I was somewhat hesitant to include jazz records on this blog, since I find it hard to heap withering scorn on saxophone solos. More accurately, I was concerned that my ears aren't cultivated enough to distinguish between jazz as background music and jazz as art. Fortunately, I came to my senses and realized that it doesn't have to be that difficult. The only question I'm trying to answer is "Do I reasonably expect that I would ever want to listen to this album again?"
For Stanley Turrentine, the answer is, barely, a yes, although this is most definitely an example of jazz as background music. Turrentine brought in a large group ensemble for this record but they mostly play string-backed ballads, are rarely adventurous, and cover a song called "Stairway to Heaven," that is NOT the one written by Robert Plant. Still, the title track is a decent jazz-funk fusion jam and most of the first side features soulful saxophone playing by Turrentine. The second side is quite a bit less tolerable, but if nothing else, has the advantage that instrumental music possesses of being difficult to give offense, at least to my virginal jazz ears. "Everybody Come On Out" is no landmark jazz record, but in my collection it shall remain.
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