Brass Fever - Time is Running Out - Used LP

vinyl VG+

Sleeve: VG (actual sleeve in photo)

Review by Alex Henderson: In an ideal world, both of Brass Fever's LPs -- Brass Fever from 1975 and Time Is Running Out from 1976 -- would be reissued back-to-back on a single CD. But that is unlikely to happen because there isn't much of a demand for the out of print albums. So the only thing to do is search for them at a place that sells a lot of 1970s vinyl. The title track of Time is Running Out has little to do with jazz -- it's an infectious soul/disco vocal number featuring the Jones Girls. But most of the time, Brass Fever offers instrumental jazz-funk versions of major R&B and rock hits, including the Jackson Five's "Dancing Machine" and the Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It to the Streets." Although Esmond Edwards tends to overproduce, participants like guitarist Lee Ritenour and trumpeter Oscar Brashear still manage to get in some inspired solos. However, Brass Fever doesn't fare as well on a forgettable arrangement of Toots & the Maytals' ska/reggae classic "Pressure Drop," and its cheesy remake of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man."  But Time Is Running Out has more plusses than minuses.