This was Blakey's first album for
Blue Note in several years, after a period of recording for a number of different labels, and marked both a homecoming and a fresh start. Originally the
LP was self-titled, but the instant popularity of the
bluesy opening track, "
Moanin'," composed by pianist
Bobby Timmons, led to its becoming known by that title.
Composition The rest of the originals are by saxophonist
Benny Golson (who was not with the Jazz Messengers for long, this being the only U.S. album on which he is featured). "Are You Real?" is a propulsive 32-bar piece with a four-bar tag, featuring two-part writing for Golson and trumpeter
Lee Morgan. "Along Came Betty" is a more lyrical, long-lined piece, almost serving as the album's ballad. "The Drum Thunder Suite" is a feature for Blakey, in three movements: "Drum Thunder"; "Cry a Blue Tear"; and "Harlem's Disciples". "
Blues March" calls on the feeling of the
New Orleans marching bands, and the album finishes on its only
standard, an unusually brisk reading of "
Come Rain or Come Shine". Of the originals on the album, all but the "Drum Thunder Suite" became staples of the Messengers book, even after Timmons and Golson were gone. Recorded by
Rudy Van Gelder in his meticulous
Hackensack studios, this recording reflects the hallmark precision associated with that engineer – on the 1999 CD reissue there is a brief conversation between Lee Morgan and Rudy Van Gelder going over Morgan's solo.
Influence A
vocalese version of "Moanin'" was later written by
Jon Hendricks and recorded by his group
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Hendricks sang the song on the 1973 Prestige Records album "Buhaina" (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers). Other versions include jazz vocalists
Mel Tormé,
Bill Henderson and
Karrin Allyson. ==Reception==