Over the past 25 years, the social sciences 'have done a really good job of cataloging the things men do badly—men and depression, men and violence, men and drugs—and very little on the other.

• Bobby Shad And The Bad Men
• Bobby Shad And The Bad Men - A 65-piece Rock Workshop
• Bobby Shad And The Bad Men

This is the kind of musical experiment that could only have happened in the 1970s. It is described on the cover as 'a 65 piece rock workshop' and that's just about as apt as anything.
Bob Shad, for those unaware, was a big shot producer/ record label owner in the 1960s, working with such artists as Patti Page, Dizzy Gillespie, Lightnin' Hopkins, The Platters, Janis Joplin and Ted Nugent. Odd list. Odd album.

1. Discover releases, reviews, track listings, recommendations, and more about Bobby Shad And The Bad Men - A 65-Piece Rock Workshop at Discogs. Complete your Bobby Shad And The Bad Men collection.
2. KCK45-008 OTS-212: Bobby Shad and The Bad Men / Johnny Coles: Bobby Shad and The Bad Men / Johnny Coles - I Want You Back (edit) / Never Can Say Goodbye ‎ (7', Single, Ltd).

Basically what we have here is a full on orchestra, not a classical orchestra, but the kind you expect to hear in a 70's movie providing the theme music to the actions of the baddest cat keepin' the crime off the streets. Add to that The Amboy Dukes (Nugent's former band) and some of rock's most classic songs and you have, well, this. It's hard to tell if the intent behind this record was to expose rock and roll to a larger more mainstream audience, or to try and open the eyes of rockers by exposing them to something different in a way they could understand it. No matter, neither goal was accomplished. What did happen is a unique, oddly enjoyable LP that shouldn't work at all but somehow does.
As mentioned above, this sounds like the soundtrack to the greatest 70's spectacle never made. Acid rock meets 'Shaft' in an NBC movie of the week starring the Jackson 5. We get groovy, almost jazzy/soulful versions of 'Whole Lotta Love', 'Pinball Wizard', 'No Time', 'Up On Cripple Creek' (that's what I said...What?), 'Instant Karma' and 'I Want You Back'. Okay that last one sounds mostly the same but you get the idea. Oh, and did I mention that the songs are all instrumentals as well? Kinda like super groovy elevator music.

Bobby Shad And The Bad Men

The whole thing is amazingly silly, and yet still kinda awesome. Go into it as a grizzled rock purist and you will hate it. But keep an open ear and a smile on your face and you just might be surprised. You see, for all the ridiculousness of this project, the musicianship and arrangements are quite good. Bobby Shad and his Bad Men really were some baaaaad cats, they just got wrapped up in a whole lotta cheese.
This one is out there folks. Worth finding.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Daves.

Legendary jazz producer Bob Shad gathered a massive ensemble of jazz musicians for this 1973 album of instrumental rock covers, including a take on The Band's Up On Cripple Creek.

The only album to ever credit producer Bob Shad as a leader -- eventhough the man had been behind so many famous records on labels thatinclude Mainstream, Time, and Mercury! This set has Shad taking thehip vibe of the Mainstream label to the forefront -- mixing funky jazzand trippier rock touches together beautifully -- blendingMainstream's worlds of psych and soul in a tremendous way -- as heturns out these fresh new takes on big tunes from the time -- allredone here as fuzzy instrumentals! The great Ron Frangipane handledarrangements -- and titles include 'Whole Lotta Love', 'PinballWizard', 'I Want You Back', 'Instant Karma', and 'No Time'. --from dustygrove.com Bob Shad was one of the key jazz producers of the 20th Centuryalongside Creed Taylor, Orrin Keepnews, Bob Thiele and NesuhiErtegun. He left an unforgettable mark on music across many genres,producing more than 800 albums over a 40 years career and recordingmany Giants in the process. 'He was not just commercial, he recordedmainly what he believed in.', said critic Leonard Feather. Born in NewYork on February 12th, 1920, Bob Shad got in the music business in1946 working first for National Records and then for Savoy Records asthey bought National. It was the beginning of a long and fruitfuljourney which saw him work with Charlie Parker on the legendary SavoySessions, set up EmArcy Records in the 50s and produce a 7' single in1958 by The Jades featuring a 15 year old guitarist named Lou Reed. Ohand he recorded Janis Joplin's first LP in 1966 with Big Brother & TheHolding Co. The list of luminaries Shad recorded or discovered is endless:Lightnin' Hopkins and Art Blakey, Max Roach and John Cage, CannonballAdderley and The Platters, Sarah Vaughan and Quincy Jones. Anentrepreneur at heart, he founded a new label, Mainstream Records in1964 producing jazz, psychedelia and soundtracks. In 1971, he startedthe cult Mainstream MRL 300 series featuring the radical sound of theearly 70s recorded by a new wave of young robe-dressed jazzmen,influenced by both the modal sound of the New Thing and the funk ofSly Stone. Shad didn't restrict his productions to one particulargenre and also recorded young soul divas such as Ellerine Harding,Maxine Weldon and above all Alice Clark, whose eponymous album mixingsoul with Ernie Wilkins' funky big band arrangements has become anabsolute classic. --Superfly Records

Tracks

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. Pinball Wizard
3. No Time
4. Prelude (To A Bad Man)
5. Instant Karma
6. I Want You Back

Bobby Shad And The Bad Men - A 65-Piece Rock Workshop - 1973 - Mainstream Records MRL-306

Bobby Shad And The Bad Men - A 65-piece Rock Workshop

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Bobby Shad And The Bad Men

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