Back on the Block Review

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Back on the Block ReviewThe 80s were a very busy decade for Quincy Jones. Between 1979 and 1989 he not only produced three hit albums for Michael Jackson, he also produced hit albums for others, including George Benson, Donna Summer, James Ingram, Patti Austin, The Brothers Johnson, Rufus & Chaka Khan and Ernie Watts. In his 1990 documentary "Listen Up", which documents a lot of the making of this particular album, Jones tells of how overwork and exhaustion ultimately led to a nervous breakdown and two separate aneurysms.
By the time he was ready to make this album, which he describes as his project of a lifetime, music was undergoing a revolution. Disco was long dead and buried, hip-hop was emerging as the predominant force and the smooth jazz-influenced beats Jones was reputed for were falling out of favour.
To give him his due he approached the situation gamely. The title tune, "Back On The Block" was a brave kiss with rap if not a particularly wise one. The song, which features big guns of the time such as Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T and Kool Moe Dee is always fun to listen to but I never heard it played on the radio or at any clubs or parties. "Jazz Corner of The World", his attempt to marry rap with jazz was more interesting and featured jazz luminaries like James Moody, Miles Davis, George Benson, Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Josef Zawinul alongside Kool Moe Dee and Big Daddy Kane. It's heady, exciting stuff to listen to even now, 17 years later. If nothing else, Q certainly knew where music was heading.
The production on this CD is stunning beyond belief. "Wee B. Dooinit", featuring Siedah Garrett, Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, Ella Fitzgerald, Take 6 and Sarah Vaughn is a completely acapella performance. McFerrin produced the percussion and bass sound effects and I still wonder exactly where Q placed the microphones.
There are some other great songs. "I'll Be Good To You" featured lead vocals by Ray Charles and Chaka Khan. The album version was good enough but I remember getting the 12" single which had the same backbeat as Soul II Soul's "Keep On Movin'". (Now THAT was a huge club hit). "The Places You Find Love" featured lead vocals from Chaka Khan and Siedah Garrett, with background vocals from Howard Hewitt, Jennifer Holiday, James Ingram, Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross and the Andrae Crouch Singers among others.
Apart from her brief stint with the Brand New Heavies, Siedah Garrett's work with Quincy Jones (here and on Michael Jackson's "Bad") have produced the only performances of hers I've managed to find bearable. She seems to have taken the place formerly occupied by Patti Austin in Q's workplan and to give her the credit she's due, she does the job well. She does the vocal arrangement on the majority of the songs and where she took lead vocal duties, like on "I Don't Go For That" and "One Man Woman", she gives a barnstorming performance.
But for me, the album was made by "Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song)" featuring Take 6 & Sarah Vaughn, with Gerald Albright on alto sax, George Benson on guitar, George Duke on fender Rhodes and Herbie Hancock on keyboards. The song attained iconic status when John Singleton used it in his classic movie "Boyz N The Hood". (It was the song playing during the love scene between Nia Long and Cuba Gooding, Jr). It's one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. Q's take on Joe Zawinul's "Birdland" featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and James Moody, is also a personal favourite.
This album is also noted for introducing the world to (the then angelic-voiced) Tevin Campbell. He did the tearjerking "Tomorrow (Better You, Better Me)" with background vocal help from the `children's choir'. And last but by no means least, the album also produced the perennial slow dance song, "The Secret Garden", featuring El DeBarge, James Ingram, Al B. Sure! and Barry White. That one still moves people to this day.
This review is long but I feel to pass this project off with a few lines or a paragraph or two would not be doing its magnitude justice. It's not my all-time favourite Quincy Jones record but I can totally see why he considers it so significant. It is so significant. Getting all these legends of the past and of the future was a huge achievement all by itself. Who else could possibly have gotten all these people into the studio at the same time?Back on the Block Overview

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