Back at the Chicken Shack

A lot like Green Onions, but if pretty much just the first song was cool. And it was, don't get me wrong. It felt like visiting a cool rustic chicken shack. The other songs were just boring though. I lost interest. Nice organ and sax. And don't forget the dog.

The first track is very enjoyable, but the returns seem to diminish as the album goes on.

𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬 is a great example of how refreshing jazz can sound when the Hammond organ takes the lead. Jimmy Smith’s playing is warm, groovy and full of personality, giving the music a relaxed but deeply rhythmic feel. The band swings effortlessly around him, creating a tight, bluesy atmosphere that’s smooth without ever becoming dull. It’s a distinctive, inviting sound — something a bit different from more traditional jazz setups — and that’s exactly what makes the album so enjoyable.

Took awhile to get good

I wasn't the biggest fan. It's solid, but just a bit boring.

I enjoyed this chilled jazz album. I listened to it while doing housework, but I think it would sound best while you read a book with a glass of red wine.

Jazz not really my cup of tea, but this works for me.

Whole album of it is a bit of a slog, but it’s got a cool vibe.

2

Technically great, but simply not for me.

Sounds like something that would play at a swanky dinner on the upper east side. Liza Minnelli background vibes (not in a bad way). Feels sophisticated if that makes sense.

I always find reviewing jazz albums difficult. Because it’s all about where you listen to it. In the car as a focused listen. I don’t particularly enjoy it. But playing on a vinyl in a bar somewhere, this would be great. So I think I like the idea of jazz more than the music.

Had this on in the background all day.
Started to believe I’m in Sim City and none of this is real.

Nice vibe for background music.

Superb cool combination of jazz and soul. No one did this better than Jimmy Smith. This is among my favourite jazz records ever and despite rating it 4.0 on RYM, I might give it 5 stars here purely because there's a huge lack of Jazz albums on this list

Good album but all Jimmy’s albums are good The Cat and Peter and the Wolf excite me more

Let me start by stating that Jimmy Smith was a prolific musician who helped link the styles of jazz and 1960s soul music, with his improvisational work on the Hammond proving influential on jazz organists since. To be fair, his work does shine in moments across Back at the Chicken Shack opposite tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine as the two traded some decent hooks and melodies. Occasionally, there is even some decent guitar noodling from Kenny Burrell. But, throughout the listen, whenever Jimmy took a back seat in favor of Stanley, the organ sounded weirdly muted as he had to make up for the lack of any bass. The rhythm section here is largely drummer Donald Bailey, who played fine, but not enough to create a solid foundation for this record on his own.

I'm reminded of the Green Onions album from Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which I got earlier in my album journey. Both albums are decent, low-key, Hammond organ-led instrumental records, consisting of a few original compositions mixed with covers, and barely clocking in at over half an hour. At best, I see them both as neat novelties, but not anything profound or transcendental. Again, I hear the pedigree with Jimmy and Stanley's work here, but I can't imagine myself coming back to this record often.

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Det var chill, men særlig spennende var det ikke.

More good jazz that I don't have a lot to say about. There's plenty of great sax and Hammond organ here. And it isn't especially difficult, this is pretty agreeable music. Like I said, it's good, but not quite to my particular taste in jazz, and I don't know enough about the era to say if I agree that this is essential or not: however, I enjoyed it.

Fun listen, very much in the style of Booker T. Kind of surprised that this was by Blue Note, it's much more linked to Soul and Blues. The songs blend together and kind of fly by. I feel like it's a great album for background listening, but he's done more interesting albums in his career. I got a soft spot for Organ-centered Jazz though.

Organ Jazz is tremendous. Marvelous album.

Super chilled-out and smooth. Not a single moment where I'm not enjoying what I'm listening to. I think the organ kind of outclasses every other instrument here, though. Would definitely vibe out to this again- actually super calming.