When George Duke made the transition from jazz instrumentalist to R&B star in 1977, he received both negative and positive reviews.
R&B-oriented publications tended to provide favorable reviews-even glowing ones-whereas much of the jazz media routinely trashed soul/funk efforts like 1979's Follow the Rainbow.
To many jazz critics, Duke was a sellout-a virtuoso who had forsaken creativity and was pandering to the lowest common denominator in order to enjoy financial security.
But truth be told, jazz musicians don't have the market cornered on creativity.
Follow the Rainbow is, in fact, a creative album, and it's an album that has very little to do with jazz.
The LP includes a few fusion instrumentals, including the Brazilian-flavored "Festival." But 90% of Follow the Rainbow is devoted to R&B, and anyone who judges it by those standards instead of jazz standards will have to agree that Duke is triumphant on sweaty funk tunes ("Party Down," "I Am for Real") as well as mellow soul ballads and slow jams like "Say That You Will," "Straight From the Heart," and the Earth, Wind & Fire-influenced "Sunrise." This album is consistently excellent, but it isn't recommended to jazz snobs -- only those with a healthy appreciation of 1970s soul and funk will enjoy this album.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Party DownBill Champlin, George Duke | George Duke | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Say That You WillGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Funkin' for the ThrillByron Miller | George Duke | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | SunriseGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 5 | FestivalGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 06:42 | 15 MB | 47 MB |
| 6 | Straight from the HeartGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | CorineGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 06:02 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 8 | PluckGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 04:48 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | Follow the RainbowGeorge Duke | George Duke | Play | 01:27 | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| 10 | I Am for Real (May the Funk Be with You) | George Duke | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 11 | I Am for Real (May the Funk Be with You) (Single Edit) | George Duke | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | Pluck (Single Edit) | George Duke | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 50 mins | 115 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 335 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoleon Murphy Brock | Narrator, Vocals |
| 2 | Bill Champlin | Composer |
| 3 | Lynn Davis | Narrator, Vocals |
| 4 | George Duke | Arp Odyssey, Clavinet, Composer, Crumar, Fender Rhodes, Mini Moog, Narrator, Oberheim Synthesizer, Piano (Grand), Primary Artist, Producer, Prophet Synthesizer, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 5 | Sheila Escovedo | Narrator, Percussion, Vocals |
| 6 | Josie James | Narrator, Vocals |
| 7 | Icarus Johnson | Guitar, Narrator |
| 8 | Ricky Lawson | Drums, Narrator |
| 9 | Byron Miller | Bass, Composer, Narrator, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |