Jay Berliner - Bananas Are Not Created Equal (1972) [Japanese Remastered 2007]

"I grabbed a copy of Jay Berliner’s ‘Bananas Are Not Created Equal’ a while back after a friend turned me on to the track you see before you today, ‘Stickball’.

I knew Berliner’s name – he is a prolific studio guitarist with a very long and prestigious resume, including stints with Charles Mingus and Van Morrison (Astral Weeks) – but had no idea he had ever done anything this funky.

Recorded in 1972, under the aegis of arranger Wade Marcus (who also wrote this tune) ‘Bananas…’ featured Berliner and a group of studio heavies working it out on a number of contemporary covers (Temptations, Al Green, Bill Withers) and a couple of excellent, funky originals.

‘Stickball’ opens with Ray Barretto’s congas and Berliner’s guitar, then joined by Cornell Dupree on electric sitar and Paul Griffin on clavinet.

The tune has a thick, jazz-funk groove, with some hot soloing (naturally) by Berliner.

The rest of the album is definitely worth checking out if you happen to find a copy out in the field."