Customer Reviews

Altered State (Hybr)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been a huge Yellowjackets fan for as long as I can remember. I have 13 of their albums and have seen them in concert three times - including one time they toured with Peter Erskine on drums. More on that in a minute.

Following the departure of Will Kennedy, (the most phenomenally dynamic drummer I've ever personally heard or seen and in my view, the best this band ever had), I was beginning to despair. I respect all the musicians in this band, I think they are all awesomely talented, new drummer Marcus Baylor included but the latter is no match for Will. Not to these ears anyway. As skilful as they all are though, the band lost a crucial ingredient of the sound I'd come to love with Will's departure.
The year he left, the group toured with Peter Erskine and there was talk that he might join the band full time. I wasn't that familiar with Pete's work at that time but after hearing (and more importantly, seeing) him at the Jazz Cafe in London, I was like, wow. He more than matched Will Kennedy for what most of us fans had come to love him for - his polyrythmic dexterity behind the drumset. That was one concert I will never forget.

The first Yellowjacket album I heard after Will had left, the live "Mint Jam" was okay mostly because the mixing didn't really expose the limitations of the drumming. The new tunes were great and the familiar ones were good to hear on a live CD.

"Time Squared" did reveal exactly how different Baylor was though and I was very disappointed. As much as I love these guys, that would've been my last buy but my best mate told me about this one so I decided to check it out. As soon as I heard the first track, I was like, yeah, this is more like it!

There's not much I can say about the other guys. Like I've said, to me they will always be the best in their game. But Baylor's drumming has definitely been turned up a notch. He'll never match Kennedy as far as I'm concerned but no doubt he wants to have his own identity anyway and not be seen as a Kennedy clone. This I would say he's achieving. I can still tell that it's him on drums but at the same time, some of the old Yellowjackets sparkle is definitely back.

I'm not really a fan of vocals on jazz albums either unless we're talking someone really significant. They had Bobby McFerrin on a few albums back for instance and he was just brilliant. But Jean Baylor (with the Perry sisters on backing vocals) really shines on "The Hope" and I also like the positive message in the lyrics. Russell Ferrante tries something I'm not sure I've heard from him before on "Hunter's Point" and it works. And every time I hear "Youth Eternal", I'm literally filled with a feeling of eternal youth and I just have to get up and dance.

All in all, a great return to form for Yellowjackets. I'm now very likely to remain a devoted fan well into the foreseeable future. No one could be happier than I am about that.

I just bought this CD a couple days ago and thought I would pop in here to see what others thought about it. I was a little surprised by some of the response. I thought this was another typical Yellowjackets CD- excellent musicianship and production that was at a higher level compared to the usual contemporary jazz stuff thats out now. It was slightly mellow but still enjoyable for me as a YJ fan. I must say that I am not as much a fan of some of the earliest YJ music- not so much the Russo days but back to the Ricky Lawson days- so this album fits more of what I expect from Ferrante, Haslip, Minter, & Baylor. One of my favorites is "Hunter's Point", where Mintzer pulls out the electronic piano and gives the music almost an acid-jazzy feel to it. I'm not a big fan of vocals on any instrumental jazz CD, but I did enjoy "The Hope" and it's nice message. Also, being a drum enthusiast and a big fan of Will Kennedy, I again enjoyed Marcus Baylor's tasteful performance- particularly on the aforementioned "Hunter's Point"- as I did on the previous two albums he was on (well, I haven't heard the Christmas CD yet, so I won't count that). He, like Mr. Kennedy did and Mr. Lawson did not, made me want to jump on my kit and play along to the music. All in all, it was another typical YJ album, equal to anything from the mid to late "Kennedy Era"; only slightly mellow, but certainly more than 2-star worthy. Get it if you are a fan!

This CD is not as edgey as earlier recordings but it shows how they have matured definitely a good listen from beginning to end.Anyone who calls this CD dull is definitely not a real music lover!!!

I was expecting a more challenging Cd, something with more bite or, in this case more sting, but instead it's a rather dull, easy listening CD with only snippets of true Yellowjackets' genius. If you are a fan of their more adventourus stuff, and playing in odd time signatures really isn't that impressive if you can't feel the music, you will be disappointed.

Once again, the Yellowjackets come through with some first rate
material. They seem to have a unique blend of "straight-ahead"jazz sensibilities combined with a little fusion and contemporary styles. The musicianship of all of the members of the band is incredible, and the compositional skills of Ferrante,
Mintzer and Haslip are excellent as well. The music comes away sounding very "comfortable" and well-tuned.
I've been a 'Jackets fan for some time now, and have all but one of their CD's, and "Altered State" is definitely part of the catalog !!! And, as always, the recording engineering is outstanding, and will definitely bring out the best ( or worst),
of your audio system. Enjoy !

I have nine Yellowjackets albums. I like this one the best because it is the only one in which I like all the tunes. On all the others I end up skipping over some tunes. The sound quality is very good too. I had to listen to this several times to really get into it, but that is true of many of my favorite albums. The tunes are great, and the playing is great. What more could I ask for?

Excellent CD! If you are reading this review and you are a huge fan of the Yellow Jackets and don't have this CD yet, go cop it!
The Yellow Jackets are ALWAYS AWESOME.

I'm probably preaching to the choir here, since everyone who loves Yellowjackets already knows that these guys are at the top of their game. The only question you might have is, is this latest album as good the rest? My answer is yes. Possibly their best yet. I immediately dug the opening piano lick on track 1, though I found the bridge puzzling and bizarre. The rest of the tracks I wasn't sure about for a while, but I just let it ride. Now, at about the 50th playing, I can confidently say I truly love this album. My current favorite is track 4, Hunter's Point, a polyrythmic composition which just oozes with goodness from Ferrante's Rhodes playing. Overall, this album is another masterpiece.

Maybe it's because I'm a keyboard player, or maybe it's just that he's that good, but whatever the reason, Russell Ferrante touches my soul deeply. He, and Lyle Mays and Keith Jarret, are in my opinion, the greatest keyboard players on the planet. Sometimes I suspect Russell is not *from* this planet. Maybe he's from the place called Heaven. All I know is he takes me there.

This album is great!If you like time squared,this one is just a good sequel!!! (this is for the sacd's)

I just got this album today. I'm a huge Yellowjackets fan but I've gotta say that this album is DULL. The writing just isn't inspired. They're all great musicians so the playing is fine. The tunes are bland.

Sorry, 'Jackets. Not your best album.