1982 Bob James – Hands Down
Hands Down is the tenth studio album by Bob James, released in 1982. This was a turning point in James career, with the tracks “It’s Only Me” and “Spunky” being early exponents of electronic jazz. At the time electronica was transforming popular music in reaction to the big orchestrations of the late 1970s (prevalent on James’ previous works). The minimalist tastes of the era were also reflected in “Roberta”, which mostly featured James in a piano solo.
The track “Shamboozie” is sampled by rapper Rakim on the track “Guess Who’s Back” from his 1997 debut album The 18th Letter.
Tracks
1 Spunky (Bob James ) 07:01
2 Macumba (Rod Temperton; Bob James ) 05:13
3 Shamboozie (Bob James ) 05:19
4 Janus (Bob James ) 05:52
5 Roberta (Mike Lawrence ) 06:52
6 It’s Only Me (Bob James ) 05:22
Musicians
1 Spunky
| Bass | Gary King |
| Drums | Harvey Mason Sr |
| Fender Rhodes | Bob James |
| Synthesizer | Bob James |
| Percussion | Leonard Gibbs |
2 Macumba
| Bass | Gary King |
| Bass (synthesizer) | Bob James |
| Drums | JR Robinson |
| Drums (programming) | Bob James |
| Guitar | Steve Khan |
| Fender Rhodes | Bob James |
| Synthesizer | Bob James |
| Lyricon | Rob Zante |
| Trombone | Jim Pugh |
| Trombone | Dave Taylor |
| Trumpet | Jon Faddis |
| Trumpet | Mike Lawrence |
| Trumpet | Ron Tooley |
| Woodwinds | Eddie Daniels |
| Woodwinds | Wally Kane |
| Woodwinds | George Marge |
| Woodwinds | Whit Sidener |
| Percussion | Leonard Gibbs |
| Vocals | Patti Austin |
| Vocals | Vivian Cherry |
3 Shamboozie
| Bass | Marcus Miller |
| Drums | JR Robinson |
| Guitar | Steve Khan |
| Synthesizer | Bob James |
| Sax | Jay Beckenstein |
| Trombone | Jim Pugh |
| Trombone | Dave Taylor |
| Trumpet | Jon Faddis |
| Trumpet | Mike Lawrence |
| Trumpet | Ron Tooley |
| Woodwinds | Eddie Daniels |
| Woodwinds | Wally Kane |
| Woodwinds | George Marge |
| Woodwinds | Whit Sidener |
| Percussion | Leonard Gibbs |
4 Janus
| Bass | Doug Stegmeyer |
| Drums | Liberty DeVitto |
| Acoustic Guitar | David Brown |
| Piano | Bob James |
| Synthesizer | Bob James |
| Sax | Eddie Daniels |
| Percussion | Leonard Gibbs |
5 Roberta
| Bass | Gary King |
| Drums | Harvey Mason Sr |
| Piano | Bob James |
| Trombone | Wayne Andre |
| Trombone | Jim Pugh |
| Trombone | Dave Taylor |
| Trumpet | Mike Lawrence |
| Trumpet | Randy Brecker |
| Trumpet | Jon Faddis |
| Trumpet | John Frosk |
| Trumpet | Marvin Stamm |
| Woodwinds | Mark Colby |
| Woodwinds | Eddie Daniels |
| Woodwinds | George Marge |
6 It’s Only Me
| Bass (synthesizer) | Bob James |
| Drums (programming) | Bob James |
| Piano | Bob James |
| Synthesizer | Bob James |
Other Musicians
Strings – Alfred Brown, Barry Finclair, Charles McCracken, Elena Barere, Emanuel Vardi, Gerald Tarack, Jan Mullen, John Pintavalle, Jonathan Abramowitz, Joseph Rabushka, LaMar Alsop, Lewis Eley, Marvin Morgenstern, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Richard Locker, Richard Sortomme, Theodore Israel, Warren Lash (Track 5)
Liner Notes
Producer – Bob James
Co-producer– Joe Jorgensen
Arranged By – Bob James
Engineer – Bruce Robbins, Chaz Clifton, Marc Chusid, Nancy Byers, Wayne Warnecke
Mastered By – Vlado Meller
Mixed By – Joe Jorgensen
Recorded By – Joe Jorgensen
Mastered At CBS Studios, New York
Mixed At Mediasound
Recorded At A&R Studios
Recorded At CBS Studios, New York
Recorded At Mediasound
Recorded At Sound Mixers
Recorded At Minot Sound
Phonographic Copyright (p) CBS Inc
Copyright (c) CBS Inc