor rockin'! On that magical night, Junior gave his Southern California fans a tour-de-force performance! "What Does It Take?" was the only song he played during both sets, on a night when, for more than two hours, Junior Walker blew the house down!"

We miss you, Junior

Brent | Ohio | 11/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In what is probably the cruelest coincidence of my life, I purchased this very compact disc the day before Thanksgiving, 1995, which was the day before Jr. Walker passed away. And my overwrought guilt mechanism plagued me, until I - literally - yelled, "STOP! This is the ultimate tribute to the man!" If you are a neophyte lister to Jr. Walker, THIS is the cd to purchase. I mean, SEVEN BUCKS? People, Amazon's GIVING you this cd! This remarkable cd not only contains the two signature Jr. Walker tunes, "What Does It Take To Win Your Love," and "Shotgun" (re "Shotgun": you know that Rolling Stones' song "Start Me Up," where Mick fades out babbling, "you make a dead man ***?" Well, "Shotgun" would make that deceased get up and dance first and THEN ***! AND this is the only cd, to my knowledge, that contains Junior's own version of Foreigner's "Urgent," the same very song to he himself contributed that immortal saxophone solo. Indeed, the very solo that saxophonist extraorinare David Sanborn commented, "THAT IS THE ****ING SOLO!" And he's right. 7 bucks, folks. This is pure, undiluted SOUL, and I guarantee you'll find certain parts of your...body moving in a manner, a rhythmical manner, that you haven't "moved" since you were a teenager. And if you ARE a teenager, Hello there! THIS is what your folks danced to!"

A Surprising Find, An Enduring Gem

Roger R. Festa | Truman State University | 09/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although this collection is seven years old and a budget CD from Motown's Polygram years, it it one of the best-engineered of the Junior Walker & the All Stars CDs. The tracks have been digitally remastered in brilliant, clear, crisp stereo, each with strong, resounding reproduction of the hallmark Motown bass line. In addition to a fair number of Junior Walker's popular hits, this collection includes three never-before-released tracks and several rare album tracks. Despite the brevity of the content (only 11 tracks), this eclectic compilation represents the tremendous range of of Walker's talents as musician, composer, and arranger. It is one of my favorite Motown collections and, indeed, a treasure since only a few of Walker's classic albums from the 1960s and 1970s were reissued on disc and these, unfortunately, have been out-of-print for years. For a very modest investment, Junior Walker & the All Stars fans will receive a priceless and surprising cache of some his best work. The world will never hear Autry DeWalt's strong and playful tenor sax again. Thus, the opportunity to have this handful of gems is irresistible."