Reach Out! (Rudy Van Gelder Edition)

"This was one of the few times Hank Mobley left behind driving, aggressive hard bop, choosing to concentrate on lightly grooving bop and soul-jazz instead. Essentially, the session resulted in the most commercially oriented record he made, complete with two pop covers ("Reach Out (I'll Be There)," "Goin' Out of My Head") and a laidback, swinging vibe. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but the band -- an impressive lineup of Woody Shaw (trumpet, flugelhorn), George Benson (guitar), Lamont Johnson (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums) -- sounds constrained by the material and their desire to make the music appeal to a wide audience. In fact, Mobley's presence on the record feels strangely minimal. Only during "Good Pickin's" -- a laidback bop original that's easily the best thing here -- does he come alive, weaving a spell with long, liquid lines, but its subtle grace just illustrates the problems with this curiously bland record." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic)