The reason this record is "legendary" is because it marks the first recorded performances, in 1970, of
Eddie and
Charlie Palmieri as bandleaders. The reason it should be a near mythical recording (it has never been available in the U.S. on CD, and was long out of print on LP before CDs made the scene), is for its musical quality and innovation. The
Palmieris formed a band of themselves, a couple of Latinos that included
Andy Gonzales, jazz-funk great -- even then --
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, and some white guys and taught them how to play a music that was equal parts Cuban mambo, American soul via Stax/Volt, blues,
Funkadelic-style rock, pop-jazz, and harmonic and instrumental arrangements every bit as sophisticated as
Burt Bacharach's or
Henry Mancini's or even
Stan Kenton's. One can hear in "Harlem River Drive (Theme)" and "Idle Hands" a sound akin to
War's on World Is a Ghetto. Guess where
War got it? "If (We Had Peace)" was even a model for
Lee Oskar's "City, Country, City." And as much as
War modeled their later sound on this one record, as great as they were, they never reached this peak artistically. But there's so much here: the amazing vocals (
Jimmy Noonan was in this band), the multi-dimensional percussion section, the tight, brass-heavy horn section, and the spaced-out guitar and keyboard work (give a listen to "Broken Home") where vocal lines trade with a soprano saxophone and a guitar as snaky keyboards create their own mystical effect. One can bet that
Chick Corea heard in
Eddie's piano playing a stylistic possibility for
Return to Forever's
Light As a Feather and
Romantic Warrior albums. The band seems endless, as if there are dozens of musicians playing seamlessly together live -- dig the percussion styling of
Manny Oquendo on the cowbell and conga and the choral work of
Marilyn Hirscher and
Allan Taylor behind
Noonan.
Harlem River Drive is a classic because after 30-plus years, it still sounds as if listeners are the ones catching up to it. It's worth every dime you pay for it, so special order it today. ~ Thom Jurek