Street Life

On first impressions, I was excited to dive into this record due to the genres being listed as funk and jazz (with the style being disco). Upon finishing, I can't say I was disappointed but I am a bit underwhelmed? Ah well, I had a good time regardless!

Great album great band.

10 10 sax intro STREETLIFE

The first/title song on here is a 10/10 hit, love it!! The rest was just fine. They crushed with the first one and I wish they did more vocals on the rest of the album because it just faded from there. Still a fun listen!

Love Street Life. Like the jazzy feel in general, although it has an almost easy listening vibe on some of the songs which knocks it down.

Short on lyrics, long on jazz funk! I didn't realize that this wasn't going to be just another R&B/funk band from the 70s. These guys are some serious fusionists. The playing on this is top notch, with several moments that made my ears perk up. Which doesn’t happen all that often to be honest. This was really good.

Fuck, I needed this album. just the right amount of groovy and not too fast or slow. just right.

I really enjoyed this album by the Crusaders! It was a great mix of jazz, funk, rhythm, all rolled into one.

Kko pa daļām klausījos

Ļoti fun

Sehr cooles modern jazz Album

Fühlt sich nach fancy Cocktailbar an, in der alle aber nur einen Old Fashioned trinken. An sich gut, aber da die Songs keinen Text haben (außer street life) nicht so einprägsam.

decent combination of jazz and funk

314. nice

LOVED!

Smooth jazz. Really fun percussion on some of these tracks. Best tracks: all album Rating: 7/10

Street life is a brilliant song on a good album Smooth funky jazz . The lack of a singer on most of the songs , after the eponymous opening track, kind of relegates this to background music . While I will buy this on vinyl I’ll probably only play it as background music for a dinner party

1.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-crusaders/street-life-2/ Okay Street Life (the song) is enjoyable, but the rest is so incredibly boring. I don't like jazz, as my other jazz ratings will show, but this is even worse than the other jazz on this list: this is not annoying, this is just peak blandness.

Cool album for driving at night in the warm city lights without direction. Perfect for a taxi driver. If you know you know.

- Hey, whats up? - Hey, Im actually about to make an elevator porno movie. Maybe You would like to make the soundtrack? - Sure thing, buddy!

I find jazz to be extremely tedious.

635/1089 - Didn't realize Water Baby by Tom Misch was a sample! Cool pop jazz.

The opener is an amazing single, with the other songs being perfectly enjoyable, but not as stand out to me.

This was wonderful, and my only criticism was that it was too short. I listened to it twice and enjoyed every moment of it. Very groovy and easy to hum and bop to. Great writing, performance and recording. Four stars.

The title track is a ripper, but the rest of the album is pretty much just background music

Heavy

Please hold 3/10

Not much to complain about here. It’s nice.

Lekker relaxed

Oooooh dit nummer! Heerlijke opener! En meteen ga ik ook weer rechtop zitten, want als dit de opener is; word dit dan een heel album genieten of valt de kwaliteit van een klif na het eerste nummer? Ik ben echt blij verrast, tuurlijk het is wel een klein beetje liftmuziek jazz, maar dan wel het soort dat je ook kan horen in een luxe whisky bar. Night Faces is voor mij een beetje het meeste 'liftmuziek' maar een aantal andere nummers zijn juist dansbaar en hoor je meerdere elementen van funk in plaats van alleen Jazz. Tuurlijk; de saxofoon is een dominant instrument, maar het klinkt gewoon goed. Dit is een album dat denk ik heerlijk dienst kan doen als achtergrond muziek, maar vlak het niet uit. Dit op een goed geluidssysteem beloont aandachtig luisteren meer dan je in eerste instantie zou denken. En god, wat is Street Life toch een lekkere plaat eigenlijk. Hele, hele hoge 4 sterren, denk dat ik hem toch net iets spannender had willen hebben voor de 5, maar dit was een heerlijk maandagmiddagalbum en ik sluit niet uit dat deze ooit op vinyl hier komt te liggen. FAVO: Street Life, Rodeo drive, Carnival of the night

Standouts My Lady Carnival of the Night Night Faces

8/10

Groovy, groovy, jazzy, funky

Ce serait sévère d'appeler ça de la musique d'ascenseur, mais c'est quand même plutôt une vibe de background music...

Smooth to the point of insubstantiality. Unfortunately, my millennial ears can’t help but hear it as elevator music.

Sometimes fusion works for me, sometimes it doesn't; in this case, it didn't really work for me

High 3, very nice to listen to, wish the songs were a bit shorter though

I've had a lot of jazzy albums lately and I'm not hating it! This was not as interesting or lively as the last couple I've had though. Nothing much to say about it really

The first track is carzy long haha. I like the disco vibe. Real nice songs to be played while you need to foucs on something else.

Very nice. Groovy

STREET LIFE

Starts off with a banger for the ages and then descends into elevator music. So weird.

a rather bland listening experience for jazz. serviceable as mild background music, but i found that interacting with it as anything more was simply not worth my time, with the exception of the title track.

This was a fun album, but it is not likely something I'd listen to again. I feel like it is 80-90% to something much greater in potential, but it doesn't quite get there. I'd give it a 3.5 stars, but I do think it is something special, a mix of a few different genres, especially for the time it was released.

Nothing that wowed me, but it was a decent chill listen.

Pretty good. Street Life might be the first 10+ minute opening track that I enjoyed the entire time on my first listen. None of the other songs live up to that one, but it's enjoyable instrumental soul/jazz.

I always wondered where hold music came from…

Funky as all hell. Triumphant instrumental chops in grooves so tight they'll cut off the blood supply to your major arteries. The only reason this isn't a storming 5 star is that the final few tracks simply can't live up to the brilliance of the first three.

Now I’m not a ‘disco sucks’ guy but I think albums like this give a pretty good sense of why there hasn’t been much of a sustained attempt to revive it since the ‘70s. There’s a bit more jazz and RnB influence here, but nothing to really make this anything of note.

On the basis of the first few tracks I’d be tempted to give this a high 4 or even 5. It’s a delightfully funky selection of songs. However, the latter half of the album is less interesting and brings the overall rating down to a high 3.

The Crusaders might be a jazz fusion group, but I’d say this is more a mostly instrumental soul/funk/R&B album than a jazz one, combining a funky rhythm section with electric pianos, horns and strings. The title track is the only one with lyrics, and it’s certainly the standout too (great vocals from Randy Crawford; the saxes take over the main melodic line after this track). After that it’s a case of diminishing returns, with each subsequent track less interesting than the one preceding it, such that by the end it’s too samey to get above 3 stars.

Title track was good, the rest was really boring.

con lo espectacular que es el primer tema me da pena que el resto del album sea solo instrumental :( le tuvieron miedo al exito 7/10

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Has one of the all-time great bangers and five other pretty good songs.

Banger title track, and also others are ok

I didn't recognize the band or album, so I was sort of surprised with a dose of excitement as the first track started playing. "Ohhhh, THAT Street Life!" Just an all time track. I'm a sucker for funky soul and that song is a plain old good time (for a song with downer lyrics). Was it enough to elevate the overall album, which is real good, but all pretty straightforward, to 5-Star level? Not quite. But a damn fine spin all around.

If I saw this album performed live from a grass lawn while I was wearing a sunhat and holding a plastic cup full of wine, I would be content. In saying that, I would also be content watching a lot of things under those conditions: cricket, Slipknot, a cow narrowly missing obliteration from a passing freight train. Mooooo.

Started with a disco track, then turned into easy listening and jazz. Not bad, but a little boring.

Some rad guitar solos over cocktail lounge vamps. 2.5.

To me, generic R&B, enjoyable enough.

Ok, smooth začetek ("My Lady"). Maaa. Na tretjem komadu sm ("Rodeo Drive (High Steppin')") pa mi je že mal dosadno in samey. Ok. Sledeči mi je končno slightly drugačen ("Carnival of the Night"). Fak, k pa trobente začnejo, mi mal dol pade. Enjoyable, mal preveč loungey zame, ampak nikakor pa ne slabo.

Halpahallissa kuuluu tämmöistä jatsia taustamusana.

Olipa kyllä törkeen smooth levy. Oikein mielellään kuunteli. Pelkästä instrumentaalista pieni miinus, eka biisi bängäs tykimmin ku oli laulut mukana.

As a child I must have been beaten with a saxophone or trapped inside an elevator and saxually assaulted by Kenny G or something because as an adult I sure do have an irrationally violent aversion to them.

Oh, good. It’s been a while since we’ve had a really excellent jazz album.

Street life is great ! The rest is not... as great!?

Smooth

Chill, men inget att aktivt lyssna på.

Lättlyssnad jazz, trevlig bakgrundsmusik.

big 3

The first three songs were really good but it far and away falls off at the secondly half, still quite nice though

I always thought songs like Street Life were created solely for the ending credits of movies made in the eighties. I never imagined someone buying an album’s worth of music like this. So, I just finished my first listen and it was so uneventful. Beige jazz? Wallpaper funk? Other than the first song, I don’t recall a thing. Other than the single charting in the UK, what is the reasoning for having to hear this before I die??

Låter som den menlösa musik som spelas under bingospelen i Bingolotto Fram med krysspennan

Street life må vara en bra låt, om än onödigt lång. Men resten är farligt nära hissmusik. Tvåa, om än svag, med hjälp av öppningsspåret.

Spretigt. I alla fall vad gäller kvalité. Inledande titelspåret är ju en hit av en anledning. Skönt groove och Crawfords sånginsats håller klass. Riktigt den nivån når man inte igen även om efterföljande My lady gör sig bra i gränslandet softjazz, disco, modern soul. Resten av albumet blir emellertid allt för strömlinjeformat och själlöst. Det finns inslag jag uppskattar som t ex saxen i the Hustler, men som helhet blir det mest bakgrundsmusik. Topparna räddar dock trean.

Titelspåret är en höjdare. Resten är rätt lam jazzig coctail-soul.

Boring album cover, looks like something I would take as an end to a gambling night. If it wasnt for the lame album cover, this would likely be a 5 for me. This is a fantastic jazz album, no notes, one of the best I have heard. I really enjoy the vocals on the first song, and its length as well. Literally the only thing holding this back from a 5 is the cover. Best Song: Carnival of the Night. Worst Song: The Hustler.

Each song brings a tranquil jazz sound, with saxophone, keyboard and percussion. When I think of “smooth jazz”, I think of Street Life

The Crusaders are who they think they are. Street Life is a fun, groovy jazz album that expertly blends multiple instruments in each song. The title track is a wonderful 11-minute gem which utilizes vocals as an additional "instrument" to enrich its soulful, bright sound. The mixing of the saxophone, piano, guitar, and drums throughout the album is remarkable, and every element is given their moment to shine — the saxophone on "My Lady" and "Rodeo Drive (High Steppin')," the guitar on "Carnival Of The Night," and the piano on "My Lady" are a few arabesque examples. While the first track is truly magnificent, the last few are more modest listens — not remotely poor, but not as monumental.

Is it funky? Disco? Jazz??? Very far from my taste. I do not like the sound of 1970's either - but the music is not bad. I had no problem listening to it, once.

Street life is a banger, however, other ones sound pretty mediocare, regulat staff, nothing special

Haven’t heard this much Muzak since being stuck in an elevator in 1979. Kinda groovy in some way, as long as you can get past the many many layers of cheese and gratuitous saxophone

Twenty weeks on the top of the jazz charts in the US and the UK says, evidently, jazz listeners think it's more important than just "hold music." It sort of sucks for jazz music doesn't it? That it's got this beautiful instrumental sound that has all been boxed into the hold music of the 2000s. I don't even know many places that still have jazz hold music and not just ads and a talking AI lady (or a call back feature), but alas. I enjoy the saxphone. The title track was fairly strong, but for all my words I like other jazz records better.

They are good musicians for sure but this really felt like hold music for me. Some of Carnival Of Night was pretty good but I was on the fence between 2 and 3 stars here. I think I'll stick with 2, not coming back to this.

Great "on-hold" music. Disco Jazz (or Jazz Disco). Cheesy. Would get 2 stars but the playing is too strong to do that. 3 stars.

this is awesome

Smooth and chill, but if your focus slips for a split second, it turns into background music.

Pleasant listening

Yes the first song is amazing, and yes it then goes right into elevator music…but honestly, is that really so bad?

3.6

Interesante

A lot of people call this elevator music in the reviews but hey, who says elevator music can't be great? I liked this quite a bit.

I felt like I was shopping as Palais Royale and it was AWESOME

Qu’est-ce que ce disque fout dans un bouquin qui s’intitule Les 1001 albums qu’il faut avoir écoutés avant de mourir ? C’est en substance la première question qui m’a traversé le crâne quand je suis tombé sur la page consacrée à Street Life des Crusaders. Comment un recueil de chefs-d’œuvre absolus, de monuments du rock, de la soul ou de la musique concrète peut décider, en toute décontraction, de canoniser un produit calibré pour les bandes-son de halls d’aéroports ou de boutiques de prêt-à-porter du milieu des années soixante-dix ? Et en réfléchissant deux secondes, le paradoxe s’explique très bien : c’est l’archétype même de l’album de jazz destiné aux gens qui ont une horreur viscérale du jazz, et rien que pour cela, son statut d’anomalie historique lui confère une légitimité insolente. C’est le disque que les gens branchés mettaient sur la platine pour faire semblant d’avoir du goût sans risquer de froisser les convives avec un chorus un peu rugueux de John Coltrane ou une dissonance de Thelonious Monk. C’est poli, ça sent la moquette épaisse et la laque pour cheveux, mais ce n’est pas complètement à jeter. Car soyons honnêtes juste deux minutes, tout n’est pas bon pour la décharge sur cet album. Il y a au moins un monument, un vrai, qui flotte au dessus du reste, je veux bien sûr parler du morceau-titre, l’inusable Street Life. C’est un classique, et prétendre le contraire relèverait de la mauvaise foi pure et dure. Le titre phare est impeccable, les arrangements de cuivres glissent comme sur du velours et le songwriting convoque ce que la soul new-yorkaise, le rythm and blues et la pop FM savaient faire de plus redoutable à la toute fin des années soixante-dix. Mais surtout, le morceau est littéralement sauvé du naufrage par la voix de Randy Crawford, car sa prestation vocale est un modèle de sensualité, de gouaille et d’élégance urbaine, un éclair de grâce furieuse dans un océan de tiédeur. Dès que Randy Crawford ouvre la bouche, on y croit : on voit les avenues détrempées, les néons qui grésillent, la nuit qui s’étire et cette faune interlope qui cherche une raison de danser jusqu’à l’aube. C’est imparable, c’est tubesque au meilleur sens du terme, et ça justifie presque à soi seul qu’on se farcisse la face A. Dans une moindre mesure, on peut aussi accorder un demi-regard bienveillant à un titre comme My Lady. Le morceau ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard, c’est de la soul-jazz de salon assez convenue, mais il bénéficie d’un sursaut d’intelligence : une progression harmonique sur le refrain qui sort un peu des sentiers battus et vient chatouiller l’oreille juste au moment où l’on commençait à piquer du nez. Ce petit pas de côté harmonique suffit à lui donner un semblant d’épaisseur, à sauver ce moment d’une banalité autrement écrasante. On se dit un instant que les musiciens vont peut-être lâcher les chevaux, qu’un semblant de fièvre va s’emparer des amplis. Fausse alerte car c’est juste un soupir élégant avant le grand coma. Car une fois passé ces quelques étincelles, le reste de l’album s’effondre sous le poids de sa propre insignifiance. Le constat est cruel mais limpide, le reste de ce disque est tout bonnement insipide. On ne peut même pas lui faire l’honneur d’être détestable ou scandaleux, non, c’est pire que ça, c'est inoffensif. Mais putain, les Crusaders n’étaient pourtant pas des manchots, Joe Sample aux claviers, Wilton Felder aux saxophones et à la basse, Stix Hooper derrière les fûts, épaulés ici par la six-cordes de Barry Finnerty… ce sont des tueurs de studio, des types capables de vous poser des rythmiques en béton armé et d’aligner des grilles d’accords les yeux fermés. Et pourtant, sur ce disque, ils semblent avoir déposé leurs couilles au vestiaire, car ils ne prennent absolument aucun risque. Zéro nada. Le problème n’est pas la technique, car elle est irréprochable. Le son est d’une pureté presque clinique, la production est léchée au millimètre, pas un poil qui dépasse, pas une crasse sur le master. On croirait entendre des virtuoses sous anesthésie générale qui s’interdisent formellement de faire grimper le thermomètre. C’est le jazz-funk vidé de sa sève, réduit à une formule commerciale pour cadres dynamiques en quête d’exotisme nocturne à bon compte. Au bout du compte, Street Life est un trompe-l’œil fascinant. Un chef-d’œuvre radiophonique de plus de onze minutes d’un côté, et de l’autre, un remplissage luxueux mais totalement désincarné. Pour ma part, la sentence est sans appel : un 2 sur 5 bien tassé, pour saluer la voix divine de Randy Crawford et rappeler au passage qu’un excellent single ne fera jamais, au grand jamais, un grand album.

Really need a 3.5 for these—this isn’t really a 4 for me, but 3 seems harsh. It was fine

So not my thing

"this is phone hold music" so? it still slaps

Well this was a headwrecker. I always thought of Street Life as a Randy Crawford song, and here she is. The most amazing song, and singer and players. But then it turns into a soul/funk instrumental musak album. It's well played, but it cowers in the shadow of the opening track.

2/3