Track Listing

1. Gibraltar
2. I Told Jesus
3. Salt Song
4. I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do
5. Storm
6. Vera Cruz [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74815 in Music
• Brand: Stanley
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

Album Description
CTI Master Series remastered reissue of 1971 album for the legend of the tenor sax, his follow-up to his acclaimed debut, Sugar. Features 6 tracks including 1 bonus track not on original LP of Nascimento's 'Vera Cruz'. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Not As Advertised But Still Great
WARNING: Except for the much lower price, I don't know why amazon peddles this as a new release. Salt Song Limited Edition 2008 turns out to be almost exactly the same as the previous limited edition, the only difference besides the price being a new barcode label slapped over the old one.
When this edition first appeared here and in my amazon recommendations, there was no posted product information so I could not compare it with what I already had. I expected some new tracks and the price made it a cheap gamble. I lost the bet, but someone else will gain as they will receive my extra copy as a gift. But now that there is posted information, it will be readily apparent to any other mark that there is nothing new to be heard.
Now I'll get down to the music. Salt Song was not only my introduction to Stanley Turrentine back in the mid-1970s, it was an album that sparked in me a still-burning interest in jazz in general. Many purists scoff at the CTI releases, but those records brought many people to jazz who may otherwise have never become interested. CTI recordings were nothing like some of today's lame "smooth jazz" offerings, in contrast they were chock-full of some of the greatest jazz musicians of that age and provided neophytes with a musical bridge from rock and roll to some of the more traditional and even avant-garde styles.
I still hear Salt Song with much the same delight I experienced on my first listen. To me, the best songs are Gibraltar, the title cut, and Storm. I Told Jesus is a little jivey for me but I never skip it. The other two cuts, one of which is the "bonus", are enjoyable as well but aren't as attention-grabbing as my favorites. Salt Song may not be Turrentine's best, but its a lot better than ninety percent of the music on the market!
For the price, there should be no complaints at all but I am still a little annoyed that I was misled into getting something I already had. By all means, I recommend this CD, just don't get the idea there is anything extra on this if you already happen to own an earlier edition.

Top Notch Everything
This music is beautiful, interesting, even a bit challenging to listen to because there is so much going on in these tracks. Turrentine is in top form here, playing with great confidence and feeling throughout. You definitely feel as if he's singing through his horn. The arrangements by Eumir Deodato are superb and varied (the man is simply a genius), and played by top-notch session players like Ron Carter, Airto Moierera, and Billy Cobham, each of whom is a superstar in their own right. This disc is a great journey through great melodies, layers of rhythm, and superb playing that you hope won't end. But that's why you have a "repeat" button on your remote.

OK but not his best work
I've liked Stanley Turrentine's work for years. With him, my attraction is the SOUND - uniquely his: big, bright, yet warm, with roots in soul and blues as well as mainstream jazz. His playing on this CD lives up to his usual high standard. He sounds great in a versatile selection of pieces. It's everything else that disappoints.

This album on Sony is a reissue of a CTI Album from 1971, with a bonus track added. It has the best and worst features typical of CTI recordings. Best: good players (Ron Carter and Billy Cobham are in the supporting cast, among others), good recording quality, for the most part. Worst: gratuitous arrangements chosen to sell records, strings, background voices, sound effects, generally short album durations - even with the bonus track it's barely 42 minutes.

There's a nice versatile mix of rhythms here: Gibralter shifts between latin and swing, latin (Salt Song and Vera Cruz), ballad, neo-gospel (I Told Jesus), urban blues (Storm).

Some arrangements mildly detract from the CD. Deodato's arrangement of I Told Jesus is the musical equivalent of "dumbing down" and moves away a bit from a true gospel feel. The strings detract from the ballad, I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do, and the storm noises and Stanley's reverb in Storm are each downright annoying.

The best track is the opener, a Freddie Hubbard tune called Gibralter.

This would be ok for someone who likes saxophone who doesn't have a cd of his. Plus, if you like Stanley's playing, you'll like this. Still, there are other recordings early in his career that are better: Easy Walker, Sugar and Don't Mess With Mr. T are a few that come to mind, along with a couple of Jimmy Smith recordings on Blue Note, Back to the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special. There are others, too, especially a live recording with Freddie Hubbard whose title escapes me.

So, 5 stars for the body of Stanley's work - he always comes to play and always sounds great. 1 star for the strings, noises, reverb and CTI arrangements. That averages to a 3. Some Stanley fans might consider this as a 4, but I like some of his other things a little better.