JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY.

dereksmusicblog ♦ October 22, 2011 ♦ Leave a comment

JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY.

Some time ago, I wrote about two of Jon Lucien’s album that he recorded for RCA in the early seventies Rashida and Mind’s Eye. Both albums were three albums full of some great music, but sadly, they failed commercially.  Although the albums weren’t huge commercial successes, Jon’s music was highly regarded, and two of the songs on Rashida, his 1973 album, were nominated for two Grammy Awards. Rashida was the second of the three albums he released on RCA, with I Am Now released in 1970 and Mind’s Eye in 1974, the other two. Having failed to find the success his music deserved, Jon left RCA, signing a contract with CBS.

Two years after releasing Mind’s Eye, Jon released his fourth album Song For My Lady in 1975. Part of the problem with the albums he released on RCA had been the music spanned the musical genres. It was hard to categorise Jon. People found it hard to decide was he a soul or jazz singer, or somewhere in between. However, now that he’d signed for CBS, he settled down to make a more focused album. Helping Jon to create this new much more focused sound was some much better, more advanced, musical equipment and technology in the studio. This would allow Jon to be much more innovative and creative in the studio. Together with producer Dave Gruisin, Jon recorded eight tracks, some of which took Jon’s music in a new direction. One familiar track was Dindi, which was on his earlier album I Am Now. Maiden Voyage was a reworking of the title track to Herbie Hancock’s album, with Herbie’s siter Jean providing the lyrics. When the album was released, it only reached number fifty-one in the US R&B Charts and number 203 in the US Billboard 200. Like the album, Creole Lady the single didn’t fare well commercially, failing to chart. However, even though neither the single nor the album was a huge commercial success, Jon’s music was highly regarded by many people. Since then, interest has grown in Jon Lucien’s music, with a resurgence in interest when the three albums he released on RCA were released. Now, Song For My Lady has been remastered and rereleased, and I’ll now tell you about that album.

Song For My Lady opens with Soul Mate, which sees a combination of organ, percussionists and rhythm section combining, before Jon scats. After that Jon’s vocal is a much more traditional style, his rich voice strong, but controlled. Quickly various percussionists combine, the tempo is quick, the arrangement animated and vibrant, while Jon’s voice is full of energy as he asks “could you be my soul mate?” Although just a the rhythm section, keyboards and percussion feature on this track, they combine to produce an arrangement that’s complex and full of rhythms. Sometimes, a keyboard floats above the arrangement, a contrast to the rest of the arrangement which provides a contrast to Jon’s scatting vocal. By the end of this complex track, which combines jazz and Latin music, and features Jon’s warm, rich vocal set against a melange of exotic rhythms, you’re hooked. It’s an interesting and intriguing track to open the album, and shows a quite different side of Jon’s music.

Dindi was a track that Jon recorded on his debut album I Am Now, in 1970. It’s a beautiful tender love song, originally recorded by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jon’s version is my favorite version of the track, and this version is quite beautiful. Against a backdrop of gentle slow piano and keyboard, Jon’s soft, whispery vocal slowly and beautifully sings the lyrics. Quickly, subtle strings sweep in, as the arrangement starts to grow, with piano and keyboards being joined by gentle percussion and guitar. Everything is played in a lovely understated way, allowing Jon’s voice and the lyrics to take centre-stage. As the song progresses, his voice retains that gentle, subtle style, perfect for the track. His reinterpretation of the song is even better than the original. He seems to give the most thoughtful and considered rendition of the lyrics, and combined with the subtle arrangement is one of the album’s best tracks.

One of the tracks on the album that demonstrates the change in Jon’s music on this album is Motherland. When the track opens with drums, percussion, bass and keyboards combine before Jon’s vocal enters. Everything is pretty low key, giving no indication of what’s about to unfold. What unfolds is a track that combines R&B and funk, and has a grittier, harder sound, made up of interconnected grooves, with the funkiest of bass, braying, rasping horns, beefy drums, keyboards and chiming guitars combining. As the song progresses, the tempo quickens, with howling, wailing horns and a driving, funk laden rhythm section are at the heart of everything good about the track. Jon’s vocal sits atop the arrangement, a mixture of strength, power and emotion. It’s the perfect accompaniment for this funk laden arrangement, which sees Jon venturing down new musical avenues. This to me, is a huge success, demonstrating Jon’s versatility as a singer and willingness to embrace new styles of music.

You Are My Love was the last track on side one of the original album. Like Dindi, it’s a tender, love song. The sound has a lovely rounded sound when the track opens, with keyboards combining with the rhythm section, keeping the tempo slow before Jon’s slow, warm, deep voice enters, accompanied by a piano and chiming guitar. What helps the song is an almost laid back tempo, the arrangement sounding lush, perfect for Jon to sing about love, but also how his love has changed. The longer the track goes on, the better the arrangement and vocal gets, embracing and enveloping you, the warmth and love permeating out of your speakers. By the end, this beautiful, somewhat wistful track has proved to be the best track on the album so far.

Side two of the original album is a song that is derived from Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage album. That was one of Herbie’s best albums, and if you’re unfamiliar with the album, it’s well worth exploring. Jean Hancock’s lyrics are perfect for the arrangement, which has a slow tempo and is quite atmospheric. Similarly, Jon’s vocal is considered, his voice deep, accentuating the notes, allowing his voice to soar heavenwards. He’s accompanied by a sweeping, slightly space age sounding arrangement, that’s a meandering, combination of percussion, rhythm section, keyboards, guitars and horns, which heads off into laid back funky territory. In the song, Jon leads a lover through their first affair. Perfect for the lyrics is his delivery, which is self-assured, deliberate and considerate. When the song ends, Jon’s vocal, Jean Hancock’s lyrics and Dave Gruisin’s production have produced a fitting, intriguing and melodic homage to Herbie Hancock’s 1965 album.

Creole Lady is a track that features what sounds like a choir chanting during the track. It is, in fact, the musicians who played on the album combining to produce the effect Jon and producer Dave Gruisin wanted. The track opens with keyboards playing, somewhat hesitantly, before a burst of vocal from Jon acts as a stimulus for the rhythm section to combine with the keyboards and guitar. Only then does Jon’s vocal enter. When it does, it’s slow with a lovely laid back sound, accompanied by an arrangement which has an understated sound. It isn’t the fullest arrangement on the album, although the rhythm are at times, intricate and quick. Later Jon’s accompanied by backing vocalists, whose voices have been multi-tracked. The chanting sound cuts in, and fills the arrangement, giving it a quite busy sound, quite a contrast to the rest of the arrangement. This doesn’t last too long, because if it did, it could get tiring. Here, less is more, wisely. However, just as a I typed that the chanting reenters and the sound takes a somewhat frantic sound. Quickly, I become tired of it, as it becomes slightly irritating, and sadly, it takes the edge of an otherwise good track.

Thankfully, the title track Song For My Lady, a beautiful ballad is much better than the previous track. It’s a much more laid back, subtle and spacious track, complete with lush, sweeping strings and guitars and keyboards that chime gently, the perfect accompaniment to Jon’s gentle and seductive vocal. As he sings this song about love and being in love with someone you care for deeply, there’s a slight calypso sound to the arrangement. This could be thanks to a lovely, subtle acoustic guitar which together with percussion, rhythm section, guitars and keyboards accompany Jon. Adding to an already beautiful arrangement are the sweetest and lushest of strings, which provide a perfect backdrop for Jon’s vocal. The combination of Jon’s sultry, seductive vocal and a beautiful, lush arrangement, work brilliantly, resulting in one of the most beautiful songs on the album.

Song For My Lady close with Follow Your Heart, a quite different sounding track from Jon. It opens with Jon counting in the band, before a track that combines elements of jazz, funk and Latin music opens. Horns rasp, a buzzing bass, keyboards, drums and guitars combine to produce a much quicker tempo. Jon’s vocal is stronger and louder, as strings sweep and swirl, before braying horns enter, before a floaty sound emerges briefly, with keyboards partly responsible for this. At the heart of the track is a driving, rhythm section who can play some great funk music, but like the rest of the band, decide to head off in a jazzy direction. Sometimes a Latin sound is apparent when the rhythm section, keyboards, guitars and percussion combine. Then just as quickly, things change, when horns blaze, followed by sweeping, swirling strings, melodic keyboards and chiming guitars combine, and a jazz influence shines through. Over three and a half minutes, Jon and his band take a tour of funk, jazz and Latin music, demonstrating their talents as musicians, with Jon just as comfortable singing against a backdrop of the three styles of music. Although a very different sounding track, faster, with a fuller sounding arrangement spanning three genres, it’s full of some great rhythms that sound great and made all the better by Jon’s louder and stronger vocal.

Some of the music on Song For My Lady is quite different from Jon’s earlier music, with tracks like Soul Mate, Motherland, Maiden Voyage and Follow Your Heart, demonstrating there was another side to his music, one that encompassed R&B, funk, jazz and Latin music. This didn’t mean that Jon neglected people who loved his earlier music, with ballads like Dindi, You Are My Love and Song For My Lady, being beautiful ballads. There was something for everyone on the album, very much something new, something borrowed and something blue. Sadly, this change in direction didn’t equate to commercial success. Jon’s music failed to reach a wider audience, instead remaining known only by a small number of soul and jazz aficionados. That, to me, is a huge shame, as his huge talent and great music deserved a much wider audience. When he released his second album on CBS Premonition in 1976, it too failed commercially. Maybe part of the problem was that people found it hard to describe and categorize his music. Is it jazz or is it soul? That’s what people found it hard to decide. Even today, people disagree about how to define Jon’s music. Regardless of what genre his music falls into, one thing is certain, that Jon Lucien was a hugely talented singer and musician, producing some great albums, including Song For My Lady. Standout Tracks: Dindi, You Are My Love, Maiden Voyage and Follow Your Heart. 

JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY.