In the early 1970s, Tower of Power's magnificence depended largely on three elements firing on all cylinders. First, the drums. They had to be crisp, sharp and driving. Second, the horns. They had to be tightly arranged, with churning riffs solidly in the groove. And third, the lead vocal. It had to be all-knowing and soulful. I'm talking about albums such as East Bay Grease (1970), Tower of Power (1973) and Urban Renewal (1974).
The band's new album, Step Up (Mack Ave.), has all three ingredients. Uptempo numbers such as The Story of You and I, Addicted to You and You Da One, are funky bump-and-grind shakers that rekindle memories of Tower of Power's coiled Memphis-flavored tunes. Even mid-tempo syncopated sonic churners like Beyond My Wildest Dreams and Let's Celebrate Our Love capture the band's early, earthy essence. The only thing from the album that's missing are a couple of power ballads, along the lines of Will I Ever Find a Love and You're Still a Young Man.
Interestingly, there's a Steely Dan thing swirling around in the middle on some of the songs, with Jerry Cortez's rock guitar dueling with the horn section. Hats off to horns-and-strings arranger Dave Eskridge, original drummer David Garibaldi, and funky organist Roger Smith. Kudos to lead vocalists Marcus Scott and Ray Greene. Shades of Lenny Williams. And it's great to hear originals Emilio Castillo wailing on the tenor saxophone and "Doc" Kupka anchoring the section on baritone saxophone.
If only I could listen to this album driving the Merritt Parkway in my long-gone 1969 burnt orange Javelin SST. Or in a fontaine blue '66 GTO. Given what's going on now, that dream will have to wait until we all get a Soul Vaccination.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Tower of Power's new album, Step Up (Mack Ave.), here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Addicted to You...
Here's The Story of You and I...
And here's Let's Celebrate Our Love...