Mel Brown - Chicken Fat
Electric Guitar – Mel Brown
Drums – Paul Humphrey
Twelve-String Guitar – Herb Ellis
Electric Bass – Ronald Brown
Electric Guitar – Arthur Wright (A4 to B2, B5), Herb Ellis (A1-3)
Electric Organ – Gerald Wiggins (A1, A3 to B5)
Arranged by Oliver Nelson (B5)
Written by Mel Brown (A1-3, B2), Herb Ellis (A2, B3-4), Ronal Brown (A2), Paul Humphrey (A2), Jules Chaikin (A4), Oliver Nelson (B1, B5), Arthur Wright (B1)
1 LP, gatefold jacket with a plain white inner sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : Black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Third Man Pressing (Detroit)
Label : Verve (Verve by Request)
Original Label : Impulse
Recorded in Hollywood, California on May 31 & June 1, 1967
Engineered by Eddie Brackett
Produced by Bob Thiele
Lacquer cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound
Liner Notes by George Hoefer
Photography by Fred Seligo
Originally released in 1967
Reissued in January 2023
Tracks:
Side A:
- Chicken Fat
- Greasy Spoon
- Home James
- Slalom
Side A:
- Hobo Flats
- Shanty
- Sad But True
- I'm Goin' To Jackson
- Blues for Big Bob
Reviews :
“Guitarist Mel Brown is hailed as "An Impulse! Discovery" on Chicken Fat, his debut for the label, and this album does feature a fantastic unique sound. Brown played in the bands of T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker, and has an aggressive (though not harsh) single-string picking style. For this date he is paired with either Herb Ellis or Arthur Wright on guitar, Gerald Wiggins on organ, and Brown's regular rhythm section of Paul Humphrey on drums and Ronald Brown on electric bass. There are a couple tracks that are played as pretty straight blues, but this is a hoppin' soul-jazz date. The tunes are bouncy and funky, and Brown's playing is a real treat. His bluesy, almost reckless soloing gives a vastly different flavor that the playing of guys like Grant Green or Melvin Sparks. Gerald Wiggins' organ playing is cool and swinging, and the electric bass of Ronald Brown makes this album about as funky as Impulse ever got. Both Herb Ellis and Arthur Wright get some solo space as well, with Ellis sounding quite interesting playing an unamplified 12-string on a couple cuts. Brown gets some nice tones as well, and on "Hobo Flats" plays "an electronic guitar with Wah-Wah distortion" (remember, this is 1967 jazz) "that gives a weird shimmering sound," according to the liner notes. Leave it to Impulse! to put a new spin on the guitar/organ sound. This is hot stuff.” AllMusic Review by Sean Westergaard
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4.7 / 5