🎵 AotW AOTW: Quincy Jones BODY HEAT (A&M SP 3617)

[LPJim]

Quincy Jones
BODY HEAT
A&M SP-3617

BODY HEAT, Quincy Jones' 5th A&M release, was his highest charting album, reaching # 6 and remaining in the Billboard Top 200 for 43 weeks, according to Whitburn's "Top Pop Albums 1955-96."
The late Minnie Ripperson was a guest vocalist.

Produced by Quincy Jones and Ray Brown

Tracks:

Body Heat/ Soul Saga (Song of the Buffalo Soldier)/ Everything Must Change/ Boogie Joe, the Grinder/ Everything Must Change (reprise)/ One Track Mind/ Just a Man/ Along Came Betty/ If I Ever Lose This Heaven.

KEYBOARDS: Dave Grusin, Herbie Hancock, Richard Tee, Bob James, Billy Preston, Mike Melvoin

GUITARS: Dennis Coffey, Arthur Adams, Phil Upchurch, Eric Gale, "Wah Wah" Watson, David T. Walker

DRUMS: James Gadson, Paul Humphrey, Bernard Purdie, Grady Tate

PERCUSSION: Bobbye Hall

FENDER BASS: Chuck Rainey, Melvin Dunlap, Max Bennett

HORNS: Hubert Laws, Jerome Richardson, Chuck Findley, Frank Rosolino, Clifford Solomon, Pete Christlieb

HARMONICA: Tom Morgan

ARP/SYNTHESIZER PROGRAMMING: Robert Margouleff, Malcom Cecil

VOCAL GROUP: Tommy Bahler, Joe Greene, Jesse Kirkland, Jim Gilstrap, Carolyn Willis, Myrna Matthews, Minnie Riperton, Quincy Jones, Leon Ware

VOCAL SOLOSISTS: Leon Ware, Bruce Fisher, Jim Gilstrap, Minnie Riperton, Quincy Jones, Bernard Ighner

VOCAL EFFECTS: Al Jarreau

Recording Engineer: Phil Scheir
Mixed by Phil Scheir and Quincy Jones
Quad Remix at West Lake Audio by Phil Scheir
Arranged by Quincy Jones, Tommy Bahler, Dave Blumberg

Art Direction: Roland Young
Album Design: Chuck Beeson
Photography: Al Kramer (back cover), Jim McCrary (innersleeve)

Currently available on CD via Amazon.

JB

 

[Dave]

Recorded at The Record Plant, with Folk Singer, Pete Anders, simoultaneously, also recording there; Grady Tate, Eric Gale and a few others here, also played on Anders' LP, too... inkshield:

...For "The Vinyl Impared"...:

Side 1:

1. Body Heat -- ...My temperature's risin', and it's not suprisin', when you're this close to me, girl it's so tantalizin'... I get so excited, when you warm me up, I just can't hide it... Why do I act in this fashion? Why can't I control my passion? Some call it "Soul Fire"; I call it "Love's Desire", Feels sweet, when we meet, I just feel that Body Heeeeat... Feel that Body Heat... ...Favorite track! And turn my lamp with the Red light-bulb on... ...Also available with the Previous Released Material on "Q's" Double-LP, (...of New and Old Stuff) ...I Heard That!!!

2. Soul Saga (Song of the Buffalo Soldier) -- From the film BUFFALO SOLDIER, about the REAL unsung heros of our Country's Battles, hardly gaining recognition for their deeds... ...Superb Instrumentation, with vocalist, Al Jarrau "guiding The Herd"...!

3. Everything Must Change -- Written by Singer/Songwriter, Bernard Ighner (Who sings it here, too!) ...Witness versions by Shirley Bassey, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Carroll, Lena Horne, Judy Collins and even Yvonne Elliman!! ...There are so many things in life, you can't be sure of, except... that... Rain comes from the clouds..., Sun lights up the sky..., and Hummingbirds do fly...

4. Boogie Joe, The Grinder -- Another "Soul Saga", this one more "fictional" than "Buffalo Soldier"...

5. Everything Must Change (reprise) -- ...Rain comes from the clouds, Sun lights up the sky, and Hummingbirds do fly...

Side 2:

1. One Track Mind -- ...Ever have One yourself?!

2. Just a Man -- Actually done by future A&M Recording Artist, Valdy (Canadian Singer/Songwriter, who hails from Western Canada--very much like Ontario's Gordon Lightfoot, born Valdemir Horsdahl) ..."Q" sings!!!

3. Along Came Betty -- Betty Who?? ...Very Mechanical-Sounding, like the Title--driven by Ian Underwood's Synthesizers; ...An Instrumental! ...Weh, weh, weh...

4. If I Ever Lose This Heaven -- Composed by Motown singer/songwriters, Leon Ware and Pam Sawyer; originally done by (...?) ...The Average White Band would later cover...

...Had to buy COUNTLESS copies on Vinyl (...and ONE on CD!) before I found an LP that was the most "gently played"! ...Actually came before MELLOW MADNESS and it is just as Good! Really hard to narrow down the two as to which could really be called a "favorite"... Especially when the later ...SOUNDS ...AND STUFF LIKE THAT, just seemed so "Tame" that after all the Rhythm, Production (without it becoming excessive) and Sexual Innuendos (which were really kept "tongue-in-cheek--Heh, Heh!) of these predecessors got so disappoiningly "blown-away", 'cept maybe for ...SOUNDS'... "Tell Me A Bedtime Story"...


***** -- Five Stars! (...per, Captain Bacardi's Poll) (...Not that this "doubles" as a JAZZ Album of The Week, but ...Just for "The Record"...!)


Dave

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

My sister gave me this album for Christmas when I was ten (don't do the math - or go ahead, I don't care). I promptly went out and bought every previous Quincy A&M record (WALKING IN SPACE, GULA MATARI, etc.) - this and all the Sergio records are a big part of what turned me into an A&M-head in the first place....I need to go back and re-listen, to see how it's held up!

 

[Dave]

...This and all the Sergio records are a big part of what turned me into an A&M-head in the first place... ...I need to go back and re-listen, to see how it's held up...!

I'm sure, you're sure to be IMPRESSED!


Dave

...Enjoying MY Up-Teenth copy, Right Now! neeye:

 

[seashorepiano]

Funny, as I was driving today I had Walking in Space playing in the car. Body Heat is one of the few albums I've dumped within weeks of getting it. Frankly, I think the music is awful, it isn't jazz, and it's Quincy selling out to commercialism. For me, what Quincy did here is what Miles Davis did with On the Corner. It's an album that tries to substitute R&B grooves, excessive synthesizers and lame vocals for straight-ahead jazz.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I was not a big fan of this album at first, either. I had been so used to Q's big band stuff on Mercury as well as his earlier A&M recordings that I was really put off when I first heard this LP. To me this album marked Q's permanant foray into R&B sounds while just keeping a slight hint of jazz sounds scattered here and there. The highlight for me (obviously) was Frank Rosolino's trombone solo on "Everything Must Change". A couple of other decent tunes are "Boogie Joe The Grinder" and "Along Came Betty". But this is one of the few Q albums that I skip over.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I also meant to mention that my LP came with two inner sleeves that were stuck together. Not exactly a rarity but a bit of a gaffe.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

I also meant to mention that my LP came with two inner sleeves that were stuck together. Not exactly a rarity but a bit of a gaffe.

Capt. Bacardi

That's how my brand-new Cassette of Roxy Music's Roxy Music came--I got two Inlay Cards--one of which I hung on my bedroom wall!

I got two Inner-Sleeves in my American Flyer American Flyer album, but that I got 2nd-Hand...


Dave

 

[alonely bull in paradise]

I would very much like to find this album and check it out. It's cool that Al Jarreau does some vocal effects. He's one of the greatest scat vocalists that has ever walked the face of the earth!!