Horace Silver's final Blue Note record (after over 25 years on the label) is a double LP that augments his quintet (featuring fluegelhornist
Tom Harrell and tenor-saxophonist
Larry Schneider) with 14 strings and a harp. In addition, there are four vocalists (including
Gregory Hines) singing lyrics that reflect
Silver's self-help and spiritual beliefs. He was never as strong a lyricist as he was a composer and pianist so the vocals weigh down the music a bit. The songtitles probably kept a few of these pieces from becoming better-known. Who ever heard of such songs as "Negative Patterns of the Subconscious," "Progress Through Dedication and Discipline" and "We Expect Positive Results"? ~ Scott Yanow