Track Listing

1. Oakland Stroke...
2. Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)
3. Just When We Start Makin' It
4. Can't You See (You Doin' Me Wrong)
5. Squib Cakes
6. Time Will Tell
7. Man From The Past
8. Love's Been Gone So Long
9. I Got The Chop
10. Below Us, All The City Lights
11. ...Oakland Stroke

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6752 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Formed out of various Oakland-based bands in the early '70s, Tower of Power was the West Coast answer to the various rock horn bands popular during that period. But where their rivals relied on catchy horn charts and bland lyrics (Chicago instantly comes to mind), Tower of Power was funkier, grittier, and a lot greasier than any of their contemporaries. Back to Oakland isn't one of their strongest albums. After two promising openers, "Oakland Stroke" and "Don't Change Horses in the Middle of the Stream," the set slips into more shapeless jams and is hobbled by the band's tendency toward mundane lyrics. Fans can savor the strong horn section work throughout, but this isn't the logical starting point for newcomers to TOP--a better bet is their second album, East Bay Grease. --Tom Vickers

Customer Reviews

Tight and Intense
I still have my vinyl copy of this one which I picked up when it first came out. I had met a guy from Oakland when I was in the service and he told me that if you own a good stereo, it was nothin if you didn't have the tower playing on it. I had never heard of TOP prior to that conversation, so I went out and bought this one. Man, what a ton of bricks this album/CD is! Unique for it's time and timeless to this day. Hard punching big sound and what a voice Lenny Williams had back then especially on this one and Urban Renewal. I think they had the tightest, machine-like horn section on the planet with arrangements that took them to the moon. I went through a complete phase of TOP fanatisism, and special ordered Bump City, East Bay Grease and all their albums which were hard to find at the time. I saw them live back in the seventies while Williams was still with them and will never forget the experience. If you like funky jazz with fast, tight, searing horns - this is for you.

Masters of Funk
I purchased this because I'm avid admirer of the drumming of David Garibaldi. Had the original release on vinyl. Just a personal opinion but to me Squib Cakes is the funkiest drumming ever recorded! Even today as they tour, TOP still has it! Funky then, funky today.

older, not better
Recently I purchased a CD of TOP recorded in '98 at the Fillmore. Great audio, so I decided to look at their earlier stuff. This particular CD reflects the poor recording techniques of the '70s and there are too many ballads on here for my taste. 'Squib Cakes' is my favorite as it's strictly instrumental. A remastered version of this would be appreciated.