Allied with Pee Wee King of James Brown fame, Dave Liebman plunges headlong into funk in the wake of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, but his heart doesn't seem to be in it. At times, he sounds bored playing R&B riffs that he seemed to have outgrown at the time, lapsing into free-jazz flurries in an effort to stay interested, and the rhythm section is leaden. The whole thing is recorded with a dry, airless ambience, possibly emulating Headhunters and its sought-after riches -- but no, it didn't translate into anything close to a gold record. Leon Thomas makes some fairly ridiculous vocal appearances on the energetic but mindless funk of "Children of the Ghetto" and the pale imitation of a JB groove, "Got to Work." Yet there are a few moments, particularly on "Tranquility of the Protective Aura," where Liebman's lovely soprano is permitted to soar unimpeded. The title of the album refers either to photography or cigarettes, depending upon which side of the cover you're looking at. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
Tom Anderson (Engineer), Pee Wee Ellis (Vocals), Eric Schilling (Assistant Engineer), Roland Young (Art Direction), Pee Wee Ellis (Piano), Leon Thomas (Percussion), Harold "Ivory" Williams (Keyboards), Jeff Berlin (Bass), Jumma Santos (Handclapping), Jimmy Strassburg (Percussion), Skip Juriad (Engineer), James Fee (Cover Photo), Benno Friedman (Photography), Tony Saunders (Bass), Pee Wee Ellis (Vocals (Background)), Link Chamberlain (Guitar), Richie Beirach (Piano), Al Foster (Drums), Chris Hayes (Guitar), Sonny Brown (Percussion), Bob Edwards (Engineer), John Snyder (Producer), David Liebman (Producer), Linc Chamberland (Guitar (Electric)), Pee Wee Ellis (Producer), Leon Thomas (Vocals), Jerry Solomon (Engineer), Pee Wee Ellis (Percussion), Tony Saunders (Bass (Electric)), Pee Wee Ellis (Piano (Electric)), Eric Schilling (Engineer), Jeff Berlin (Bass (Electric)), Leon Thomas (Vocals (Background)), Jumma Santos (Conga), Pee Wee Ellis (Handclapping), Jumma Santos (Conductor), Chris Hayes (Guitar (Electric)), Jimmy Strassburg (Drums), Jerry Soloman (Assistant Engineer), David Liebman (Saxophone)
