Blue Thumb
1973
The 2nd Crusade
About This Album
Given the critical and commercial success of 1 and their rebirth as the "Crusaders," the band decided to follow up the previous LP's double length with another one! There are 13 tunes here, all extrapolating the band's previously held notions of soul-jazz and hard bop as they emerged into the new funky '70s. Textures were a little different this time out as keyboardist Joe Sample expanded his palette to include not only the Fender Rhodes but also his first (subtle) forays into synthesizer, while Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder keep the crisp horn charts popping throughout. Stix Hooper was, at the time, the best soul-jazz drummer in the business with the possible exception of Idris Muhammad. The newly acquired, three-piece guitar choir led by Larry Carlton is everywhere in evidence here, but the real change is in the place of the bass in this mix. Chuck Rainey, who lent his fat warm electric bass tone to the previous outing, has been replaced by Felder's crisper, more rhythmic approach to the instrument. For the most part, the tunes are shorter here and rely far more heavily on groove aesthetics rather than jazz syncopations. Stewart Levine, ever the chameleon in the producer's chair, directed the sound to its more aggressively funky destination.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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