Hobo Flats is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith arranged by Oliver Nelson.[1] It was Smith's second album for Verve Records.

Hobo Flats
Studio album by
Released1963
RecordedMarch 15 & 20, 1963
New York City
GenreJazz
Length31:26 CD reissue
LabelVerve
V6-8544
ProducerCreed Taylor
Jimmy Smith chronology
Prayer Meetin'
(1963)
Hobo Flats
(1963)
Any Number Can Win
(1963)
Singles from Hobo Flats
  1. "Hobo Flats"
    Released: March 1963

On the Billboard 200 Hobo Flats peaked at number 11, and the title track was released as a single and peaked at number 69.

Billboard magazine included Hobo Flats in its 'Pop Spotlight' for the week of 27 April 1963.[2]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [3]

The Allmusic review by Steve Leggett awarded the album 3½ stars stating that

"Smith bubbles and bounces through all of it at the B-3 while Nelson proceeds to fill every available corner with huge, sweeping orchestral washes and crescendos. The clear highlight, though, is the lead and title track, "Hobo Flats," which moves at a languid but wonderfully funky pace and establishes a groove as wide as the Mississippi River. Smith arguably was at his best in small combos, and at times he gets overwhelmed here by the big cinematic arrangements, but there's plenty to like with this set, even if it's a bit on the atypical side for Smith. It works well more than it doesn't."[3]

Track listing

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  1. "Hobo Flats" (Oliver Nelson) – 4:46
  2. "Blueberry Hill" (Al Lewis, Vincent Rose, Larry Stock) – 4:56
  3. "Walk Right In" (Gus Cannon, Erik Darling, Hosea Woods) – 3:32
  4. "Trouble in Mind" (Richard M. Jones) – 4:23
  5. "The Preacher" (Horace Silver) – 6:16
  6. "Meditation (Meditação)" (Norman Gimbel, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonça) – 3:06
  7. "I Can't Stop Loving You" (Don Gibson) – 4:27

Personnel

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Musicians

Production

Chart performance

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Album

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Chart (1963) Peak
position
Total
weeks
U.S. Billboard 200 18[4] 17

Single

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Year Single Chart Position
1963 "Hobo Flats" Billboard Hot 100 18[5]

References

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  1. ^ Discogs accessed March 20, 2015
  2. ^ "Album Reviews: Billboard Spotlight Pick". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 27 April 1963. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. ^ a b "AllMusic Review - Hobo Flats". Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "Billboard 200 - Jimmy Smith". Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 - Jimmy Smith". Retrieved December 3, 2017.