Special Pride
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Album Summary
Ballin' Jack came into 1973 riding a groove that was equal parts horn-driven rock, soul, and funk — a band that never quite got the recognition their talent demanded, but kept on burning anyway. 'Special Pride' was released on Mercury Records, with the group continuing to refine that big, brassy sound they had been carving out since their early days on the West Coast. The album was recorded during a fertile period when rock and soul were still having serious conversations with each other, and Ballin' Jack was right there in the middle of that dialogue — punching hard with layered horns, muscular rhythm sections, and vocals that had real grit and real heart. The production kept things warm and live-sounding, the kind of record that felt like it was made by people who had been out on the road and had something to prove when they walked back into the studio.
Reception
- 'Special Pride' did not generate significant mainstream chart traction upon its release in 1973, a fate that mirrored the broader commercial struggles Ballin' Jack faced despite consistent critical respect from those who knew their music deeply.
- The album was regarded by fans of the horn-rock and soul-funk crossover scene as a solid, committed effort — praised for its energy and authenticity even as it failed to break through to wider audiences.
- Like much of the band's output, 'Special Pride' found its most appreciative ears among dedicated followers of the early 1970s soul-rock underground rather than in mainstream press coverage.
Significance
- Ballin' Jack occupied a vital but underappreciated space in the early 1970s horn-rock movement, and 'Special Pride' stands as a document of that tradition — blending the raw energy of rock with the deeply soulful sensibility of Black American music at a moment when those worlds were powerfully converging.
- Tracks like 'Thunder' and 'Good Feeling' exemplify the band's ability to fuse gospel-inflected feeling with rock muscle, representing a strain of American music that was soulful, proud, and entirely its own thing.
- The album title itself — 'Special Pride' — carries a cultural weight that resonates with the spirit of Black pride and self-affirmation that ran through so much music of the early 1970s, placing this record in conversation with a broader cultural moment of dignity and artistic assertion.
Tracklist
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A1 This Song —
2:38
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A2 Come Up Front —
2:48
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A3 Good Feeling —
3:35
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A4 Sunday Morning —
3:34
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A5 Big Dealer —
3:30
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A6 Thunder —
3:22
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B1 Try To Relax —
5:03
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B2 Two Years —
5:59
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B3 Carry Me Back —
3:00
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B4 Special Pride —
6:50
Artist Details
Ballin' Jack was a soulful, hard-driving rock and funk outfit that came together in the early 1970s out of the Pacific Northwest, blending gutsy horn arrangements with deep-pocket grooves that put them right in the pocket between blood-pumping rock and sweaty soul music. They released their self-titled debut in 1971 on Columbia Records, earning serious respect from musicians and radio cats who recognized that raw, uncompromising sound, even if mainstream fame never quite caught up to their talent. They stand as one of those beautiful hidden gems of the early seventies, a band that proved the Pacific Northwest had more fire in it than most folks ever gave it credit for.
