George Benson - Bad Benson
For someone with rather esoteric music tastes, I’m surprised how often jazz/funk jam music tends to satisfy me. I’d never heard this one before and was really astonished how good it was, chugging right a long with all the requisite solos, like any good 70s soul jazz album. In fact of the titles I’ve heard from Benson I can imagine this one being right at the top, it’s that good. Hits me in the same spot as a live Grant Green album and really makes it hard to sit still.
Motiffe s/t
Not sure what the story is with this early 70s English group, but they’ve got a somewhat primitive, Canterbury-like and jazzy leaning rock sound, like a lot of the groups from the same era but nowhere as good as any of them. Stylists with similar leanings might find this an artifact of interest, and certainly it’s going to get more than a listen from me, but the low quality and rather vanilla sound for the era means they’re way down the pile.
Houston Fearless s/t
One of a zillion late 60s psych albums with a somewhat hard-edged and Iron Butterfly-like sound, again, like in the case of the Motiffe up there, somewhat derivative of their era. There’s even a cover here that’s as predictable as you’d expect, despite the fact I can’t even remember what it was right now! But generally I like this style and am willing to give it a bit more time to see if some of the songs click. Even if it might go the way of, say, Frijid Pink or Shocking Blue.