Are You Glad to Be in America? is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer, recorded in 1980 and released on the Rough Trade label in the UK. It was mixed by Ulmer, Geoff Travis, Roger Trilling, and Mayo Thompson. A remixed version, credited to Ulmer and Bob Blank, with a different running order and new cover art, was released by the Artists House label in the US in 1981.James "Blood" Ulmer discography accessed January 12, 2018 The album was released on CD with a new third mix by Joe Ferla, but the original running order, and with a new cover design featuring a recent photo of Ulmer, on the Japanese DIW label in 1995.
Critical reception
The AllMusic review by Nathan Bush stated: "Shards of jazz, rock, funk, and surf guitar are shuffled together and unfurl in frenetic lines. At times the rhythms are too rigid and the results sound like an experiment from which the musicians are trying to break free. At best, the individuals lose themselves in a highly charged dialogue".Bush, N. [ AllMusic Review] accessed July 9, 2010
Trouser Press describes Are You Glad to Be in America? as an "exceptionally fine" album that "reveals a staggering understanding of the roots of jazz, dance music, Eastern polyrhythms and harmolodic textures in a lively sound mix.... [T]he music fairly crackles."
Track listing (original Rough Trade LP and remixed Japanese CD) All compositions by James Blood Ulmer "Layout" – 5:02 "Pressure" – 3:48 "Interview" – 3:06 "Jazz Is the Teacher (Funk Is the Preacher)" – 4:19 "See-Through" – 3:50 "Time Out" – 5:19 "T.V. Blues" – 4:32 "Light Eyed" – 3:56 "Revelation March" – 3:18 "Are You Glad to Be in America?" – 4:37 Recorded at RCA Studios, New York City, on January 17, 1980.
Personnel James Blood Ulmer – guitar, vocals David Murray – tenor saxophone Oliver Lake – alto saxophone Olu Dara – trumpet Billy Patterson (Spaceman Patterson) – rhythm guitar (track 4) Amin Ali – electric bass G. Calvin Weston, Ronald Shannon Jackson – drums
References