[MRL 306] Bobby Shad & The Bad Men - A 65-Piece Rock Workshop

Personnel

Bass - Joseph Macho
Bass [Fender] - Chick Rainey, Gerald Jemmott
Cello - George Ricci, Harvey Shapiro, Seymour Barab
Drums - Al Rogers, Grady Tate
Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Oboe, Sax, English Horn - Arnie Lawrence, George Young, Joseph Grimm, Phil Bodner, Romeo Penque
French Horn - Albert Richmond, Don Corrado, James Buffington, Joseph DeAngelis, Richard Berg
Guitar - Al Caiola, Willard Suyker, Charles Macey, Richard Frank, Sal Detroia, Stuart Scharf, Vinnie Bell
Percussion - Gary Chester, Gordon (Specs) Powell, Robert Gregg, William Storandt
Piano, Organ, Farfisa - Bernie Leighton, Dean Christopher, Frank Owens, Gilbert Slavin
Trombone - Alan Raph, David Taylor, John Messner, Mickey Gravine
Trumpet - Bernie Glow, Burt Collins, Ervin Markowitz, Snooky Young, Joe Newman, Joseph Shepley, Mel Davis
Viola - Alfred V. Brown, David Sackson, Harold Furmansky, Seymour Berman
Violin - Ariana Bronne, Avram Weiss, George Ockner, Harry Katzman, Harry Urbont, Henri Aubert, Irvin Spice, Joseph Malignaggi, Julius Brand, Mac Ceppos, Paul Winter, Peter Buonoconsiglio, Peter Dimitriades, Sylvan Shulman

Side A
1 Whole Lotta Love (7:07)
2 Pinball Wizard (6:01)
3 No Time (5:19)

Side B
11a Prelude (To A Bad Man) (1:58)
1b Instant Karma (5:03)
2 Up On Cripple Creek (7:26)
3 I Want You Back (5:26)

Arranged By - Ron Frangipane
Producer - Bob Shad
Engineer - Roy Cicala

ear fuzz review:

I picked this record up recently on a whim, attracted by the fact that it was on the Mainstream label and that it was a record of jazz artists covering rock hits of the period. What really interested me were the covers for "Whole Lotta Love" and "I Want You Back," and with a $5 price tag I was all about it.

I got home and was pleasantly surprised with my find. Turns out Bobby Shad was a producer and worked with a number of artists to put this project together, very much in big band fashion with lots of instrumentation and fast percussion beats. As I hoped, the covers were spot on with the opening "Whole Lot of Love" setting up a nice tempo for the rest of the album. However, I was drawn to Shad's version of The Guess Who's "No Time," which starts off with a killer drum break leading into further musical exploration. What I seem to like about Shad's work are the various movements, breakdowns, and solos found scattered throughout each piece. They catch you off guard, but make sense and more importantly sound good.

The icing on the cake is The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" featuring a couple of trumpet duets by Burt Collins and Joe Newman, and then Mel Davis and Snooky Young with Mel Davis on piccolo trumpet. The pace here is fast and furious, and a drum breakdown greets you midway through followed by an ensemble of solos.

I'm really glad I picked this one up, and if you can find it for under $10 it's a worthy addition to anyone's collection.

soul strut review:

Bob Shad was a producer who put together this record of Jazz musicians recording Rock hits of the time. He certainly got down using studio musicians such as Grady Tate, Chuck Rainey, Mel Davis, Joe Newman, and many others. There are six cuts starting off with a great version of Whole Lotta Love with a lot of horns. Especially nice is the piano solo by Bernie Leighton in the middle where he just starts pounding his keys. Pinball Wizard has a spacey beginning with a lot of organ before going into the body of the tune. The best part is a little breakdown at the end where Chuck Rainey’s bass really comes out loud in the mix. The Guess Who’s No Time starts off with a drum break before the horns join in. The middle of the album mellows out considerably with a lot of more traditional big band sounding arrangements. Shad is able to finish up with a cover of the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back that captures the feeling of the original. Not only that, but there’s a percussion break as well.

Ground Lift review:

This is one of those “Next Generation of Sound Recording” albums that finds a large orchestra and rock rhythm section conducted and arranged by Bobby Shad and performing popular rock songs of the day. While collections like this often fall flat, this one is particularly refreshing and imaginative. We get rousing and groovin’ versions of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” The Band’s “Up on Cripple Creek,” the Jackson 5's “I Want You Back,” and even John Lennon’s “Instant Karma.” They transform the Who’s “Pinball Wizard” into a rolling, layered funk burner that sounds like it should have been the theme song to a 70's cop show. It also breaks down something ugly several times. The most unexpected cover on here is the Guess Who’s haunting classic “No Time.” Here, we get a rollicking, fuzz guitar-heavy stomper that even has an absolutely ridiculous drum break at the beginning. It’ doesn’t get much better than that.

May 23, 1972 Billboard review