SHAZAM

Groove Grease combines two of the three albums organist Reuben Wilson recorded for Groove Merchant in the early '70s, The Sweet Life (1972) and The Cisco Kid (1974), to create a single disc of funk-injected soul jazz that veers to the pop side of things. If Wilson had a flaw, that was it, a tendency to record somewhat cheesy pop fare in an effort, no doubt, to drive album sales. Sometimes, though, when he catches just the right song, like he does here with covers of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues," Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly," and the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There," Wilson could be absolutely transcendent. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi