Sahara
Product Description
Sahara
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The Rippingtons are ostensibly a band, but in reality the name is just a vehicle for Russ Freeman and his ideas. Freeman not only writes almost all the material, he also plays all the guitar parts and most of the keyboard parts. Moreover, he arranges, produces, engineers and mixes the recordings himself. Ever since they emerged in 1987, the Rippingtons have dominated the jazz charts, even though they play instrumental pop, not jazz. On <I>Sahara</I>, Freeman integrates two pop vocal numbers with the eight instrumentals. Jeffrey Osborne is the guest singer on the Rippingtons' remake of the Spinners' '72 hit, "I'll Be Around." Unfortunately, Freeman's arrangement smooths out the rhythm, mutes the accents and induces Osborne to deliver a bland vocal with none of the passion of Philippe Wynne's original. This is not just pop music; this is easy-listening pop music with every challenging element surgically removed. <i>--Geoffrey Himes</i>
