Anyone who has seen AWB in concert over the past few years knows that, more than 30 years into their careers, these guys still put on a great show. And the limited edition CD Soul & the City nicely summarizes a fairly typical AWB concert at New York’s B.B. King’s club. Probably the biggest surprise to listeners is the full sound that the five-man band puts out. Saxman player Fred Vigdor sounds like an entire horn section, and the group’s signature rhythm section is absolutely hot on well known and not-so-well-known cuts as "Cut the Cake," "When Will You Be Mine" and "McEwan’s Export." While it includes many of the group’s biggest hits, too many of them are missing for Soul & the City to be a substitute for either of the group’s Greatest Hits albums. It is, however, a great addition to their discography that displays a number of classic AWB cuts in a live context and shows the group sounding as good in 2006 as it did in 1976. Recommended.
By Chris Rizik
