Wonderful work from Horace
Silver – part of a great run of late 70s sides for Blue Note that unlock a whole new side of his soulful talents! The vibe here is different than the previous United States trilogy – still very righteous, with an overt message too – but served up in these wonderfully warm tones – with loads of great woodwind passages over these wickedly angular rhythms – grooves that are somewhat like those
Silver first started forging on his 27th Man album! The arrangements are sublime – and on some cuts handled by
Silver, but orchestrated by Wade Marcus – with players who include Tom Harrell on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor, Buddy Collette and
Fred Jackson on flutes, and Jerome Richardson on soprano sax. The rhythm section is key, too – and features Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums! Side one features "The Tranquilizer Suite" – with passages that icnlude "Keep On Getting Up", "Time & Effort", and "Perseverance & Endurance" – and side two includes the excellent "The Process Of Creation Suite" – with "Motivation", "Activation", and "Assimilation".