The Best Is Yet to Come (Grover Washington Jr. album)
The Best Is Yet to Come is a 1982 studio album by American jazz musician Grover Washington Jr., released via the Elektra label. The album includes his major hit "The Best Is Yet to Come" recorded with Patti LaBelle.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide | [2] |
A reviewer of Billboard wrote "When a musician of unassailable integrity, honesty and commitment makes a bold, adventurous statement about his art, what do you do? You believe him".[4] Ron Wynn of AllMusic stated on "The Best Is Yet to Come", the title cut was a major R&B hit, with Patti Labelle doing vocals. The rest, unfortunately, is formulaic fusion".[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Can You Dig It" | Ralph MacDonald, William Salter | 5:17 |
| 2. | "The Best Is Yet to Come" | Cynthia Biggs, Dexter Wansel | 5:58 |
| 3. | "More Than Meets the Eye" | Grover Washington, Jr. | 4:28 |
| 4. | "Things Are Getting Better" | Gerald H. Price | 4:16 |
| 5. | "Mixty Motions" | William Eaton | 5:17 |
| 6. | "Brazilian Memories" | William Eaton | 6:08 |
| 7. | "I'll Be With You" | Grover Washington, Jr. | 4:37 |
| 8. | "Cassie's Theme" | Grover Washington, Jr. | 3:58 |
| Total length: | 39:59 | ||
Personnel
- Grover Washington, Jr. – alto saxophone (1), tenor saxophone (2, 6), arrangements (2–4, 7, 8), soprano saxophone (3, 7, 8), saxello (4, 5), synthesizers (7)
- Richard Tee – Fender Rhodes (1, 5, 6), clavinet (6), keyboards (8)
- Paul Griffin – Oberheim OB-Xa (1, 5), synthesizers (6)
- James K. Lloyd – keyboards (2–4, 7), acoustic piano (3, 4)
- Dexter Wansel – Oberheim OB-Xa (2–4), arrangements (2, 7), synthesizers (7)
- Teddi Schlossman – Rhodes electric piano (3)
- Billy Childs – acoustic piano (8), synthesizers (8)
- Eric Gale – guitars (1, 5, 6)
- Herb Smith – guitars (2)
- Richard Steacker – guitars (3, 4, 7)
- Lee Ritenour – guitars (8)
- Marcus Miller – bass (1, 5, 6)
- Cedric A. Napoleon – bass (2–4, 7), lead vocals (7)
- Abraham Laboriel – bass (8)
- Yogi Horton – drums (1, 5, 6)
- Darryl Washington – drums (2–4, 7)
- Harvey Mason – drums (8)
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion (1, 5, 6), bells (2), shaker (2)
- Leonard Gibbs – percussion (3, 4, 7)
- Victor Feldman – percussion (8)
- Kevin Johnson – percussion (8)
- Alex Foster – saxophones (1)
- Frank Wess – saxophones (1)
- Jon Faddis – trumpet (1)
- Mona Goldman-Yoskin – flute (3)
- William Eaton – arrangements (1, 5, 6)
- Cynthia Biggs – arrangements (7)
- Patti LaBelle – lead and backing vocals (2)
- Bobby McFerrin – lead and backing vocals (4)
- Carla L. Benson – backing vocals (7)
- Evette Benton – backing vocals (7)
- Lucille Jones – backing vocals (7)
Production
- Grover Washington, Jr. – executive producer, producer, mixing
- Ralph MacDonald – producer (1, 5, 6), mixing
- Dexter Wansel – producer (2, 3, 4, 7)
- Nathan Sassover – producer (8)
- Richard Alderson – engineer (1, 5, 6), mixing
- Kendall Brown – engineer (1, 5, 6), mixing
- Peter Humphreys – engineer (2–4, 7), mixing
- Dennis Sands – engineer (8)
- Eddie Heath – assistant engineer (1, 5, 6)
- Lamont Moreno – assistant engineer (1, 5, 6)
- Barry Craig – assistant engineer (2–4, 7)
- Scott E. MacMinn – assistant engineer (2–4, 7)
- John Wisner – assistant engineer (2–4, 7)
- Greg Orloff – assistant engineer (8)
- Vlado Meller – mastering at CBS Studios (New York, NY).
- Janaire Boger – production coordinator
- Paul Silverthorn – production coordinator
- Ron Coro – art direction, design
- Denise Minobe – art direction, design
- Jim Shea – photography
Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 100 |
| US Billboard Pop Albums[6] | 50 |
References
- ^ a b Wynn, Ron. "The Best Is Yet to Come – Grover Washington Jr". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ Swenson, John (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
Grover Washington Jr.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1468. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ "The Best Is Yet to Come". Billboard. 25 Dec 1982. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 333. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "The Best Is Yet to Come". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
