Esther Phillips: From a Whisper to a Scream / Alone Again Naturally (1972) ... plus

Two of her best albums ever, From a Whisper to a Scream and Alone Again Naturally (1972) really helped Esther Phillips transform her sound for the '70s. The approach in From a Whisper is a lot more jazzy than before, served up with a good dose of funk, thanks to arrangements from Pee Wee Ellis, fresh from his work with James Brown, but even more electrically-oriented here. The groove is great, and the album is one of the best Kudu sides from the early '70s: a perfect blend of soul, jazz, and funk, all wrapped up with a new level of sophistication that benefits all parties involved. Other players include Richard Tee on keyboards, Eric Gale on guitar, Bernard Purdie on drums, Airto on percussion, and Hank Crawford on alto sax. Titles include an incredible cover of Gil Scott Heron's 'Home Is Where the Hatred Is', plus 'From a Whisper to a Scream', 'Till My Back Ain't Got No Bone', 'That's All Right with Me', 'Scarred Knees', and 'Baby, I'm for Real'. Recorded in late 1972, Alone Again Naturally was the follow-up to From a Whisper to a Scream. Producer Creed Taylor assembled a stellar cast of musicians - some of whom had already played on her previous effort -, including George Benson, Maceo Parker, Eric Gale, Bernard Purdie, Ron Carter, Richard Tee and Billy Cobham. Superb arrangements, again courtesy of Pee Wee Ellis and Don Sebesky, melded perfectly with Esther's smoky vocals to produce one of the finest albums of her career. Both critics and NARAS voters took note, the latter awarding Ms. Phillips a second Grammy nomination for this Kudu classic (the first being for From a Whisper). The album has got a great version of Bill Withers' 'Use Me' that features a tasty break in the intro, plus the cuts 'Alone Again (Naturally)', 'Let's Move and Groove', 'Cherry Red', 'Let Me in Your Life', and 'You and Me Together'. There are also four bonus tracks: 'A Beautiful Friendship', 'How Blue Can You Get', 'Don't Run and Hide', and 'Brother, Brother'. http://www.dustygroove.com/

aa