New Grass in Bloomington, MN

Possibly the most notorious
Albert Ayler
release and universally misunderstood (i.e., hated) by fans and critics alike. When
New Grass
was released in 1969 it received a hostile outcry of "sell-out." Listening to
in hindsight; it must be taken into account that even though commercial elements are apparent -- a soul horn section, backup singers, boogaloo drumming from
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
, and electric rock bass --
Ayler
's vocals and tenor playing could hardly gain commercial radio exposure at any time. It's likely
Impulse
prodded
to move into a more pronounced blues-oriented sound and he went willingly.
wasn't a stranger to R&B or gutbucket blues; he had started his career playing saxophone with Chicago bluesman
Little Walter
in the '50s.
's screeching tone remains intact on
, but it's mixed with definite R&B riffs like the obvious honkin' nod to
"Slippin and Sliddin"
on
"New Generation."
's attempt to explain himself on the opening track with
"Message from Albert Ayler,"
reveals his impending dread over controversy concerning the material. It is a problem many artists face at some point in their careers when trying to move in a different direction, no matter what the reason; they may end up losing a majority of their audience by taking a foreign approach. ~ Al Campbell