Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'

I love this CD, especially tracks 3 and 4 (which flow from one to another live). Track 4, "That's called The Sticks, ladies and gentlemen, The Sticks, thank you.", has the coolest solo hand-off ever. The trumpet wraps his solo up with some double-tonguing that is truly amazing... until the saxophone picks up right there with even faster. Wow.

I grew up listening to this album on vinyl.

IF YOU BUY THIS CD, ALONG WITH SOMETHIN' ELSE, YOU PROBALBY HAVE THE BEST RECORDED WORKS OF CANNONBALL ADDERLY, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF "CLEANHEAD AND CANNONBALL", WITH EDDIE CLEANHEAD VINSON. THIS ALBUM COOKS WITH POST-BOP BLUES, AS WELL AS THE QUINTESSESNTIAL CANNONBALL ADDERLY RECORDING MERCY, MERCY, MERCY, WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY KEYBOARDIST JOE ZAWINUL (MAY HE REST IN PEACE). THIS IS A GREAT 1960'S JAZZ RECORDING (ONE OF THE FEW ACTUALLY NOT ON BLUE NOTE RECORDS). GREAT BAND, GREAT RECORDING, GREAT SOUNDS. BUT NOT A REAL "LIVE" ALBUM......

I Remember Bird, Leonard Feather's tribute to Charlie Parker, is one of my all time favorite jazz pieces. Cannonball and his brother Nate play it superbly. It's an unforgettable performance.

Performed in front of a studio crowd plyed with free drinks, Cannonball and company (Nat, Joe Zawinul, Victor Gaskin & Roy McCurdy) play six funky songs. First Cannonball speaks to the crowd, then the band gets in the groove. The groove is a strength and weakness of the album, with the exception of the title track, the songs don't stand out very strongly from each other. The title track has the most interesting songwriting, though the fact that it was a crossover hit surprises me. It's very good, though. The playing is all top-notch, too.

The title track "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," alone, is enough reason to buy this album. This recording captures the electricity of this particular show to the extent that the listener may at points truly get a feeling like they're sitting in the room with the band.