The Natural Soul finds Lou Donaldson delving deeply into soul-jazz, recording a set of funky, greasy instrumentals with only a few references to hard bop.
Donaldson occasionally sounds a little awkward with the relaxed groove of The Natural Soul, as does trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, but the trio of guitarist Grant Green, organist John Patton, and drummer Ben Dixon keep things cooking.
Green and Patton's solos often burn and are always invigorating, and Lou frequently matches their heights.
The original compositions -- which form the bulk of the album -- aren't much more than blues and soul vamps, but they provide an excellent foundation for the combo to work hot grooves.
And, in the end, that's what The Natural Soul is about -- groove.
It maintains the high standards Donaldson established with his first soul-jazz foray, Here 'Tis, and remains one of his best records in that genre.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Funky MamaJohnny Patton | Lou Donaldson | Play | 09:08 | 20 MB | 57 MB |
| 2 | Spaceman TwistLou Donaldson | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:38 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 3 | Love Walked InGeorge Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 4 | Sow Belly BluesLou Donaldson | Lou Donaldson | Play | 10:13 | 23 MB | 66 MB |
| 5 | That's AllAlan Brandt, Bob Haymes | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:36 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | Nice 'N' GreasyJohn "Johnny" Adriano Acea | Lou Donaldson | Play | 05:27 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 257 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John "Johnny" Adriano Acea | Composer |
| 2 | Alan Brandt | Composer |
| 3 | Ben Dixon | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 4 | Lou Donaldson | Composer, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto) |
| 5 | George Gershwin | Composer |
| 6 | Ira Gershwin | Composer |
| 7 | Grant Green | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 8 | Bob Haymes | Composer |
| 9 | Big John Patton | Guest Artist, Organ |
| 10 | Johnny Patton | Composer |
| 11 | Tommy Turrentine | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 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). |