Ramsey Lewis – Mother Nature's Son (1968)

Ramsey Lewis – Mother Nature's Son (1968)

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This album was another brainchild of Marshall Chess' regime at Chess Records and, in a sense, is of a piece with Electric Mud by Muddy Waters -- here, he's getting Ramsey Lewis, supported by an orchestra conducted and arranged by Charles Stepney, to do jazz improvisations on ten songs from The Beatles (aca The White Album).



The results are a good deal more impressive and a lot less awkward than Electric Mud, Lewis and company being in far greater sympathy with this material than Muddy Waters was with Rolling Stones material. The orchestrations are occasionally a bit thick and treacly, but when Lewis jumps in and his playing takes flight, songs such as "Julia" soar off in all manner of unexpected and delightful directions, while "Back in the U.S.S.R.," divorced from its Chuck Berry sound, still serves as the basis for some funky improvisations by the pianist. The album probably didn't do much more for Lewis' career than Electric Mud did for Muddy Waters, but it's a better fit with Lewis and an enjoyable excursion. The cover art is also funny enough to almost make it worth the price of the LP, which was reissued in Japan in 2002 in 24-bit digital audio.



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Tracklist:

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01. Mother Nature's Son

02. Rocky Raccoon

03. Julia

04. Back In The USSR

05. Dear Prudence

06. Cry Baby Cry

07. Good Night

08. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey

09. Sexy Sadie

10. Blackbird



*2002 Universal CLassics & Jazz. Japan | #: UCCC-9029





Personnel

*Lennon/McCartney - Composer

*Ramsey Lewis - Piano