Nice highlight on a little-known jazz funk album (that leans more on the loungey side, but with some scorching guitar licks). It is certainly well due for a reissue, and I am sure it will (everything seems to these days).
I hope you're right about a reissue....it's a good sign that Universal has posted this to streaming services. Re those guitar breaks: one of the things that has completely captivated me about this is the brevity of solos. really like the Rhodes/wurli and the guitar explorations that are concise. and designed to play off each other -- the keys hitting one mood, the guitar another.
There is an unreleased second album called Universal Man which I have a copy of from the acetate. It has longer jazzier tracks and there is one absolute killer called Coronation of the Sphynx where Jimmy Holloway lets rip on wah wah gitar.
Yes, that UK blogger posted a track on SoundCloud but it was one of the shorter ones. Alas now that both Reggies are apparently dead it’s not going to be circulating any time soon. Hold onto that copy!!!!
I was really sorry to read that both Reggie's are now gone which means that they're all dead. You bet I'm hanging onto that copy which was tricky to get and I've made a back up high qualityCDR. I seem to recall that Seb Palmer got it from their manager maybe via one of the Reggie's so there might be a chance that the acetate still exists. Universal Man is quite interesting, overall it's more loose and jazzy with less tight arrangements than Getaway Train. There is less electric piano which I preferred and more Hammond so in my opinion still good but Getaway Train is a special album for me. There is also some conjecture I recall as to whether it is actually the same Michael Jackson.
Nice highlight on a little-known jazz funk album (that leans more on the loungey side, but with some scorching guitar licks). It is certainly well due for a reissue, and I am sure it will (everything seems to these days).
I hope you're right about a reissue....it's a good sign that Universal has posted this to streaming services. Re those guitar breaks: one of the things that has completely captivated me about this is the brevity of solos. really like the Rhodes/wurli and the guitar explorations that are concise. and designed to play off each other -- the keys hitting one mood, the guitar another.
Excellent stuff, Tom. Great discovery. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading!
A great one!! Thanks for shining a light on this little known gem
Thanks for reading!
There is an unreleased second album called Universal Man which I have a copy of from the acetate. It has longer jazzier tracks and there is one absolute killer called Coronation of the Sphynx where Jimmy Holloway lets rip on wah wah gitar.
Yes, that UK blogger posted a track on SoundCloud but it was one of the shorter ones. Alas now that both Reggies are apparently dead it’s not going to be circulating any time soon. Hold onto that copy!!!!
I was really sorry to read that both Reggie's are now gone which means that they're all dead. You bet I'm hanging onto that copy which was tricky to get and I've made a back up high qualityCDR. I seem to recall that Seb Palmer got it from their manager maybe via one of the Reggie's so there might be a chance that the acetate still exists. Universal Man is quite interesting, overall it's more loose and jazzy with less tight arrangements than Getaway Train. There is less electric piano which I preferred and more Hammond so in my opinion still good but Getaway Train is a special album for me. There is also some conjecture I recall as to whether it is actually the same Michael Jackson.
Wow, absolutely fantastic, thanks for the intro! Yet another album to add to my “Substack Discoveries” list.