Archie Shepp - 1971 - Things Have Got To Change

Archie Shepp 

1971

Things Have Got To Change

01. Money Blues (Part One) 5:51
02. Money Blues (Part Two) 5:45
03. Money Blues (Part Three) 6:37
04. Dr. King, The Peaceful Warrior 2:29
05. Things Have Got To Change (Part One) 8:15
06. Things Have Got To Change (Part Two) 7:57

Electric Piano – Cal Massey
Cello – Calo Scott
Violin – Leroy Jenkins
Bass – Roland Wilson (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Drums – Beaver Harris (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Electric Piano – Dave Burrell (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Guitar – Billy Butler (tracks: A1 to A3)

Guitar – David Spinozza (tracks: A1 to A3)
Percussion – Calo Scott (tracks: A1 to A3)

Percussion – Hetty 'Bunchy' Fox (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Percussion – Juma Sutan (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Ollie Anderson (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Saxophone [Alto], Flute [Piccolo] – James Spaulding (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Saxophone [Baritone] – Howard Johnson (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano] – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Trombone – Grechan Moncur III (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Trumpet – Roy Burrowes (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Trumpet – Ted Daniel (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson (tracks: A1 to A3)
Backing Vocals – Anita Branham (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Anita Shepp (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Barbara Parsons (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Claudette Brown (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Ernestina Parsons (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Jody Shayne (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Johnny Shepp (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Sharon Shepp (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Recorded 17th May, 1971 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, N. J.

Archie Shepp had the knack of simultaneously sounding nothing like anything he'd done before, but at the same time sounding totally familiar. So it is with this classic impulse! session from 1971, precursor of the following year's more well known 'Attica Blues'.

The lineup is extensive, being a who's who of the players Shepp had worked with over the previous few years. That might lead you to expect more outside playing, but the emphasis here is much more rhythmic, with a strong soul/R&B flavour. It's the free-jazz album Stevie Wonder would have made in 1971, had he put his mind to it.

The theme is the Blues, of course - it always is in Shepp's music. Oppression, poverty, violence; it's all here, Shepp's socially conscious vision telling it like it is with great passion. Standout track here is the title cut; an extended jam that begins quietly with some early electronica, providing a backdrop to a tune u could hum and a steady increase in intensity, culminating in the choir's mantra "Goddammit! Things Got To Change!". From there the improvisers are unleashed, with Shepp serving up one of his characteristically savage solos, railing against the oppression of his people. Contrast this with the neat and tidy playing of "Dr. King", a duet between Shepp and Cal Massey on rhodes that manages to be tender, yet incisive at the same time, setting the listener up nicely for the main event that follows.

And 'Money Blues' - "I work all day, I don't get paid, Money, Money, Money" - not only the root of all evil but also the root of much misery. Someone pay the man (but make sure he keeps on singing).