Recorded a year after his last landmark Blue Note dates, this album finds
Nichols performing in the familiar trio setting again -- this time with
Mingus drummer
Dannie Richmond and bassist
George Duvivier. These performances may be less animated than
Nichols' earlier sides as a leader, but that's not to suggest the pianist's writing or playing had become pedestrian or predictable. The absence of the powerhouse drummers
Art Blakey and
Max Roach makes these ten tunes easier to appreciate upon first listen.
Richmond's characteristic bombast and humor are kept in check here. With the drummer maintaining straight, subdued rhythms,
Nichols' complex melodies and solos shine that much brighter -- especially on such standout originals as the album's title track, "Beyond Recall," and "S'Crazy Pad." Rhino reissued
Love, Gloom, Cash, Love in 2001.