Hard Groove
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Hard Groove
| type = studio
| artist = Roy Hargrove
| cover = Hard Groove.album.jpg
| alt =
| released = May 2003
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio = Electric Lady Studios
| length =
| label = Verve{{cite journal |last1=Norment |first1=Lynn |title=Sounding Off |journal=Ebony |date=Jun 2003 |volume=58 |issue=8 |page=32}}
| producer = Roy Hargrove
| prev_title = Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
| prev_year = 2002
| next_title = Strength
| next_year = 2004
}}
Hard Groove is an album by the American musician Roy Hargrove, released in 2003.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/roy-hargrove-mn0000345426/biography|title=Roy Hargrove Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}}{{cite journal |last1=Hendrickson |first1=Tad |title=Birth of the Groove |journal=CMJ New Music Report |date=May 12, 2003 |volume=75 |issue=813 |page=11}} It was credited to his group, the RH Factor.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/send-it-on-roy-hargroves-immaculate-blend-of-jazz-hip-hop-and-randb/|title=Send It On: Roy Hargrove's Immaculate Blend of Jazz, Hip-Hop, and R&B|date=November 7, 2018|website=Pitchfork}}
The album peaked at No. 185 on the Billboard 200.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/roy-hargrove/|title=Roy Hargrove|magazine=Billboard}} "I'll Stay" was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals" category.{{cite web |title=Roy Hargrove |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/roy-hargrove/2647 |website=Recording Academy |access-date=10 September 2022}}
Production
Produced by Hargrove, the album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios.{{cite magazine |last1=Johnson |first1=Martin |title=Hard Groove |magazine=Billboard |date=May 31, 2003 |volume=115 |issue=22 |page=60}}{{cite news |last1=Infantry |first1=Ashante |title=Harmonizing to Hargrove |work=Toronto Star |date=27 May 2003 |page=D5}} Hargrove used a 10-piece band on the album.{{cite journal |last1=Ouellette |first1=Dan |title=The question is ... What do you expect from Roy Hargrove's new funk project? |journal=DownBeat |date=Apr 2003 |volume=70 |issue=4 |page=20}} He considered it to be a tribute to his childhood love of hip hop; he also wanted to impart a gospel or spiritual element to the music.{{cite news |last1=Guzman |first1=Rafer |title=Riffer Madness? |work=Newsday |date=18 May 2003 |page=D22}}{{cite news |last1=Ollison |first1=Rashod D. |title=Hargrove is jamming to a whole new groove |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=15 May 2003 |page=24T}} Reggie Washington and Pino Palladino were among the musicians on the album.{{cite journal |last1=Waggoner |first1=Eric |title=Hard groove |journal=Jazziz |date=Oct 2003 |volume=20 |issue=10 |pages=74–75}}
D'Angelo appears on the cover of Funkadelic's "I'll Stay".{{Cite web|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/roy-hargrove-presents-the-rh-factor-6347905|title=Roy Hargrove presents the RH Factor|website=Miami New Times}} Renee Neufville sang on "Juicy". Q-Tip rapped on "Poetry"; Meshell Ndegeocello and Erykah Badu also appeared on the track. Anthony Hamilton sang on "Kwah/Home".{{cite news |last1=Walters |first1=John L. |title=On the edge |work=The Guardian |date=18 July 2003 |department=Guardian Friday Pages |page=20}}
The album cover was designed by Rudy Gutierrez, who was inspired by the art for Abraxas.{{cite news |last1=Rivers |first1=Jeff |title=CD COVER ARTIST RUDY GUTIERREZ 'PAINTS' THE MUSIC |work=Hartford Courant |date=22 May 2003 |department=Calendar |page=32}}
Critical reception
{{music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hard-groove-mw0000028129|title=The RH Factor - Hard Groove Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2 = The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
|rev3 = The Gazette
|rev3score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite news |last1=Dunlevy |first1=T'Cha |title=Newly released compact discs |work=The Gazette |date=19 June 2003 |page=D5}}
|rev4 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
|rev4score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite book |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd |page=591 |edition=8th}}
}}
The Boston Globe deemed Hard Groove a "genre-busting album [that] is a funky showcase of Hargrove's musical alacrity."{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Renee |title=HARGROVE PROVES HE GROOVES ON MORE THAN JUST JAZZ |work=The Boston Globe |date=20 May 2003 |page=C1}} The New York Times labeled it "a late-night party album: it begins upbeat then settles into a stoned haze."{{cite news |last1=Ratliff |first1=Ben |title=Smooth? How About Some Chunky? |work=The New York Times |date=20 May 2003 |page=E3}} The Birmingham Post concluded that "there's a 1970's retro feel which conjures up Donald Byrd's hits, as well as some funk worthy of George Clinton, but it's also very up-to-date, especially in the sophistication of the studio sound."{{cite news |last1=Bacon |first1=Peter |title=Jazz CDs |work=Birmingham Post |date=21 June 2003 |department=Features |page=52}}
The Washington Post wrote: "Loose-limbed and groove-driven, it occasionally sounds overplayed and undercomposed as the musicians struggle to find the right balance of rhythmic momentum and jazz improvisation."{{cite news |last1=Robson |first1=Britt |title=Hargrove's 'RH Factor': Mixing In Some New Blood |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=28 May 2003 |page=C5}} The New York Amsterdam News stated that Hargrove "plays on the edge of his imagination using jazz improvisations as the key to display another exciting element of his creativity."{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Ron |title=Jazz CDs for summer pleasure |work=New York Amsterdam News |date=29 May 2003 |page=19}}
AllMusic called the album "an exploration of his multidimensional musical attributes and his belated recognition of years of 'open-eared moonlighting'." The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings determined that "Pastor 'T'" "might be one of Hargrove's best performances on record."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Hardgroove
| length1 =
| title2 = Common Free Style
| length2 =
| title3 = I'll Stay
| length3 =
| title4 = Interlude
| length4 =
| title5 = Pastor 'T'
| length5 =
| title6 = Poetry
| length6 =
| title7 = The Joint
| length7 =
| title8 = Forget Regret
| length8 =
| title9 = Out of Town
| length9 =
| title10 = Liquid Streets
| length10 =
| title11 = Kwah/Home
| length11 =
| title12 = How I Know
| length12 =
| title13 = Juicy
| length13 =
| title14 = The Stroke
| length14 =
}}
References
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