The Spice of Life (Earl Klugh album)

The Spice of Life
Studio album by Earl Klugh
Released	April 28, 2008 (2008-04-28)
Genre	Smooth jazz, instrumental pop
Label	Koch Records
Producer	Earl Klugh
Earl Klugh chronology
Naked Guitar (2005) The Spice of Life (2008) HandPicked (2013)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Washington Post	(favourable) [2]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette	[3]

The Spice of Life is a smooth jazz studio album by Earl Klugh released in April 2008. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

Critical reception

Mark Keresman of Allmusic, in a 3.5/5 stars review, claimed, "Smooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh’s SPICE OF LIFE shows that he hasn’t lost any of his mellow flair...Variety, in this case, is the SPICE OF LIFE--Klugh effortlessly mixes straight-up jazz (a Thelonious Monk classic getting a Brazilian makeover), romantic R&B, chilled-out balladry, pop, and a touch of funk." ^[9]

Rick Nowlin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in a 4/4 stars review, praised the album saying, "I've listened to a lot of the Detroit-born-and-bred acoustic guitarist, over the past three decades, both live and on record, and I must admit I've never heard him sound this good...I can only saw WoW." ^[3]

Track listing

1. "Ocean Blue" - 5:10
2. "Sleepyhead" - 5:09
3. "Canadian Sunset" - 5:34
4. "Venezuelan Nights" - 2:35
5. "Driftin'" - 3:48
6. "Snap!" - 4:41
7. "Bye Ya" - 3:59
8. "Heart of My Life" - 4:14
9. "Morning in Rio" - 5:27
10. "C'est si bon" - 4:53
11. "Lucy's World" - 3:49
12. "My Foolish Heart" - 6:18
13. "The Toy Guitar" - 2:36

Charts

Album – Billboard ^[10]

Year	Chart	Position
2008	Top Contemporary Jazz	4
2009	Jazz Albums	8

References

1. Keresman, Mark. "EarlKlugh - The Spice of Life". Allmusic.
2. Joyce, Mike (April 10, 2009). "CD Review - Earl Klugh 'The Spice of Life'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
3. Nowlin, Rick (August 23, 2008). "for the record". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 59.
4. "The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". Los Angeles, CA, USA: National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
5. "Michigan Musicians To Headline Grand Hotel's Jazz Weekend". The Mackinac Island Town Crier . Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
6. Chapman, Gray (15 June 2008). "Groovin' with Earl Klugh". The Sunday Paper . Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
7. "Jazz Listings". The New York Times . New York, USA: 29 July 2010. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
8. Budzak, Gary (26 September 2009). "Smooth-jazz guitarist holds own with brassy CJO". The Columbus Dispatch . Columbus, Ohio, USA. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
10. "Earl Klugh - Billboard Albums". allmusic . Retrieved 2 October 2010.