Duke, George - My Soul: The Complete MPS Fusion Recordings (24 bit remastered) 4 x CDs
SKU
15-MPS1751504
Six albums reissued complete on CD in remastered form: Solus, The Inner Source, Faces in Reflection, Feel, I Love the Blues She Heard Me Cry, The Aura Will Prevail and Liberated Fantasies. Almost all of this set is basically fanastic.
"For quite a long time now 'Faces In Reflection','Feel','The Aura Will Prevail','I Love The Blues,She Heard My Cry','Liberated Fantasies' and the once impossible to find 'Inner Source' have gone down in legend not only among George Duke fans but lovers of 70's jazz-funk in general!Along with Herbie Hancock albums such as 'Feel' featured a then pioneering use of synthesizer in the genre. These were albums I had to hunt down (and pay handsomely on vinyl for) only a few years ago but hearing them in this digitally remastered form only adds to the excitment of the music featured here. As you listen you see George Duke progress from a electric piano based early 70's jazz with an R&B twist of the kind Cannonball Adderly was famous for to electronic jazz-funk extravaganza's such as "Back To Where We Never Left" from 1976's 'Liberated Fantasies' album. These albums being presented in chronological order really gives George Duke the kind of presentation he always deserved but never got. This also includes some very insightful liner notes, much written by George Duke himself alive with his great personality and make great reading while grooving out to this great music!Frankly I could go on and on FOREVER in this review describing IN DETAIL each and every song from albums like 'Feel' and Inner Source' but I can only give a general description of the music here;the overall impression is that of the most imaginative,progressive yet melodic and accessible jazz-funk music of it's era;full of tasty electronics (between George's ARP Odyssey Synthesizer and Fender Rhodes Piano),lots of echoey psychedelic production effects and some songs that almost defy description such as "Nigerian Numberuma","North Beach" and "Tryin' N Cryin".Other songs,many featuring the almost Philip Bailey-like falsetto vocals of Duke himself are in fact almost radio worthy such as the instrumental "Feels So Good" along with "Capricorn","Someday" (which actually did receive some airplay and was re-recorded by Duke on his wonderful but now OOP 1982 album Dream On,"Seeing You" and "Yana Aminah",a bouncy latin melody featuring the incomparable Flora Purim on vocals. So between the 6 whole albums/64 songs presented here every single piece of music here is like it's own private treasure chest waiting to be uncovered.And it's truly a testament to George Duke that this music has that effect even more so today then when it was first recorded.Not to even mention that it's a quality that seldom happens twice in ones music career. So this is a set I very highly recommend-hands down."-Andre Grindle