Steve Cropper, Felix Cavaliere - Nudge It Up A Notch

Steve Cropper's guitar, production and songwriting embodied the sound and the spirit of Stax and the southern soul of the `60s. At the same time, in the Northeast, there was a band called The Rascals, whose sound was epitomized by the brilliant songs, B-3 organ and voice of Felix Cavaliere. Now these two R&B legends come together to Nudge It Up a Notch, a tour de force of 12 smokin' original tunes, guaranteed to satisfy your soul. Album Description

Good songs and performances - Poor recording

You are a fan of both of these musicians. In fact you adore most of their work, right? So you'd think this would be a good match up and it is - at least with Felix, Steve and the rythym section. Felix is in great vocal shape and Cropper has plenty of his fine and tasty chops. It's what was done in the mastering job of this recording that makes it a 2 star not a 5. The cd's volume is the loudest I have every heard. Most songs are so "hot" that there is noticeable distortion. The upper mid range-treble on up is so jacked up that it is painful to listen to on a good hifi system.

Now - if you buy this - be sure to use a playback system where you can roll off the top end alot. "Notch" down your treble and volume controls from what you normaly listen at. In other words - you'll have to try and re-eq this cd to keep your ears from bleeding!

Too bad. The music is very good.

Why would both of these vetrans of the vinyl analog age approve such a digital butchering job of their beautiful music?

Funny that the cover of the cd has a record player. This is the least vinyl sounding cd I have ever heard.
November 17, 2008

A labor of love for everyone associated with this project.

When I first heard about "Nudge It Up A Notch" the thought of a collaboration between the legendary Stax guitar virtuoso Steve Cropper and one of the truly great voices in rock and roll history Felix Cavaliere really intrigued me. Although one can never be sure about these things I believed that this was an imaginative concept that offered a great deal of potential. Co-producer Jon Tiven was bound and determined to make this project happen and as a result after several stops and starts "Nudge It Up A Notch" was finally released in July 2008. I am very pleased to report that the album is even better than I would have expected.
Many of you might be thinking that "Nudge It Up A Notch" is just another album by and aging rock and rollers desperately trying to hang on. Let me reassure you in no uncertain terms that this is simply not the case. This album bears absolutely no resemblance to one of Rod Stewart's pathetic "Great American Songbook" discs. Instead the music is fresh and vibrant. This album is a fabulous opportunity for both Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere to reconnect with long-time fans and to introduce their considerable songwriting and musical prowess to a whole new generation of listeners. Those of you looking for tunes reminiscent of the Rascal's heyday will certainly enjoy the opening track "One of Those Days" as well as the funky sounds of "To Make It Right". A rather unusual feature of this album is that four of the twelve tracks turned out to be instrumentals. In Jon Tiven's superb liner notes he explains that this was definitely not by design. "Nobody started out thinking we'd do instrumentals, but some of the music we wrote felt better that way." The result is pure magic on all 4 of these tracks. It is quite apparent that as musicians both Steve and Felix are still on top of their game. I particularly enjoyed "Jamaica Delight" and "Love Appetite". See if you agree. Those who are partial to a more mellow sound will also find much to like on "Nudge It Up A Notch". My very favorite song on the disc is something called "Impossible". The backup vocals on this one are impeccable and in days gone by "Impossible" would definitely be a candidate to be a "Top 40" hit. The guys even dabble in a little rap with a tune called "Make The Time Go Faster" that I thought worked surprisingly well.
These days there really isn't a whole lot of new music for Baby Boomers to buy. I still enjoy looking but frankly more often than not I walk away empty handed. I found "Nudge It Up A Notch" to be the exception to the rule. This is an album I will definitely play every now and again. The idea for this album was sound and the results were extraordinary. I was quite surprised to discover that Steve and Felix had a hand in writing each one of the dozen songs on this album. Nice job guys! I would also be remiss if I failed to acknowledge background vocalists Mark Williams and N'nandi Bryant whose considerable abilities were in evidence on a number of the tracks on this disc. Outstanding work by everyone involved on this one! Very highly recommended! November 12, 2008

Great Musicians...Not a Great Album

I read that there was a new album by two of my all - time favorite musicians - no brainer - I bought it without so much as listening to samples. I don't regret my rash decision, but unfortunately the CD did not meet my expectations.

Cavaliere still has all the soul in his voice. Cropper still plays some of the tastiest licks that will ever hear emanate from a Telecaster. The problem is that the material is weak. The liner notes mention that they wrote the songs over the course of a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, that is the way the tunes sound, particularly the sophomoric lyrics.

I am not saying don't buy this album, but don't expect much from it if you do. If these guys tour together I will be the first in line for tickets. They are both amazing talents and compliment each other very well. Maybe they just needed a little more time locked in the room writing songs. A little extra time in the studio wouldn't have hurt either. I would still throw my luke warm feelings about the album out the window if I had the opportunity to see them together on a stage.
October 30, 2008

Classic 60's vinyl from 2008

This is one of those cds that I will end up championing to all my friends. It won't be given top 40 airplay or even reviewed in the major circles. But, if this had come out in 1965-70 when Felix was in his hit days, this would be looked on as a classic must have. His voice is in such good form that as I listen to it now, I hear no difference between 2008 and 1965. "If It Wasn't For Loving You," has all the trappings of that perfect 1960's summer top 10 hit. It's cd's like this that make me miss top 40 radio. October 28, 2008

nudge it up a notch

felix's voice seems to get better with age and cropper's guitar, not as detailed as others, always fits his surrounding. October 12, 2008

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