Making the Band

Bobby Shad and the Bad Men: I Want You Back and No Time
From A 65-Piece Rock Workshop [Mainstream, 1973]

I picked this record up recently on a whim, attracted by the fact that it was on the Mainstream label and that it was a record of jazz artists covering rock hits of the period. What really interested me were the covers for "Whole Lotta Love" and "I Want You Back," and with a $5 price tag I was all about it.

I got home and was pleasantly surprised with my find. Turns out Bobby Shad was a producer and worked with a number of artists to put this project together, very much in big band fashion with lots of instrumentation and fast percussion beats. As I hoped, the covers were spot on with the opening "Whole Lot of Love" setting up a nice tempo for the rest of the album. However, I was drawn to Shad's version of The Guess Who's "No Time," which starts off with a killer drum break leading into further musical exploration. What I seem to like about Shad's work are the various movements, breakdowns, and solos found scattered throughout each piece. They catch you off guard, but make sense and more importantly sound good.

The icing on the cake is The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" featuring a couple of trumpet duets by Burt Collins and Joe Newman, and then Mel Davis and Snooky Young with Mel Davis on piccolo trumpet. The pace here is fast and furious, and a drum breakdown greets you midway through followed by an ensemble of solos.

I'm really glad I picked this one up, and if you can find it for under $10 it's a worthy addition to anyone's collection.