Lonnie Youngblood & Friends – Together 1966 / Lonnie Youngblood & Friends - Together 1966

You listen when Lonnie Youngblood blows his tenor sax; his biggest hit for Sylvia Robinson'sAll Platinum/Stang/Turbo labels, "Sweet Sweet Tootie," appeared on an earlier LP. "Happiness Is Music" is a happy-go-lucky song featuring a chirpy female backing chorus and some nice piccolo work. George Kerr produced this set with Robinson and wrote most of the songs. "Lonnie Come on Blow Your Horn" is spiced by Frankie Prescord's pumpin' bass. "On Top," "Gonna Be Alright," and "Nothing Can Go Wrong" are Youngblood vocals; he should stick to the sax, as his singing lacks excitement and drags everything down. The best songs are the ones Kerr didn't write. His renditions of "Trying to Get the Feeling Again" and "Gonna Fly Now" are scrumptious contemporary jazz exercises; the strings and the arrangements are excellent. The sensuous "Push It" is blatantly sexual; the chorus, "push it in there, far as you can," leaves little to the imagination. "A Horn's Holiday" is pop all the way, too syrupy for R&B and not deep enough for jazz.