Title: Good, solid Mobley
Review: As Bob Blumenthal points out in his liner note, the two sessions included here are especially instructive in understanding Mobley's evolution as a player. The 1963 tracks are from the "middle period" exemplified by "Soul Station," in which he perfected his smooth "round sound." On the '65 tracks his tone is sharper and harder, his phrases shorter. Like Blumenthal I prefer the earlier stuff, but there's certainly nothing wrong with the later session (except maybe for the title track, which is one of those rinky-dink "Sidewinder" clones that seemed to lead off every Blue Note date between about '63 and '66.) His reading of "The Good Life" is especially moving. in the original liner notes Mobley says that he'd like to record an album of ballads; this performance makes me wish he'd actually done so. You should, of course, start your Mobley collection with "Soul Station," but this one makes a nice second or third choice.
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