As he delved deeper into commercial soul-jazz and jazz-funk,
Lou Donaldson became better at it. While lacking the bite of his hard bop improvisations or the hard-swinging funk of
Alligator Bogaloo,
Midnight Creeper succeeds where its predecessor,
Mr. Shing-A-Ling failed: it offers a thoroughly enjoyable set of grooving, funky soul-jazz. The five songs -- including two originals by
Donaldson and one each by
Lonnie Smith (who also plays organ on the record),
Teddy Vann, and
Harold Ousley -- aren't particularly distinguished, but the vibe is important, not the material. And the band --
Donaldson,
Smith, trumpeter
Blue Mitchell, guitarist
George Benson, and drummer
Leo Morris -- strikes the right note, turning in a fluid, friendly collection of bluesy funk vamps.
Donaldson could frequently sound stilted on his commercial soul-jazz dates, but that's not the case with
Midnight Creeper. He rarely was quite as loose on his late-'60s/early-'70s records as he is here, and that's what makes
Midnight Creeper a keeper. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine