"Numero Uno" among the Numero Uno comps..
collegemoney | 07/19/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"OK, I'll just spit it right out. To me, in terms of quality, this ranks right up there with the soundtrack to "The Harder They Come." That's the highest praise I know to give. Thumpin' gumbo of soul, funk, reggae and various Caribbean styles. Guitar riffs and Hammond chords abound. Some interesting covers, especially "Theme From Shaft" and "Take Five." Purists will note that Ozzie Hall leaves out about a fourth of Paul Desmond's notes from "Take Five" but you should enjoy it plenty nonetheless. "Shaft" is more interesting if you don't quite realize it is "Shaft." Without reading the track listings first, I thought to myself, gee this sounds a bit like Shaft without lyrics. Then it came: "Who is the man...." Big smile! "Don't Touch That Thing" from Sylvia Hall is a great piece of sister to sister advice. The subterranean bass vocals in "Whatcha Gonna Do 'Bout It" provide a nice counterpoint to the rest of the song. We get some contemporary social commentary of the period in "Build a Nation" and "People Won't Change." My favorite track is "(Somebody Stole) The Words to my Song." Indeed the lyrics are brief and repetitive, like someone did lift a few of them , but what a rhythm!!! A couple of the songs such as "Don't Touch..." are not up to the recording quality of the others, so the production is not uniform. And, among the latter tunes, we get some long jams that don't quite fit the mold of the other material. But these are minor complaints, this is smokin' this is movin.'"
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1