Hiram Bullock claimed that he had never done a "jazz" album before this -- which is a debatable proposition depending upon how limiting your definition of jazz is. What counts is that he has come up with a beautiful album, drenched in soul-jazz yet touching upon popular music genres as well.
Bullock didn't have to change much, utilizing his subdued and rock-tinged guitar styles at will, occasionally bursting out in full rock regalia and making tasty use of electronic additives.
Bullock has also written some fairly interesting songs -- music and lyrics -- singing them in a somewhat lusterless voice. There is a nice, literal, mellow cover of
Stevie Wonder's "Creepin'," which is finally emerging as one of Stevie's most striking masterpieces of the '70s, as well as a jaunty cover of
Stanley Turrentine's "Sugar." His somewhat depoliticized take on
David Crosby's "Long Time Gone" is quite moving, with its reharmonized vamp and atmospheric organ washes. Two-thirds of the rhythm section comes from the heart of '60s soul-jazz, Dr. Lonnie Smith on Hammond B-3 organ and Idris Muhammad on drums, and
Joe Locke contributes a good deal of the jazz flavor on vibes (
Ed Howard is on bass). Though made for the Japanese market, this Venus album can be found in good import bins in large U.S. cities.