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HIPNOSISThe title track is a snake charmer kind of vamp that is an excellent showcase for both the rhythm section and the soloists. Of particular note is the way drummer Higgins and pianist Lamont Johnson interweave the basket out of which emerge the serpentine horn lines of Jackie and Grachan. Some might call this a super-sophisticated "Sidewinder".
"Slow Poke" written by Jackie, is a soulful off-the-wall composition that recalls the best elements of early Ornette Colman but remains all Jackie just the same. The rhythm section comes and goes as it pleases, with pianist Johnson leaving large holes for Scotty Holt and Higgins to move about and much of the harmonic structure, like the time, is taken for granted or approached from relatively arbitrary angles by the horns. The common conception is simply no longer one of grooves but is expanded to include dramatic movement. Bassist Holt, who was a protege of Jackie's, solos with excellent facility and covers all the bases.
"The Breakout" does just that after a brief skirmish with a cross time opening theme. The soloing employs tone rows rather than chord changes. Despite the avant garde format, the soloing is somewhat traditional in character, and after a short series of chord resolutions, the piece abruptly ends.
"Back Home" by Moncur, reminds the listener that Grachan put in several long seasons on the road with the Ray Charles Band. It opens with a dramatic lament, with Higgins kicking loosely on the background, and one can almost visualize a country rode, down which comes a cow-cow boogie of the pure bred variety. The groove of this tune is authentic funk, more like Archie Shepp's tributes to his roots than the artificial twist jazz that was fashionable in the 60s.
The date ends with Johnson's "The Reason Why", a very rational chord progression followed by a string of logical rhythm kicks, out of which comes Jackie, flying upside down and sideways, wonderfully free and being buoyed up by the currents being generated behind him. His off-hand outside-in approach is a good closer to his package, as it demonstrates the fifties, sixties and even seventies elements in his playing.(manand)
Basically an expanded version of Munich and Elsewhere (which was itself a compilation of unreleased material), with the addition of the unreleased LP Faust Party Three (parts of which had previously appeared only as limited-edition EPs and singles), as well as two previously unreleased tracks. Parts wed brutal drum patterns to insistently repetitive guitar riffing; there are prog rock keyboard passages that slightly recall Soft Machine; and "Don't Take Roots" sounds like an unintentional satire of the cheap California psychedelia that you might hear on a late-'60s youth culture exploitation flick. Sometimes it even sounds like a parody of early King Crimson-type pomp rock. It would be nice to have some liner notes explaining exactly what comes from where, but basically what you need to know is that it was all recorded in Germany from 1971 to 1975 and is on par with the quality of the albums they actually released during that time.71 MINUTES OF FAUST
(manand)
Why any critic would think that Hank Mobley was at the end of his creative spark in 1963 -- a commonly if stupidly held view among the eggheads who do this for a living -- is ridiculous, as this fine session proves. By 1963, Mobley had undergone a transformation of tone. Replacing the scintillating airiness of his late-'50s sides was a harder, more strident, almost honking one, due in part to the influence of John Coltrane and in part to Mobley's deeper concentration on the expressing blues feeling in his trademark hard bop tunes. The CD version of this album sets the record straight, dropping some tunes form a session months earlier and replacing them with alternate takes of the title cut and "Carolyn" for historical integrity, as well as adding "Syrup and Biscuits" and "Comin' Back." Mobley assembled a crack band for this blues-drenched hard-rollicking set made up of material written by either him or trumpeter Lee Morgan. Other members of the ensemble were pianist Andrew Hill, drummer Philly Joe Jones, and bassist John Ore. The title track, which opens the set, is a stand-in metaphor for the rest: Mobley's strong and knotty off-minor front-line trading fours with Hill that moves into brief but aggressive soloing for he and Morgan and brings the melody back, altered with the changes from Hill. On Morgan's "Me 'n' You," an aggressive but short bluesed-out vamp backed by a mutated samba beat, comes right out of the Art Blakey book of the blues and is articulated wonderfully by Mobley's solo, which alternates between short, clipped phrases along the line of the changes and longer trill and ostinatos where the end of a musical line is dictated by his breath rather than a chord change. Morgan is in the pocket of the blue shades, coloring the ends of his lines with trills and short staccato bursts, warping them in Hill's open, chromatic voicings. All eight cuts here move with similar fluidity and offer a very gritty and realist approach to the roots of hard bop. Highly recommended.NO ROOM FOR SQUARES1st track(manand)
Originally released on Columbia in 1968, The United States of America is one of the legendary pure psychedelic space records. Some of the harder-rocking tunes have a fun house recklessness that recalls aspects of early Pink Floyd and the Velvet Underground at their freakiest; the sedate, exquisitely orchestrated ballads, especially "Cloud Song" and the wonderfully titled "Love Song for the Dead Che," are among the best relics of dreamy psychedelia. Occasionally things get too excessive and self-conscious, and the attempts at comedy are a bit flat, but otherwise this is a near classic.THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(manand)
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