Street Life

Street Life opens with a 1970s porn sax, and the genre is funk jazz, but I gave it a go anyway. It’s horrible. The players are good, the sound is so polished you could slip on it, but it essentially it’s just fluff. There is no substance to it, it’s just the sound of piped music in the 1970s. There isn’t any edge, although as much I don’t like it, Randy Crawford’s vocal gave Street Life a little bit of something. The album is short but I plays really long. I felt like I had been listening for about an hour. Not sure why Mr Dimery thought this was essential listening, but it really isn’t. You have probably heard it in an airport lounge bar without even knowing it.

I feel like I found a little golden nugget with this album. It’s groovy, funky, and soulful jazz. Overall it’s a very laid back, but there’s definitely enough energy there to just close your eyes and sway your head to the groove. This album really connected with me because it reminds me of a lot of house producers I used to listen to. It honestly sounds like a precursor to NYC style of house music. The kind that was more soulful and jazzy, usually with Latin influenced percussion and rhythmic layers. In fact, the second track on this album, “My Lady,” was heavily sampled by a house producer from the 90s named Cricco Castelli for his track “Life Is Changing.” That track has always been one of my all time favorite old school house tracks.

Not bad just a bit elevator jazz.

I like Steely Dan, so sometimes I can appreciate a little soulless jazz. You could say it's too smooth or bland, but it tickles my ears in the right way.

The title track is obviously the draw here, after that some easy "jazz"? Fine as background but pales in comparison to the first track.

I'm actually surprised and pleased that the Crusaders would make this list. I'm not surprised or pleased that the author would choose this album. To me, the Crusaders ceased to be the Crusaders when original member Wayne Henderson left the group in 1975. At this point in their career this album may have been the peak of their commercial popularity according to Wikipedia but in my book they had sold out and were a mere shadow of what they used to be. This album was little more than a smooth commodity. Do yourself a favor and listen to any of their work as the Jazz Crusaders or the Crusaders prior to 1975 and their live albums from that same period. I love the (Jazz) Crusaders and it pains me to do it but I can't give them anything higher than a 2 for this overly slick and cheesy album when I know their earlier stuff is so much better.

Decent listen

Not really my jam, but a lot of sax.

Not something I would listen to again

Pretty solid

On hold music. I actually forgot it was playing at one point.

Ushering in the 80's with a nice mix of funk and jazz. Not my thing, but enough funk to take the stank off the jazz.

Really good album, didn't realize how many classic samples came from it

I wish I liked it, but I was completely ambivalent

This was funky, in a great way

Some pretty cool smooth jazz here. Not for everyone, I can tell you -- but it's got a great groove and you can just put your feet up and go with it.

So this starts off with soul. Cool Then it’s a woman singer which I’m just not a fan of. I really don’t know why it’s like that. It just doesn’t hit as hard. Then the music has resorted to elevator or McDonald’s type of background music. Bella Fleck with Bella Fleck. I’m not feeling this and I’m not sure you, the reader will feel anything either

When I first looked at the cover, I automatically didn’t wanna like it. Then I heard the saxophone and the electric piano and I really didn’t want to like it. But then I started appreciating the quality of the musicianship. It reminded me a little bit of Grand Central Station with the funk. The guitar reminded me of late ‘70s David Gilmore. And it reminded me of 1980s Dave Koz saxophone, and Ray Charles piano and disco-era Patti LaBelle. And then I realized that so many artists that I actually did appreciate were all mixed in this album together. I actually liked It. The song The Hustler should be in movies if it’s already not. It’s got a really cool kind of mellow urban vibe that makes me feel like I’m driving through LA in the 1970s looking for trouble. Street Life also reflect that same vibe. Night Faces felt like soft jazz porn music, but, pending the narrative, still fits. This may not be a go to, but it was definitely a good lesson after all.

Random thoughts: * Chill and smooth like some 70s pimps. * This album started out pretty great but got kind of monotonous and devolved into jazz instrumentals. * Susan even said: "What is this? Elevator music?" Not a ringing endorsement. * I'm glad I got to listen but this wasn't the hidden gem I was hoping for when I pressed play.

Great album!

The weather channel in album form.

Yes it is a bit too close to muzak. Not sure what it is doing on this list.

I like this band and I would love to give this album 5/5 however I just can't because apart from "street life" the rest is just Wedding reception music

Do you like Jazz but hate the freeness of it? Do you like Disco but hate to dance? Do you love being on hold in elevators? Well boy do I have the album for you. Listen to the smooth sounds of The Crusaders where no one could possible be offended, some people may even tap their feet!

We can argue the merits of mid 1980s late night McDonald's music, but we can definitely all agree Jazz Disco should be called Jizzco.

Easy listening, nothing gripping for me but nice on in the background. Much other jazz I'd listen to before this again

I'd never listened to the Crusaders before, but I'll be listening to them again. 4/5

It's Elevator Music, but it's pretty good elevator music. And the first track is arguably not elevator music. This is too repetitive and background to rise above a 3. 3 even feels generous, but it's pretty inventive and fun.

I've generally dunked on music that could be described as "background music", but mostly because the exemplars of the sound are ambient music. Now if I could have some funky, jazzy background music like The Crusaders' Street Life playing as I go about my day, my life would be immeasurably better. This is just facts.

Not my thing but not noise either.

Too smooth and cheesy for me.

Fun little jazz/funk album. Nothing groundbreaking, but still done well enough. 3/5 Might listen again

Street Life was a blessing of a first album, I did not expect to start with jazz of all things. I am a bit dissapointed that the rest of the album was instrumental without the vocals, but it made for excellent background music regardless.

Sounds like mizak

It took a bit to settle into this album. The first track is long, the lyrics are a bit cheesy and the organ and sax sounds used are awfully reminiscent of elevator music. It also didn't help that this first track was 12 minutes long. But by the end of the album I actually thought the playing was pretty great. They find a middle ground between the busy and calm - just enough going on to keep form being sleepy but still within the realm of "cool jazz."

Funky jazz with solid production and playing, but unfortunately it’s rather generic, formulaic, inoffensive, and forgettable. It’s doesn’t really seem to do anything for me at all.

When it starts off with a song as good as Street Life it's not going to be bad. It's the obvious highlight by some distance, but the rest of the album is an enjoyable coast downhill from that high

Street Life - and not much more.

4.5

The lead single is amazing. Overall very good. 4/5

If you like jazz, and you like funk, this album is for you. I hate jazz, and I hate funk.

Soul & jazz in an album together 😍

I actually really like this album. I'm going to give it 4 stars. It's nice and chill

I’ll need to check out the Doc Severinsen version of the title track, our jazz band played with him back in the day. Really nice and smooth, good funky bass, this was great. I get the Steely Dan references from other reviews, I don’t get the hate that other reviewers imply. Rating up, this was really nice.

Street Life felt like it wouldn't end, and then the rest flew by and I didn't even realize they were done. The sound wasn't bad but it really didn't make any impact.

Such a groove thing. I like it fine but kind of boring in an easy listening kind of way.

Big fan of the title song and really liked the sax throughout. It was great vibes but started kind of running together a little after the first track.

groovy elevator music

Is this the worst kind of music?

Street life is a banger, even tho I prefer the '81 version. 3.5 stars

Slick and soulful, the musicianship on this album is superb, and Street Lights is a classic song. Got a little samey and drifted into the background when I wasn’t paying full attention to it, but yeah this is great chill party music.

THIS IS SO GOOD

I have always loved Randy Crawford's vocals on Street Life. The rest of the album was enjoyable too but instrumental horn music gets old to me about halfway through the recording. Taken one by one they are accomplished arrangements and the musicianship is wonderful.

Funky!

just what I needed. Soulful jazz that doesnt get in its own way. This hits on just the right way. Great sax and horns, great keys, great basslines, great vocals, its just great!

Funky, soulful, jazzy. I loved this album! Obviously the title track is the magnum opus but the whole thing is just so damn enjoyable. Great recommendation from the list

Smooth jazz. Not my jam since early 90's. But they've got it going on. Just not goin on my playlist.

Smooth damn groove.

Smooth groovy blend of jazz, soul, funk and disco. Nice as a background listen. Musicianship is very tight on this.

3/10

Incredibly slick and groovy. This deserves no less than a 3, if only for sheer smoothness and ease of listening. Every instrument is played tastefully, the textures are warm, and there's a delicate balance between repeated hooks (heads) and improvisation. For anyone who has an issue with the Kind Of Blue or Bitches Brew style of jazz, Street Life is definitely the kind of album you'll be more accepting of. I'm surprised, I guess, by the fact that this is less *universally* acclaimed than Miles Davis's material (even if I personally prefer Davis's stuff). To the reviewers who compared this (unfavourably) to telephone hold music, I have to ask you: how do you think telephone hold music is chosen? Certainly not because it's bad. I'll let you have a think about that. Hand in your answer after class. The problem is that this list of the thousand most important albums of all time just isn't in need of a jazz album from 1979. That's why the title track stands out the most to me (and, clearly, to everyone else): it fuses jazz with disco. And makes both genres sound significantly better in the process. It could almost belong on Steely Dan's Aja, if the instrumentation was a little more varied. The other five tracks shy away from the disco style and go all-in on major-7 keyboard chords, acoustic basslines, and crooning saxophone solos that make you want to lounge around instead of boogie. It's a bit of a letdown after that powerhouse of an opener, though Carnival Of The Night gets bonus points for its nifty bassline. The remaining songs are all good – no filler at all. Maybe the songwriting and melody are a bit lacking in places, but you can't deny this sounds great regardless. 4/5 Key tracks: Street Life, Carnival Of The Night

The opening sound was good but gpt repetitive. The rest of the album was nice background music. Overall- decent

Heeey het nummer street life ken ik wel! Dat si een gezellig nummer. Zie alleen wel dat het Jazz is... Dus hoop dat de rest van het album dan dezelfde 'Jazz' is als het eerste nummer - Street Life. Die overignes 11 minuten lang is hier. Nouja! Nou, na street life werd het wel echte jazz en viel mijn aandacht een beetje weg. Wel prima achtergrond muziek voor tijdens het werk. Maar verder een beetje slaapverwekkend. Al was het niet vervelend. Ik geef het 3 reten.

3,5/5. C'est vrai que ça ressemble un peu à de la musique de file d'attente mais en même temps, si la musique de file d'attente était toujours comme ça, je serais moins frustré d'attendre. Du jazz à mettre en musique de fond.

Did not care for the jazziness of this album, in my opinion it’s not worth a second listen.

Yes, it can seem obvious and broad (elevator music is too harsh given the skills of the players, which they feel no need to show off). In fact, the broadness makes it all the more subtle – or challenges the listener to hear the subtlety and nuance. But this is more or less exactly what one wants from smooth jazz (that unloved genre) – easygoing vibes, restrained and tasteful playing (guitar work is especially strong), mid-tempo swinging, and a sunny-bright tone that makes one want to calm down and perhaps even smile. If that's not an argument for adding more c-jazz to this list, then one wouldn't know what would be.

Mostly instru soul-funk. A bit boring. 3/5

Opening number was extremely strong. Thought we were on to something. The rest kind of fizzled, unfortunately. Still a fine listen

This is a very pleasant, very accessible jazz record. Pieces of pop without sacrificing too much of the true blue jazz elements. Don't know if this quite rises to a 4 for me, so we'll lay it down in the cellar as a 3.5 and see how it ages with time.

It's a pretty good example of a modern jazz album, but I don't know that it really stands out as an all timer

One song stands head and shoulders above the rest. It happens to be the only song with vocals. The instrumentals are pleasant background music, but nothing special.

Easy listening

Absolute bangers on here. Love Street life but had no idea who did it!

Old school porn jazz. Solid clarinet playing. The first song has a lot of soul to it and the others are good but more mellow.

Not quite 70s porn but close

Enjoyed this more tha. I expected

Loved this album, was listening to it while working. I think the music will fit better on a saturday night with some red wine🍷

Starting off with Street Life? Not fair. Automatic 5 stars. That funky bass kills, the jazzy backing textures lock in, and Randy Crawford’s voice seals it as pure soul. This isn’t background music, it’s music that demands attention. People who call instrumental grooves “elevator music” aren’t listening, they’re just waiting for a hook spoon-fed to them. Go back to radio pop if you can’t handle it. This track proves soul isn’t just about vocals; it’s about feel, groove, and presence. 9/10.

Super funky grooves but a few of the songs felt like they should have ended about 75 percent of the way through. Especially the first song.

Nice funky Jazz album.

R& B jazz mix lounge

Funky vibe

OK, I wanna know what companies people're calling that this — **this** — is hold music. First I saw people call Miles Davis's IN A SILENT WAY hold music, and now this? Some people, I tell yah. OK, OK, I don't wanna make this whole review a response to one other one I saw. But using that as a jumping off point to talk about this album... Within the first couple of seconds— hell, just listening to samples on Spotify, I could tell: this was something special. This has to be some of the smoothest, grooviest, most "screw up your face and shimmy yer shoulders" kinda jazz funk I've heard in a **while**. And I don't even know how much jazz funk I've ever heard, but this stuff is just phenomenal. Take the title track, for instance: it's eleven minutes, and I honestly wouldn't have minded if it'd gone on longer. It's so irresistible. And every other track on the album stands up just as well as that one does. I'm not even sure if this is an album where I really have too many words to say about it. It really speaks for itself, between the horns and bass and the small snatches of vocals that pop up... Not since HOT RATS have I heard a six-pack jazz album that's this tight and this much fun. Honest to goodness. I'd've much rather listened to this shit on hold than whatever tinny classical music I've actually heard get pumped through. If this is elevator music, hit the button; I'm staying there for an hour. This gets played in a supermarket, the people are gonna be dancin' in the aisles. This is some legit, prime cut, grade-A shit here. I really cannot hear the "muzak" in this that others are. Now, I'm not gonna act like this is jazz on the same level as IN A SILENT WAY was. It's got a lot of disco and R&B and funk in it — enough to where some have called it "jazz for people who don't like jazz." But fuck that. I love jazz, and I love this. This **is** jazz, any way you slice it. And it's fuckin' incredible. Seriously, if you're reading this review and you somehow haven't heard this album, give it a chance. Put it on and get damn **loose** to it. This is a great, fun album, and to anyone who says it isn't... Well, diff'rent strokes and all, but I will actively rebut it. Not to change their mind, but more to say that, yeah, I'd be more than glad to listen to this when I called the bank. Even if, like if they served me IN A SILENT WAY, it'd sound like ass comin' through whatever machine they have it on. (Seriously, why **does** hold music sound so tinny? Honestly now...)

Just some good ass R&B, simple as. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I mean, it’s obviously a 5. For as much as I wish the rest of the tracks here had a vocal presence after the excellent “Street Life” (which I’m amazed I’ve never heard before), I think this album’s groove works fine enough without them. Go ahead and look at all the musicians that played on this album on Wikipedia, and do a deep dive into alllll of the albums they’ve had a hand in. It's unbelievably prolific. This feels like listening to the “We Are The World” of session jazz musicians. I really don’t have anything else to say; the music speaks for itself. Even if you want to treat this as nothing more than call music or the stuff you hear when you’re watching a forecast on the Weather Channel, it’s the fucking best call music I’ve ever heard & the smoothest jazz to watch a weather radar to. 40 minutes of absolutely groovy bliss, and one of the best jazz fusion albums this list has given us; one hell of a feat given that we’re 613 days into this. A spectacular album.

Solid

Great and does not overstay it's welcome.

This is some awesome jazz

This was pretty damn good

hey that the song from the venture bros fav track: rodeo drive

Funky bass lines and incredible vocals kick this album off with Street Life, the titular track. Add in the other elements of your typical 70s disco, and this album sucks you in. Every instrument—be it the keyboard, guitar or saxophone—is allowed to have its moment in the spotlight, and none of them miss on this largely instrumental album.

“Too much confectionery, too rich: I choke on such nutritious images.” 1.5 The title track is very nice. I know it from somewhere (although certainly not 11 minutes of it). As for the rest, well…I held the line for half an hour, so my call couldn’t really have been important to them could it? 1.5/5

For some reason this gives me Earth Wind and Fire vibes, if EW&F were very toned down. I don't hate it but I also probably won't listen to this again.

Not a genre I enjoy

Fun jazzy album. 3

Anthemic.

Great! Even if a few songs were over 11 minutes

Zzzzzz

Reminded me a lot of smooth jazz

Great album

Chill soulful jazz.

This is perfectly fine album. It's a mix of disco’d-up jazz with a little funk and a little groove, but not much depth to really get lost in. It’s smooth and pleasant, making for solid elevator or background music more than an album you’d sit down and immerse yourself in.

LOVE. Wonderful R&B.

This is not my jam. Definitely sounded like background music.

Boring

Not really my kind of thing but well done. I would prefer all instrumentals and I generally blame them for helping to push 70's jazz into "Weather Channel" territory. I prefer their earlier records, where they aren't as smooth. But I can't listen to these guys without thinking about how their sax player Wilton Felder - an unremarkable horn player - was also a tier 1, all-time great electric bass player....and that there are not many Crusaders albums where he plays bass at all. I think he plays bass on three of the tunes on this album, which is more than most. You probably never heard of him on either instrument, but you know his bass playing. For example, go put on Jackson 5's I Want You Back right now and tell me he isn't a huge part of why you love that song - and wasn't always, whether you were aware of it or not. As a bass player who didn't put a name to those amazing bass lines until just a few years ago, I find the unfortunate allocation of his time and interest somewhat destabilizing. It's almost like knowing of Albert Einstein as a shitty violin player, only to discover years later that he was the dude behind all those physics. How much other greatness will the world never discover, due to weird priorities, bad judgement or just unfortunate circumstances? This is mainly what I think about when I'm listening to the Crusaders. Maybe we would have found peace and cured world hunger by now if everyone did a better job of identifying and pursuing their greatness...

Despite that this album apparently made it into various Top 20 charts in the US and UK, and apparently headlined the U.S. Jazz charts for 20 weeks, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit I've probably never heard anything from this album or The Crusaders in general. My initial impression was also that this was more easy-listening than jazz, but I'm no aficionado, and I'll admit that the title track seems like a strong inspiration for the likes of Jamiroquai, so I'm not entirely sure why this album didn't do much for me. But while it didn't really grab my attention, beyond maybe the tight sounds in "The hustler", it was also a very pleasant 40 minutes overall, which is far more than I can say for a number of other recent albums in this collection.

Felt like I was in an 80's movie montage, where it's night and the hero walks home along city streets and it's just rained so everything seems a little cleaner than it really is.

Fav: Rodeo Drive (High Steppin’) Least Fav: The Hustler I want more of this, NOW

Jazz-ish, but like smooth jazz that plays on the radio. Nice, pleasant to the ear, but nothing extraordinary.

À elle seule, la première chanson justifie la présence de cet album dans la liste.

I really loved this album. I have heard "Street Life" before- not the 11 minute version, and and have heard that song sampled by rap artists. The rest of the album is even better. Great bass playing, horns, organ, synth, this album a little of everything.

I have never really liked the title track. They're from Houston though so I'll cut them some slack. I like My Lady better than Street Life. It sounds like black Kenny G. Or high quality porno music. This album is the soundtrack to 80s Richard Pryor movies, all of them.

Genieten!

It starts off with a disco classic, “Street Life” that would be completely fine as the 2-3 minute pop song it was born to be, but at 11 minutes it is exhausting. There are lots of songs that are way too long, but this is just the same melody over and over. The lyrical content feels like an after school special from that era, don’t use drugs, and don’t be a sex worker, while rhyming “old” and “cold”. Which is a shame, because the smooth jazz/ yacht rock that comes after it is quite nice.

I'll come back to this one!

It's nice but a bit too smooth for my taste in that I don't particularly love this slower kind of jazz funk, I prefer something faster generally but I mean, if you like city pop you'll like this

groovy elevator

First song was a bit long and repetitive, but the rest was a joy. Pleasantly surprised! Fave song was Rodeo Drive (High Steppin’). Major CASIOPEA vibes.

nice

a lot of it sounded nice, but not a lot of it was super exceptional to me by any means. Loved the last song a lot

funningly Enjoyment Okay... Fav song: Street Life

I enjoyed this for the most part. Moved kinda slow, but didn't cross into boring territory at all. 3.5/5

I was not sure what to expect, but the first song was my favorite. I can definitely see this growing on me, although I wish there was more from the vocalist that is on the first track. 3 stars, with the potential for growth.

Corny overproduced elevator music.

Really enjoyed this one. Surprisingly I had never heard of this album, but knew as soon as I saw the title Street Life, I had heard a sample of this song in the past. And the chorus hit, and I was like… there it is. Good times all around!

2,1/5

Never heard of these guys before. I like it. I'll never complain about too much sax!! 4

nice georgen benson / funky soul easy listening. not amazing but good

From the first notes it’s clear that this will be a smooth melodic ride but insipid lyrics and some kitschiness ultimately did it in for me

Some great beats, good for background music. What's the average length of song on this album, like 6 minutes?! Lol

Legendary musicians and...Randy Crawford. This is just a terrific album.

pretty excellent

What happened to the female vocalist i want her over Carnival of the Night :(

Very pleasant but totally unchallenging listen. Apart from the title track pretty much all background music.

Impeccably played jazz funk, but to what end? The title track, the only one with vocals, puts you in a world of a late night in the big city, down on your luck or worse. The whole album feels very nocturnal, but the title track is the only song that makes full use of that feeling. The other tracks fade in and out without sounding all that differently, and while they sound good I can't call out anything that differentiates them from other jazz funk tracks. They mostly play it safe; the funk isn't that deep, the solos are short, the grooves nice but not challenging. I do like this, but there would never be a reason to put this on over similar albums.

Enjoyed this quick one. Would buy

3.5 Smoooth

Street Life

lovely little listen

love the combo of R&B and jazz

This is sick. I listened to it while walking around downtown Toronto and I swear I was struttin'. I'm a big fan of jazz funk fusion & disco, so this works really well for me. Not terribly memorable, but groovy AF enough for me to find a vinyl copy to throw on every now and then when the vibes are correct. 4/5

Street life title song is amazing

The lengthy title track is smooth and easy listening, somewhere between jazz and R&B. No surprise this was a bit of a crossover success. The female vocal and horns are generic sounding, but I don't dislike it. My Lady is much more interesting and largely instrumental. That ends up being the template for the rest of the album, although nothing was quite as good as My Lady. I do like how the last two tracks get a little darker and moodier. Curious album - it's all very listenable and I'd play it again, but at the same time I feel like I'm in the bar of a generic chain hotel.

The Street Life track was good, but the other ones without lyrics sounds like porno soundtrack. Still better than most of the shit that plays on the radio these days tho...

Great background music - it caught my ears a few times throughout.

3.0 - Ok

8/10

This is a beautiful album! I would say the first half is a bit better than the second half. Street Life is a gorgeous song even if it is quite a bit repetative and about twice as long as it needed to be.

Would make great background music in a film but not something I'd choose to listen to on its own.

never knowingly interesting

Very chill and jazzy, as The Crusaders do. Nothing groundbreaking about this one, but it's nice to listen to. Smooth Jazz has never been my favorite, but it's not the worst. This one has good vibes throughout and is an easy listen.

Nothing super special. A good mix of soul and jazz.

I liked this, mostly because it sounds just like the jazz I listen to when I have to get stuff done at work. 4/5

Peaks at the start, but the rest is still a nice listen.

Cool jazzy rock vibe with lots of good solos and grooves.

Another time capsule album

A good groove, but not something I would go back and listen to again.

Some say this is just generic elevator/call hold music, I say it's more like the music The Weather Channel used for Weather on the 1s, todays high will be 94° with a 6mph wind coming from the north

Loved it!

Ordinary

Nice

Enjoyed this album a little more than the other jazz ones ive listened to so far because it had some pretty nice vocals! still, 39 mins for 6 songs is a lot. Enjoyable! 3.75

Apropos for an album on which the title track has been appropriated for Tarantino's famous "hangout movie," this is hangout music; it's generally pleasant and it's reasonably evocative and it's totally fine if nothing much sticks in your memory afterwards.

Ooh jazzy and I think I heard a loyle carner sample? Good background music for me

#31 Street Life ~ The Crusaders The Crusaders made their name through crafting a taste of pop, jazz and disco without being really offensive to any one of those genres. So in the end, what you just have is something that sounds pretty nice but without anything really punchy or flashy in any way. In other words, background music that didn't aim to be background music in the first place. The highlight and only track worth really listening to is the title track, which I do recommend. The rest is pretty ersatz watered down chicken stuffing.

The Crusaders always made decent music, but it was always very close smooth jazz (and sometimes plainly it). That's not bad, but as a genre that is basically only background stuff by definition nothing you need to listen to. Everyone on this album knows "Street Life". It's a great song. The other stuff is less memorable. If I had to choose an album, I would've used their comeback work "Rural Renewal". But even that is not something you really need to know to be honest.

Sounds like the soundtrack to a late 70s/early 80s dramadey that was beloved by critics but didn't hit with audiences. Not bad overall.

Love me some Crusaders, but my preference is for their earlier work, most everything from prior to this release as they transitioned from The Jazz Crusaders to The Crusaders. Still some nice tracks here, the title track being a favorite.

Now this is what I’m talking about! This is definitely better than the last album I got. When I got the album and saw that it was a jazz band, I was dreading listening to it. I thought it was going to be as forgettable as the last one. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out this one had more funk and R&B influences. The titled track feels like a progressive soul track, clocking in at 11 minutes and 28 seconds. This is the only song on the album with lyrics, sung by Randy Crawford, and it’s just a really catchy tune. There are other songs I liked on. here, like Rodeo Drive(High Steppin’) and Carnival of The Night. These are the songs where Wilton, Joe, and Stix(on saxophone, keyboard, and drums respectively) really get their chance to shine, with some really good, funky instrumentals. The album kind of sags in the latter half, where the last songs kind of blend together, but overall, not a bad album, and maybe it’ll help build up my tolerance for jazz.

“Street Life” is a terrific if overly long Jazz/Funk/R&B groove. The rest of the album is easy listening jazz, with the best tracks (“Carnival Of The Night”) retaining some of those funk stylings. The weakest tracks are the definition of elevator music - pleasantly inoffensive but offering nothing.

Yo this album bangs. Really love the title track, and it sets the mood for the rest of the album that comes with it. It holds on to the atmosphere it creates.

🐣🤷‍♂️

Bom pra fazer algo enquanto ouve, estudar, ler, jogar ...4!

It was good background music, only a couple songs really stood out to me though

Decent album, great first song

So so.

You ever think "damn, this elevator music slaps" and then forget about it two minutes later? That's this album, and I'm kinda here for it. That said, if I were stuck in an elevator for 39 minutes I'd get sick of the music pretty quickly, which is how I felt about halfway through listening to this.

Elevator jazz

leeepo

2 or 3. Probably a 3. Bland with some interesting moments

I need to write smaller reviews. These things are taking up too much time in terms of thinking and writing. I like this album. It's quite enjoyable to my ears. The Crusaders have this nice jazz fusion style that I like a lot. I'm starting to learn that jazz fusion is something that I really love. This is probably one of the weaker jazz fusion albums I've heard, but I still like it. Of course, the opening title track is the album's highlight, but the songs that follow aren't bad. The instrumentation gets a little repetitive, but I enjoy how it sounds so I don't care. The top word on this album's page on the website is "smooth" which seems about right. This album is smooth and good. Light 4/5.

Kind of cheesy smooth jazz

sad sax

Muy buen álbum. Un tanto repetitivo para mi gusto, aspecto que se hace notar sobre todo en el primer track, puesto que dura 11 minutos y se vuelve un poco tedioso. En el resto de los temas saben generar variaciones o momentos de solo que enriquecen la repetición. El álbum tiene una combinación ideal entre jazz y funk, el groove en cada tema es excelente. La grabación es muy clara y definida.

Chill vibes, god stemning

I don't really enjoy jazz and 11 minutes is way too long for an opening track. The rest of the album is just Jazz instrumentals. No thanks

⭐️⭐️⭐️

80s pop.

Smooth, I like it

solid jazz

nope. No like this bland easy-listening stuff. ⭐

Not bad at all, I enjoyed this one all the way through. It's not the best jazz album on this list, but I would never complain about listening to it.

love the cozy 70s sound of the synths and guitars as well he relaxed jazzy sound . took me on a crusaders listening expedition. 4

# 513 : Street Life it wasn't bad, I don't love, I don't hate it. Am I glad I listened to this? I suppose, Except I can't drink Scotch or smoke cigars at work so the atmosphere was lost. Did I enjoy it? In parts. Will I come back to it? Doubtful. Listened : 30/06/2025

This album, while very pleasant to listen to, feels like the extended end credits of an 80s TV show. I would call this genre "progressive elevator music". This isn't an insult, the music is very nice and enjoyable. It's kinda fantastic background music for a party no on has anymore and that is sad.

Just when I was thinking that 70s funk can't go wrong, I have found The Crusaders. Boring album, not so good vocal, and just okay bass lines. Quite disappointing and forgettable experience.

decent album. The first song was very good and the instrumental songs after that were pretty good.

The title track really bumps up the album as a whole. The rest of the album is pretty safe jazz-lite, but the title track is killer.

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING THE SMOOTH JAZZ I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED.

Pretty good blend of sounds

Late-night show music. You know, those wet fart sounds from Paul Shaffer and the like. Music for announcers to introduce tonight’s guests. I bet they know music theory.

Amazing first track. Rest blends into muzakky background noise

Ain’t no questioning what a cool smooth tune Street Life is & there ain’t no questioning what an incredible bunch of musicians this band was. But unfortunately for me, aside Street Life I could’ve been listening to music whilst eating breakfast in an above average hotel.

An 11 minute version of street life? Yes please! Very funny coincidence, I got this album from Jenny's aunt last month, I played it for the first time last week and loved it. I cleaned it last night in the record cleaner, so you can imagine my surprise when this album popped up this morning. Really great music. Love it! 3.5 stars if I could, but I can't! so 3

I really dislike the alto saxophone

Smooth and soothing.

Casually virtuosic easy-listening jazz snapped into bleak majesty by the melody, phrasing and force of Randy Crawford’s voice: “Street Life” is the masterpiece that brings us here, the following five a bubbly, forgettable afterparty.

My Week of 3s ends on a pleasant note. Yes (as many others observe here), much of this is close to hold music, but it captures its point in time very well; evocative of being on hold with a travel agent while using an off-white rotary phone. Randy Crawford carries the highlight - if you like her superb voice go listen to "Almaz" and thank me later.

Good stuff, not necessarily their best (IMHO), but still a great album.

Groovy album. I watched Sharky's Machine back in the early 80's so I've heard Street Life at least once. You throw this on Saturday night with a fireplace going and your significant other will know your intentions are getting naked. Killer late 70's smooth jazz album.

This was more fun than I expected. Inoffensive, funky jazz, great background music.

Never heard of this band until today. Too bad! The title track is GREAT sounds like Michael Jackson doing the vocals and so catchy- I'll be hearing it in my head for the rest of the week! Fine by me! The rest of the album isn't nearly as good, but the title song alone makes this album 100% worth getting anyways! It's not bad I just don't much care for jazz fusion except for maybe half a dozen albums.

I feared the worst on the album opener until the vocal’s kicked in and lifted it to become a really strong groove of a tune…..but then it refused to end. Track 2 sounds like the theme to an American tv show from the 70/80s snd just lacks the ‘filmed before a live studio audience’ announcement. Unfortunately that the highlights as the album continues into not unpleasant forgetableness

The highlight is “Street Life”, but there was no need for it to be 11mins long. The rest of the album was all instrumental - something which, thanks to this project, I’m learning I don’t really like. Especially in this case, as I felt like I was listening to the sort of music you’d hear in the lobby of a hotel.

The album version of Street Life (the song) does not need to be 11 minutes long. The single version of Street Life (the song) clocks in at nearer 4 minutes and is excellent. Too much of a good thing. As for the rest of the album, I listened to it on a warm but breezy walk to work and something about the sun and the fact it's a good walking tempo meant I really enjoyed it. Weirdly though, I listened to it again after work and was far less enthusiastic. So where that leaves me is at is wanting a 2.5, but being forced into giving a: 2/5 Side note: Amazon Music described The Crusaders as playing "hard bop" which is a frankly excellent genre name.

Street Life is an absolute banger. It's a shame the rest of the album is devoid of vocals, because they clearly have it. That said, the rest of the album is a chilled and groovy time. 3.5 rounded down.

Fun listen at points but largely ok.

Very smooth and easy. Really made me want to be in 70s LA or NY. Felt like it could be the soundtrack to something - an adult film, or some kind of car chase. Good vibes.

For real, the inclusion of this album makes me need to read how the author of the list made his choices. Everybody must listen to elevator music before they die? I suppose it is a genre…

Really enjoyed this album. Already familiar with Street Life but did not realise about the other instrumentals. In particular liked 'My Lady'. Perfect album for a summer's evening walk.

Jazz, R&B, and soul music greats Joe Sample and Larry Carlton were more or less at the end of a long run of popularity in 1979 when "Street Life" was released. Personally, I think I hear their fingerprints on Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs. This album would be welcome on a lazy Sunday playlist.

3/5

More funk. Love the sound

Pop jazz

Streetlife is an incredible song. INCREDIBLE

Oikein rattoisa ja mukava jazz albumi

fun jazzy jazzy time!! listening while getting ready for bed. tmr is the last day of classes for my sophomore year of college and i’ve been almost exclusively listening to the mountain goats so this is fun :) very repetitive but easy to listen to

Smooth jazz disco R&B. The title track was a nasty bait and switch with some excellent vocals and I was looking forward to the singing, but the rest of the record was instrumental. It all worked out fine, and this album gets the "made me dance" bonus, so 4 stars

not my type

Anytime I listen to jazz, my wife asks if I’m listening to elevator music. This time she was right.

fun

Good

I have never really thought too highly with most jazz albums on this list due to a lot of them just being overly boring and forgettable but there have been a fair few standouts with Street Life easily being one of them. There wasn't anything too out of the ordinary with this album with it mostly just sticking to the basics of jazz but it handles those basics super well. The music is mainly the best part of the album with it being so funky yet so relaxing at the same time. The vocals (when they were used) were also very well done too. Also, this album is one of the few jazz albums on this project that never felt bloated. This is easily one of the better jazz albums i have heard. Best Song: Street Life Worst Song: Carnival Of The Night

2/5

Not my thing

Not my thing. Got bored by the end.

Some easy-on-the-ears late-70s jazz/soul fusion.

Some great jamming on this album. clean production and definitely quality

Glorified elevator music, but I wouldn’t mind being in that elevator. Some real groovy parts, but not something I’d listen to again.

Feel like I'm in JCPenny dressing room trying on school clothes

lively background music

Okay this was cool. Smooth jazz without being elevator music

The jazz portion of the program wasn't bad. Disco was meh...

This album replicates the type of "Cosmopolitan sound" that I imagine when I think of cocktail bars, a great experience.

Good but each song just feels too long

This was funky and fun. I listened whilst good through security at an airport and tapped my feet all the way through. The opener was a banger

This was a lot of funk dealt out while having my coffee this morning.

This was elevator music, but decent elevator music

cute funky vibes. i really liked "carnival of the night"

4.4/this was really good! the grooves had me really enjoying the album. would be a 9 out of 10 if i could do that

Too much saxophone!!! The Saxophone, aka the Sean Connery of musical instrumentats. In the late '90's and early 2000's there was this belief that any crappy movie could be made better if only Sean Connery was in it. Studios figured this out and it worked for a bit until audiences eventually realized that Sean Connery equals suckfest, making him redundant and leaving us with movies like LXG. In the '80's the same thing happened with the saxophone and well, nothing blows like the saxophone.

I recognize the title track of “Street Life” from the underrated Quentin Tarantino movie “Jackie Brown.” I prefer the re-recorded, sped up, and not 11 minute long version from the movie, but it is still the best part of The Crusaders’ “Street Life.” That’s mainly because the rest of the album is instrumental, and while some of the playing is pretty good, it’s nothing that stands out.

Other than the title track, this is dinner party music that you put on because it’s pleasantly uninteresting.

Fine as background music.

I believe that is Randy Crawford getting out of the car in the background on the cover. The band are chuckling among themselves because they have already completed most of the recording session without her. "Sorry love, we only need you for one track now - but we've padded it out to 11 minutes, so it won't be a wasted journey for you..." Wow, these guys really were on a crusade - not a single track under five minutes in length here. If nothing else, they've helped me figure out why I hate (with a few notable exceptions) the saxophone so much. The bendy sex whistle is rarely (and, as I said, there are exceptions) a constructive accompaniment for other musical elements - it is usually only ever some twat soloing away like his life depends on it. It's just immediately pretentious by its very nature. Yuk. Late 70s, disco-adjacent jazz, it's slick and groovy but a bit soulless... nothing particularly offensive here, except for the sax overload, but just really just isn't my cup of tea and so is marked accordingly.

First track was a groove… the rest was forgettable.

There is nothing wrong with this record, but the instrumental songs for me are just like pleasant background music. The first song/title track took me back to my college disco days and I genuinely enjoyed this song due to the addition of vocals, but it ran too long at eleven plus minutes…perhaps it was meant for the discos back in the day. Anyway, this is another 3 star album for me.

Good light jazz, very 80s.

Wow! I was not aware of them until now. My loss!

Nah.

Cracking opening track. The rest sounds a bit dated but still has some nice touches of jazz, funk and soul. Not a bad album but not really very original

drei bis vier

2/5. It's a jazz jam band and although there are some fun, disco-esque melodies here, I am just not feeling the funk of it all. Like it's chill and that's about it. It doesn't give me a want to repeat this specific album, it feels like they are part of a larger playlist of the same genre. It's just a step from elevator music, even the title track is kind of eh, despite it's popularity. I wouldn't say it's terrible, the musicianship is good, so it's got that going for it, but not much else. Best Song: Street Life, Carnival Of The Night

Shades of all the reasons I never went to a disco in the 70s. Overplayed, sigh...

An enjoyable listen, but little more. Could vibe great in a Persona soundtrack.

Started off with a great long funk song which was definitely my favourite of the album and went off into full jazz awesomeness, definitely not the best jazz I’ve heard (a little too simplified maybe) but still really good throughout, not a bad song on here. Favourites: street life, my lady, carnival of the night. But really all of the songs I could consider my favourites. Overall 7/10.

Some nice vocals from randy some forgettable tracks from the band. .

Smooth and funky

title track remains killer (i only knew it from the version on the jackie brown soundtrack) but the rest is a little too cool jazz for me.

Fizzles out from Disco to Jazz, not that I neccesarily prefer the former to the latter.

Ooooo yes, am loving this horn! Smoothy, funky jazz. Very nice.

★★★½

Ligera decepción. Pensaba encontrarme con media hora increíble de funk y soul, y la primera canción sí lo tiene, empieza potentísima, pero de pronto se comienza a alargar y alargar y cuando la canción lleva más de 10 minutos uno dice ok, ya. Y las 5 canciones restantes son todas instrumentales, muy ligeronas onda bar de sanborns, y la verdad no fue ni de lejos el álbum que esperaba. Pero bueno, supongo que en su época tuvo sus seguidores.

1st song kinda drags on for too long, but the rest is pretty dang groovy & chill.

What an opening track! A bit sad that there was not more singing on the record because this is the kind of voice you want to listen to and hear more from! But damn that record was so groovy! I can imagine listening to this while driving through the night. That saxophone was amazing. This album is a whole mood as they say these days!

Saboroso. Não tem muito o que dizer. To percebendo uma coisa com esse site. Quando um álbum não tem quase nada escrito na Wikipedia, é porque realmente não tem muito o que falar sobre. Vai ser algo middle of the road. Bom, as vezes vai atingir momentos ótimos, mas nunca vai passar disso. Não vai mudar sua vida, e não vai revolucionar nada. Ninguém vai dizer que Street Life dos Crusaders foi a sua maior inspiração. Mas novamente, um ótimo disco, agradável e brilhantemente produzido. 3/5

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Nicholson Baker somewhere describes listening to a late-70s jam fade out at the end of an album track and thinking that the producer wanted you to have the sense that they were just going to keep playing all night. This is like that.

Elevator music from my childhood....one thing I'm not nostalgic about.

I miss a lot of things about the 70s but smooth jazz, or whatever you call this, is not one of them.

The most "music for brunch" record I've ever heard. But, would go well with scrambled eggs.

The jazz run continues , I enjoyed this a ton The title track is beautiful and my lady follows great. Def heading to the jazz folk work day playlist

love the arrangements, could do without the singing

It’s alright. 3 stars.

Never heard of it. nice enough....but no idea why it's essential. 3 Stars

The Crusaders are a new revelation to me. I love this kind of stuff. It's perhaps a bit on the generic side at times, but so am I.

Album 759 of 1089 The Crusaders - Street Life (1979) Rating : 3.5/ 5 Great album. Nice mix of jazz, R&B, and disco. Quite enjoyable. Recommended.

Solid jazz funk album, but not quite up to Steely Dan's standards.

I cannot believe that Street Life, whose refrain I have heard before, is more than 11 minutes long. That's a quarter of the whole album, and I think it could have done all it needed to in 3 minutes. However, the rest of the album is so bad that it feels like they had no other choice. They knew this was the one good (or better) track, and the rest feels like filler, honest-to-goodness filler, wasting time to hit the minimum length to release an album. Each smooth-jazz track toddles about for a bit, then goes away. It's very, very bland to the extent that I was gritting my teeth to get through this. Other listeners comparisons to phone queue on-hold or elevator muzak are very apt. Who listens to this for pleasure in their own time?

It's kind of a smooth jazz album, with hints of disco and other styles. The first track is the popular one and has vocals. The rest is heavy on instrumentals.

While there weren't any individual songs that would drive me to revisit this, I do wonder how this would play at an evening backyard BBQ... I bet it would create a cool vibe.

Glad to be exposed to more (largely) instrumental music in a genre (disco jazz?) I wouldn't typically be exposed to. Ultimately not too memorable tho, but also not a painful listen.

Love that opener, but it’s too repetitive. The rest of this is enjoyable, but not exceptional.

Das Album Street Life von den Crusaders wurde 1979 veröffentlicht und in den Hollywood Sound Recorders sowie den Total Experience Studios in Los Angeles aufgenommen. Die Gruppe stammt aus den USA und war zuvor unter dem Namen The Jazz Crusaders aktiv. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album zwischen Jazz-Funk, Soul und Pop. Der bekannteste Titel ist der über zehn Minuten lange Song „Street Life“, gesungen von Randy Crawford, der sich als stilprägend erwiesen hat. Weitere markante Stücke sind „My Lady“ und „Night Faces“, die die stilistische Bandbreite der Band zeigen – von rhythmisch treibenden Passagen bis hin zu eher zurückgenommenen, melodischen Parts. Die Produktion ist klar strukturiert und lässt den einzelnen Instrumenten Raum. Die musikalische Handschrift der Crusaders bleibt über das gesamte Album hinweg erkennbar. Ein insgesamt homogenes Werk, das sowohl den Anspruch von Jazz-Hörern als auch das Bedürfnis nach eingängigen Arrangements bedient.

So I'm not the biggest jazz fan in the world but I can appreciate it. My goal with this one was to let it roll and soak it all in. I dont really have any standouts on this one; the album as a whole is nice to listen to and all the musicians are of course very good. Jazz kinda blends together for me and I like the experience but picking out one song from another is a little harder on something like this than albums from most other genres. I enjoyed listening to the album in the moment but this kind of stuff I don't see myself actively trying to revisit, which puts this at a 2/5 for me. It makes for very good background music when trying to get stuff done though. All in all, for me, this was a slightly below average, but enjoyable listen.

Surprisingly appealing even though I'm not a fan of jazz. Maybe a little simple and repetitive?

Sorry I got bored

Fairly entertaining, I enjoyed the radio edit of the first song a lot..

I kind of liked the first song. But this kind of jazz makes me anxious.