I’m genuinely surprised we’ve never had Bob James' One in the lab before. “Nautilus" is sampled in more songs than I can count—”Children’s Story” by Slick Rick, “Follow the Leader” by Eric B. and Rakim, “Beats to the Rhyme” by Run-DMC (one of my all-time favorite beats), and “Clap Your Hands” by A Tribe Called Quest, just to name a few. The entire record is often hailed as an important predecessor to the smooth jazz genre, which is a bit ironic considering the intense orchestral arrangements on “Valley of the Shadows,” “Soulero,” and “Night on Bald Mountain.” “In The Garden” also intertwines laid-back country elements with Pachabel’s “Canon in D.” Engineered by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder in his Englewood Cliffs studio, the record features Idris Muhammad on drums and Grover Washington Jr. on soprano sax alongside a who’s who of session musicians like Steve Gadd and Eric Weissberg.

• black vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve
• original release year: 1974
• music label: Ace Records 2026

reviewed by SHH! 08/2021