Product Description
Release date 01/01/68
1. Life Could
2. Teach Me How To Fly
3. V.I.P.
4. Let Them Talk
5. I Took A Ride (Caravan)
6. Aladdin
7. Magical World
8. I Must Be There
9. I Feel Sorry
10. Paper Castle
Aladdin was Rotary Connections second and in my opinion, best album. It was also one of it's least popular (go figure). It's been impossible to find album art - I can't even copy my original record album cover as it was lost in a flood. It turns out it's not just me, the Texas Pop Fest. web site has the following plea, "Note: Rotary Connection's Sidney Barnes told me a sad story. He has absolutely no pictures of the band playing on stage- not just at the Texas Pop Festival, ..."
Once again as you listen to this album keep in mind that RC had an organ player, but no synthesizer, in most cases that's Minnie Ripperton and her five octive range you hear whaling away in the background.
VIP and Let Them Talk help to explain why RC was so popular in local concerts. Along with the drums, they had a percussionist who was part performance artist. In concert they didn't have the strings for backup, so the percussionist created excitement pounding on a large assortment of african drums. You'd get exhausted just watching him. On Let Them Talk you can hear some of Ripperton's vocal gymnastics, but it's only hint of what she could do live.
TheScribe56
FROM Answers.com
Aladdin ushered in a bigger and bolder Rotary Connection. The proper follow-up to their debut is also more streamlined and less scatterbrained without shedding the limitless approach that made its predecessor such an intrepid undertaking. Crisp drum breaks, punching horns, and soaring strings are all a part of Rotary Connection's fusion of rock and soul, which shows a greater degree of focus and a decreased reliance on psychedelic flourishes here. This is all for the better and the worse. With less studio indulgences, some of the songs are lacking in character; however, the developments often make for a more confident and powerful sound, and Charles Stepney's string arrangements -- the group's most valuable asset after the voice of Minnie Riperton -- cut clear through these songs, alternately supporting with luster and leading with dramatic force. The most pleasing development is the more frequent presence of Riperton, whose lead turn during the verses on "I Took a Ride" is so endearingly soft, bewitching, and elegant that the slightly tacky chorus (during which several other voices kick in) does little to diminish her performance. The opening "Life Could" is one of the group's best quasi-Broadway numbers, full of seismic shifts of sound that include everything from squealing guitars to massive drum/horn combinations to trilling flutes to dynamic string tugs. Aladdin might not be as solid as its predecessor, but it's a step forward. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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