Memphis Underground

On the back cover of Memphis Underground is a remarkable photograph taken in the American Sound Studio (in Memphis) during the making of the album. From an elevated vantage-point we see Mann himself, shirtless & hirsute in tight white jeans playing his flute; along with five other musicians and one other man, who I think may be recording engineer extraodinaire Tom Dowd. Mann is separated from the others by padded room dividers to help isolate his contribution, the larger of those dividers with a window in it seemingly punctured by four bullet-holes, above which is written - possibly in lipstick - "BONNIE AND CLYDE WAS HERE".

It's a very good album of soul jazz, or perhaps jazz-meets-r'n'b. While I admire and enjoy Mann's flute-playing lead, for me the chief interest comes from the wonderful grooves laid down by the "Memphis Boys", i.e. the studio's excellent house band, aided by an additional trio of visiting musicians, among them Roy Ayers. The opening track, which gives the album its name, is the only one on the record written by Mann. It's a mid-tempo number built on top on an exquisite bed of bass & drums.

After the succinctly sinuous 'New Orleans' come three further lengthy tracks, the first two of which are soul classics: 'Hold On (I'm Comin')' and 'Chain of Fools'. These are re-cast in the form of extended instrumental workouts, the latter getting on for eleven minutes. Despite their length, they don't outstay their welcome in the slightest. The closing track strikes me as the weakest on the record: a rendition of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'. It's not altogether out-of-place in the soulful garb provided here, but I'm not overly fond, and feel Mann's solo in it gets a tad overwrought.

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