Tower Of Power - Urban Renewal (1974)

Tracklist

01. Only So Much Oil In The Ground
02. Come Back, Baby
03. It's Not The Crime
04. I Won't Leave Unless You Want Me To
05. Maybe It'll Rub Off
06. (To Say The Least) You're The Most
07. Willing To Learn
08. Give Me The Proof
09. It Can Never Be The Same
10. I Believe In Myself
11. Walkin' Up Hip Street

personnel :

Lenny Williams - lead vocals
Chester Thompson - organ, bass pedals, piano, clavinet, ARP, synthesizer, vocals
Bruce Conte - guitar, vocals
Francis Rocco Prestia - bass
David Bartlett - drums, vocals
Lenny Pickett - 1st tenor sax (all solos), alto sax, soprano sax, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet
Emilio Castillo - 2nd tenor sax, vocals
Stephen Kupka - baritone sax
Mic Gillette - trumpet (solo on "Walkin' Up Hip Street"), trombone, vocals
Greg Adams - trumpet, fluegelhorn

Tower of Power was very much in its prime in 1974, when the Bay Area outfit tore up the soul charts with the outstanding Urban Renewal. Lenny Williams, a passionate, wailing, gospel-influenced dynamo of a singer, had joined Tower the previous year, and he worked out remarkably well; whether digging into tough funk or romantic ballads, Williams is in top form. Funk doesn't get much more invigorating than horn-driven gems like "Maybe It'll Rub Off," "Give Me the Proof" and "Only So Much Oil in the Ground" (a commentary on the mid-'70s energy crisis), and soul ballads don't get much richer than "Willing to Learn" and "I Won't Leave Unless You Want Me To." Tower (an influence on everyone from L.T.D. to the Average White Band) recorded a number of essential albums in the '70s, and Urban Renewal is at the top of the list.