Title: James Booker's best
Review: This album was recorded at something called the "Boogie Woogie and Ragtime Piano Contest" in Zuerich, Switzerland. What I want to know is, who were the other contestants? James Booker's best album, and probably one of the most soulful and rhythmically exciting albums ever recorded in this genre. Booker was a musical originator, but also famous for his ability to impersonate a wide variety of players. He seems to borrow heavily from Ray Charles at points on this album, but in my opinion he actually surpasses Charles in certain respects. His singing on this album is both bizarre and tortured and soulful, he has a nasal style here that was de rigeur for funk groups such as The Commodores and Cameo. You know what I'm talking about. The whole album is just Booker and his pyrotechnical piano (check out the amazing crescendo on the last track,) and should serve as a reminder that you don't need a big band or fancy production to be funkier than the rest.
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