The Spice of Life (Earl Klugh album)

Mark Keresman of AllMusic, in a 3.5/5 stars review, claimed, "Smooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh’s SPICE OF LIFE shows that he hasn’t lost any of his mellow flair...Variety, in this case, is the SPICE OF LIFE--Klugh effortlessly mixes straight-up jazz (a Thelonious Monk classic getting a Brazilian makeover), romantic R&B, chilled-out balladry, pop, and a touch of funk."^[9]

Rick Nowlin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in a 4/4 stars review, praised the album saying, "I've listened to a lot of the Detroit-born-and-bred acoustic guitarist, over the past three decades, both live and on record, and I must admit I've never heard him sound this good...I can only saw WoW."^[3]

All songs written by Earl Klugh, except where noted.

1. "Ocean Blue" - 5:10
2. "Sleepyhead" - 5:09
3. "Canadian Sunset" (Norman Gimbel, Eddie Heywood) - 5:34
4. "Venezuelan Nights" - 2:35
5. "Driftin'" - 3:48
6. "Snap!" (Earl Klugh, Al Turner) - 4:41
7. "Bye Ya" (Thelonious Monk) - 3:59
8. "Heart of My Life" - 4:14
9. "Morning in Rio" - 5:27
10. "C'est si bon" (Henri Betti, André Hornez, Jerry Seelen)- 4:53
11. "Lucy's World" - 3:49
12. "My Foolish Heart" (Catherine Hinen, Ned Washington, Victor Young) - 6:18
13. "The Toy Guitar" - 2:36

• Earl Klugh – acoustic guitars, rhythm arrangements (8), keyboards (9, 11), synthesizers (9, 11), percussion (11)
• David Spradley – keyboards (2, 6, 9), synthesizers (2, 6, 9)
• John Corrozzu – keyboards (5, 9), synthesizers (5, 9)
• Jeff Cox – acoustic bass (1, 3, 7, 10–12)
• Al Turner – electric string bass (2), electric bass (6, 9)
• Joe Reda – electric bass (5)
• Yonrico Scott – drums (1, 3, 7, 10, 12), percussion (5, 9, 11)
• Ron Otis – drums (2, 6, 9)
• Gene Dunlap – drum programming (2, 6, 9)
• Scott Meeder – drums (5), percussion (5, 9, 11)
• Bert Elliott – percussion (11)
• Lenny Price – wind synthesizer (2, 11), saxophone (6)

Chamber group on "Heart of My Life"

• Eddie Horst – arrangements and conductor
• Carl Nitchie – bassoon
• Ann E. Lilya – oboe
• Brice Andrus – French horn
• Daniel Laufer – cello
• William Paul Murphy – viola

Orchestra (Tracks 1, 3, 7, 10 & 12)

• Don Sebesky – orchestra arrangements and conductor
• Earl Klugh – rhythm arrangements
• John Miller – music coordinator

Flutes

• Bob Bush – alto flute, bass flute
• Hubert Laws – alto flute, bass flute, C flute
• Pamela Sklar – alto flute, bass flute, C flute
• Keith Underwood – alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute

Percussion

• Gordon Gottlieb – vibraphone, shakers, mark tree

Strings

• Laura Bontrager, Richard Locker and Sarah Siever – cello
• Grace Paradise – harp
• Kenji Bunch, Maxine Roach and Deborah Shufelt – viola
• Martin Agee, Cenovia Cummins, Eric Degioia, Rick Dolan, Cecilia Hobbs Gardner, Karen Karlsrud, Helen Kim, Laura Oatts, Carol Pool, Rob Shaw, Dale Stuckenbruck and Una Tone – violin