Record collection revisited: Spotlight on the five coolest albums by The Crusaders

OK, I admit it. I have been pretty intrigued by The Crusaders' music with their potent blend of jazz fusion, funk and classic R&B groove.  I thought I'd get away with posting each album individually.  But, alas, that's just not enough.  I don't know if it would be worth it, because each album (though they've got different songs), they've all got the same blueprint featuring each member of this great band at their best.  Whether it's the soulful tenor saxophone of Wilton Felder, Wayne Henderson's trombone (on some of the albums), or, the wicked rhythm section with Joe Sample on Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, laying it down, and the his right hand man, guitar master Larry Carlton, or the other half of the rhythm section, bassist Robert "Pops" Popwell and the drummer Stix Hooper. Wilton Felder also played bass on some of their recordings as he did on other artists' sessions during the '70s and '80s.

These guys are unlike any of the other '70s "fusion" bands out there.  Well, without further ado, here are the albums and their track listings in order, so you may find out which songs are the key ones to have (well, they all are).  But, there are some real highlights on each album.

"Southern Comfort" 1974     Track listing:

1. Stomp and Buck Dance (Wayne Henderson)
2. Greasy Spoon (Stix Hooper)
3. Get on the Soul Ship (Joe Sample)
4. Super Stuff (Wayne Henderson)
5. Double Bubble (Joe Sample)
6. The Well's Gone Dry (Larry Carlton)
7. Southern Comfort (Wayne Henderson)
8. Time Bomb (Joe Sample)
9. When There's Love Around (Stix Hooper)
10. Lilies of the Nile (Wilton Felder)
11. Whispering Pines (Wayne Henderson)
12. A Ballad for Joe (Louis) (Joe Sample)

"Chain Reaction" 1975     Track listing

1. Creole
2. Chain Reaction
3. I Felt The Love
4. Mellow Out
5. Rainbow Visions
6. Hallucinate
7. Give It Up
8. Hot's It
9. Sugar Cane
10. Soul Caravan

"Those Southern Knights" 1976

1. Spiral (Joe Sample)
2. Keep That Same Old Feeling (Wayne Henderson)
3. My Mama Told Me So (Joe Sample)
4. 'Til The Sun Shines (Larry Carlton)
5. And Then There Was The Blues (Stix Hooper)
6. Serenity (Wilton Felder)
7. Feeling Funky (Robert Popwell)

"Free As The Wind" 1977

1. Free As The Wind
2. I Felt The Love (a more uptempo version of the same track from "Chain Reaction")
3. The Way We Was
4. Nite Crawler
5. Feel It
6. Sweet 'n' Sour
7. River Rat
8. It Happens Everyday

"Street Life" 1979

1. Street Life (w/Randy Crawford: vocals)
2. My Lady
3. Rodeo Drive (High Steppin')
4. Carnival of the Night
5. The Hustler
6. Night Faces


Now, there is one record of theirs I do not have yet, their 1978 album "Images".  But, these five set the benchmark for what this band is all about.  They recorded albums in the '80s and '90s as well, but by the '90s, they'd mostly disbanded except probably for Wilton Felder and a few other people and went on a hiatus.  Their last album before a hiatus was 1989's   They came back briefly as the Jazz Crusaders in 1995 for an album entitled "Happy Again" which is a good album, but it doesn't really recapture any of their '70's glory.

This is definitive list of albums by The Crusaders to check out.  Give these a listen.  Each one (despite having a similar sound with that heavy R&B/funk groove), is unique.  Videos (possibly) coming soon.