Cannonball Adderley - 1974 - Love, Sex, And The Zodiac

Cannonball Adderley

1974 

Love, Sex, And The Zodiac

01. Introduction 0:57

02. Aries: Damn Right 3:20

03. Taurus: Wampus Cat 2:15

04. Gemini: Ecstasy 4:08

05. Cancer: All Sides 3:55

06. Leo: Rosebud 3:58

07. Virgo: For Pam 3:09

08. Libra: Patricia 3:01

09. Scorpio: Back "A" Town 1:33

10. Sagittarius: West Texas 2:26

11. Capricorn: The Gentle 2:55

12. Aquarius: Humanity Plus 2:53

13. Pisces: Allison's Trip 3:51

Alto Saxophone – Julian "Cannonball" Adderley

Bass – Walter Booker

Cornet – Nat Adderley

Drums – Roy McCurdy

Electric Piano – Hal Galper

Electric Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer – George Duke

Piano [Acoustic] – Jimmy Jones

Producer – Cannonball Adderley, David Axelrod

Written-By, Narrator – Rick Holmes

Jazz saxophone great Cannonball Adderley is not usually thought of as a novelty artist, or even one who made embarrassing sellout moves to the pop market, regardless of his success with soul-jazz and his hit 1967 single "Mercy Mercy Mercy." This 1974 album, however, can scarcely be thought of as anything but an embarrassing novelty, and one that will have little appeal to fans of the records for which Adderley is most famous. The real artist on this album is not so much Adderley as Rick Holmes (jazz DJ on Los Angeles radio station KBCA), who wrote and narrated the voice-overs to which Adderley and other musicians supplied a musical backdrop. In common with numerous other records around the Age of Aquarius, it has one track for each astrological sign. In smooth hip period DJ patter, Holmes declaims homilies as to how those born under each sign integrate both sex and love as part of their being. A cast of musicians, including Cannonball, his brother Nat Adderley on cornet, and George Duke on electric piano, backs Holmes' unctuous musings with sketchy fusion instrumentals, co-produced by David Axelrod and Cannonball. The end result is too frivolous to find favor with those who take astrology seriously, yet too serious-minded to be nearly as funny as intentional parodies of self-helpish narratives (like National Lampoon's "Deteriorata"). Maybe it was hoped that some swinging bachelors would use it as seduction music, but if so, their targets were more apt to sink into derisive giggles than submit to conquest. Good for a laugh or two for those with an appetite for tacky music in the incredibly strange music genre, it bears little relation to either the straight-ahead jazz or more pop-oriented jazz for which Cannonball Adderley is most esteemed.

A classic from Cannoball and producer-partner David Axelrod -- truly great stuff and maybe even better than the Zodiac set Cannonball did for Capitol! The formula is similar to that one -- with David Axelrod producing, electric keyboards by Hal Galper and George Duke, spacey solos by Cannonball and Nat Adderley, and some very hip recitations by Rick Holmes on love, sex, and the zodiac! Holmes is best known as the chappie who cut "Remember To Remember" years later with Roy Ayers -- but this album's got a similar "wisdom and knowledge" feel that's pretty wonderful.