Released: May 1971
This double album was put out just two months after Search and Nearness (B). Artists released albums much quicker back in the day, but this is pretty ridiculous for even the period.
So what’s the deal?
Well, first of all, Search and Nearness didn’t sell well and it was the last album the Rascals released for Atlantic Records. Peaceful World was their debut for Columbia Records. Leads me to believe the old record company didn’t promote the old album much and the new company didn’t care too much about stepping on the toes of the old one, especially since it was sinking without a trace.
Despite its good merits, Peaceful World didn’t sell well either.
And it might as well be called The Rascals Go Full Jazz as a constellation of jazz stars were brought in to play with original Rascals Felix Cavaliere and Dino Danelli.
Yep, only two original Rascals at this point. Eddie Brigati and Gene Cornish didn’t make the transition over to Columbia Records. Eddie’s brother David, who was an unofficial Rascal singing copious backup vocals through the years, was also gone from the scene.
The plethora of session jazz musicians mostly took up the slack. Plus Howard “Buzz” Feitein was made a full group member on guitar and (very) occasional lead vocals.
The Jazzy Tunes
“Sky Trane” is lightly enjoyable funk-jazz splashed with sitar.
“Mother Nature Land” is filled with gently rolling percussion and flute (courtesy of longtime Rascals collaborator Hubert Laws) and would today be considered world music. The song is later revisited on “Visit to Mother Nature Land”. Don’t know why they didn’t just make it one long song instead of two parts with the first on Side Two and the other on Side Three. Vocalist Ann Sutton also provides notable backing to Felix.
Laws does a great job once more on “Little Dove”. Alice Coltrane also drops by to grace the song with her harp playing.
“Peaceful World” runs for 21:22, takes up the entirety of the album’s Side Four, and manages to not be a catastrophe. The secret here was that the Rascals gave little nuggets of time to various soloists to shine throughout. We get flute, electric keyboard, guitar, sax, jazz vocalizing, congas, and organ spotlights. So although it is long (boy, is it long), it never gets stale.
Although it is understandable if you’re not the type of person who wants to kickback and soak up a 20-minute piece of music. It’s not for everybody, that’s for sure. But it’s a huge step up from “Boom” and “Cute” on Freedom Suite.
The Rock Tunes
“In And Out Of Love” was written and sung by new guitarist Feiten. Sounds like a facsimile of Traffic’s or Rare Earth’s contemporary funky rock. Feiten’s other contribution, “Icy Water”, ain’t no great shakes either.
Although I should note that “In And Out Of Love” has some lyrics that are reminiscent of Traffic’s “Light Up Or Leave Me Alone”, but the Rascals’ song came out like six months before Traffic’s. Oh well, even if there was some thievery, Traffic still did it better.
The Soulful and Funky Songs
“Bit of Heaven” ain’t nothing notable or special leaving no impression during its 3:32. “Happy Song” is really subdued. The best part is some shimmering keyboards that pop up sporadically.
“Love Letter” has some needed pep given how laid back most of the rest of this album is. That pep comes from the poppin’ congas of Ralph MacDonald, Felix’s lively organ, and a perky saxophone from Jon Smith.
“Love Me” starts off nice and is a novelty being a vocal duet between Felix and female vocalist (Molly Holt). It wastes its potential though as the funky kick off gets stuck in a ditch. A major culprit is that Holt’s voice ain’t that good.
Can we bring back the Brigatis?
“Getting Nearer” straddles the line of funk and rock. More importantly, the bass playing is superb and Feiten delivers an understated but well-performed guitar solo making the nearly nine-minute song a groovy breeze.
ALBUM SCORE: C+
The album definitely has its dry spots, but unlike most double albums it actually picks up steam as it goes along. Also fairly surprising is that the longer the song the better it usually is on Peaceful World. The fact that the best songs are super long elevates the overall album grade. If the quality and length had been reversed, this thing woulda sunk down to a D.
Guess releasing a double album just a couple months after having released another album and after losing two key band members wasn’t the best move.
Song Scores
Sky Trane: 7/10
In And Out Of Love: 5/10
Bit of Heaven: 5/10
Love Me: 5/10
Mother Nature Land: 8/10
Icy Water: 5/10
Happy Song: 5/10
Love Letter: 7/10
Little Dove: 7.5/10
Visit to Mother Nature Land: 8/10
Getting Nearer: 8/10
Peaceful World: 8/10