Customer Reviews

Believe It

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They just don't make 'em like this anymore! 28 years after its original release, this album STILL sounds as invigorating as the day it was released. Tony Williams, much like his mentor Miles Davis had a knack for picking great talent for his bands, especialy young upstart British guitar virtuosos.

As if John McLaughlin wasn't enough, he went and found the soft-spoken and ridiculoulsy innovative Allan Holdsworth, who spun melodic and fluid solos with the ease of a saxophonist. Already having stints with Tempest and Soft Machine under his belt, Holdsworth's style was jumping to the next level already, and Tony Williams did nothing to stand in the way, in fact, Allan was heavily encouraged and cheered on in his explorations by his bandmates here. Allan did things that just sounded absolutely impossible on a guitar at the time, and I remember so vivdly hearing this album at age 16 and having my jaw scraping the ground in amazement!

Armed with nothing more than a Gibson SG and a Marshall amp, Allan H just roared in an destroyed the place with his emotionally charged soloing and exploratory compositions, and a finely tuned musical sense to make te compostions of his bandmates come alive! Marrying this to William's inventive powerhouse drumming, Tony Newton's funky slithering bass and Alan Pasqua's glassy keyboards, this version of the Tony Williams Lifetime was a force to be reckoned with.

The other thing that still grabs me about this album is the open. raw live sound with minimal overdubbing, as honest and accurate in capturing this band's power in the studio as you could hope for. There's not one weak cut on here, ranging from the stomping funk of "Snake Oil" to the ghostly chord melody of "Fred" and the rip snorting brilliance of "Mr. Spock" (especially with the section where Williams and Holdsworth switch roles, Tony putting forth the solo of his life and Holdsworth bashing out angry Black Sabbath-like power chords underneath before roaring to a great close). The bonus tracks are a VERY worthwhile addition as well, "Letsby" is a slightly different take on "Mr. Spock" and "Celebration" get's more funky while still snarling like a panther (thanks again to Allan Holdsworth's raging guitar).

A serious fusion classic if ever there was and definitely worth adding to your library. Turn it up to 11 and let your jaw drop again!

Musically, this is a great record, a unique snapshot from the jazz-rock fusion scene of the 1970's. It is energetic, raw, full of brilliant and truly original musicianship, not least from Williams and Holdsworth, with its focus on groove and improvisation. From a musical point of view, I'd definitely give it four brightly shining stars.

Technically, however, this 2004 remaster is a disappointment. Following the current "the louder, the better" trend, it has been compressed and limited to death. The dynamics of the original recording are completely lost and life is sucked out of the music. Worst of all, as a result of this headless pumping-up, nasty digital distortion is all over the place, making listening to it a tiring, painful experience.

If you care for the music of this Lifetime gem, do yourself a favour and get "Lifetime: The Collection" instead. It was mastered in 1992, and although the analog to digital converters of the time may have been slightly less refined than they are these days, the dynamics and the over-all listening experience are far superior.

When my hormones and testosterone were raging like weeds in spring, oh, at about age 14, but, still, my brain was into musical stuff my little underdeveloped friends couldn't even hope to understand, well, that's when this thing dropped. It's not that "Believe It" scared me, but it blew me back against the wall with a shock so powerful, it never stopped reverberating. Here, after forays into all sorts of strange jazz-rock-funk places, the late great drummer stripped it down to a ruthless core and amped up everything until the precision monster was ready to be unleashed. His drum attack is nothing like the amazing, poly-rhythmic extrapolations of the Miles Davis years. This is hurricane power of another kind. There is nuance -- roar, low roar and simmer-to-boil. Williams and guitarist Allan Holdsworth simply crackle together in a way they wouldn't come close to matching on the pathetic bid for record sales that followed, "Million Dollar Legs." They just beat each other up for six tracks (bonus ones, I see, on the CD) while bassist and keyboardist plodded along and tried to stay out of the way. Check that: Alan Pasqua has a couple nice moments, but mostly it's a two-man show. I don't think this group was onto anything because they were already depleted by the second release. It had less to say than contemporaries -- say, Mahavishnu Orchestra, for example -- so petered out quicker. But this is a cornerstone of fusion, whether you've heard of it or not. Big, crisp, bludgeoning with fireworks of the best kind. While compositionally a cut below, it stands next to Billy Cobham's "Spectrum" for raw power.

After the original Lifetime split, Tony Williams tried desperately to make the next "great album".
He found his opportunity when he found Allan Holdsworth, a prog-rock veteran of Tempest, Gong, & Soft Machine.

Holdsworth approached the electric guitar with a jazz feel, his Gibson SG Custom sounding often like John Coltrane's saxophone.

Williams and Holdsworth found common ground, and each brought in a musician capable of expressing the power and energy that Williams felt his music had been lacking.

Bassist Tony Newton, a veteran of Motown sessions, was picked by Williams to hold it all down.

Holdsworth was taken with the abilities of keyboardist Alan Pasqua, who not only could lay out the head of a piece,but was a fine soloist as well.

This was to be the last edition of Lifetime, but this album, released in 1975, re-established the band as a force to be reckoned with.


The Tracks:

"Snake Oil" is a Tony Newton composition that is quite obviously written by a bassist.
Tony's wah-wah bass notes open the album, laying down a funk groove over which Pasqua comps chords and Williams his an open hi-hat and a heavy snare.
Holdsworth matches Newton's bass line to create the melody, then lays out on the piece until he solos, which is dynamic, to say the least.
The funkiness of this piece sets up the listener for the virtuosity that follows.

"Fred" is Holdsworth's piece, inspired by his father, Fred.
After Williams'heavy cymbal and bass drum crashes, he rapid-fires on the hi-hat as Holdsworth & Pasqua lay out the chordswith the guitar and Fender piano phase-shifted, and both sounding as one.
As the firstround of the tune's "head" finishes, Williams goes around the kit like a maniac, tapering off as Holdsworth begins his solo.

Allan's solo is a monster, showing the musical world what he's capable of ; the long, fluid lines played at super-speed, begin to carve the Holdsworth legend into stone.

Alan Pasqua plays a mean electric piano solo as well.

After returning to the head, Willams creates a powerful backdrop for the end.
A killer piece, which this reviewer got to see Holdsworth play live - wow in '75, wow in '09 as well.

"Proto Cosmos" is Alan Pasqua's composition, and other than the solos - which are more jazz flavored, this piece is much more rock-flavored.
The tune's head is a 3-note blitz, between which Williams lays down some kick-a** paradiddles and cymbal crashes.
The piece is short,but sweet, as Holdsworth & Pasqua trade quick,but tricky solos before returning to the 3-note head and a descending run which Williams matches with cymbal shots as the piece ends.

"Red Alert" is well-named, as Tony Newton's 4-chord vamp has an extreme immediacy to it.
After setting the piece up, Allan launches into one of his best-ever guitar solos, building from a slow, whammy bar- laden section to a build up of speed that threatens to get completely out of control, yet never does. Breathtaking stuff.
Williams segues Holdsworth's solo into Pasqua's with heavy tom-tom fills,rapid bass drum, and heavy ride cymbals.
Pasqua's slick, yet restrained solo gives way to the head and the piece's conlusion.

"Wildlife" is Tony Williams' piece a nice, mellow change from the frenzy of "Red Alert".
The tempo is laid-back, and nobody goes over board.

The album's final piece, Holdsworth's "Mr. Spock" is an all-out jam of epic proportions.
Pasqua and Newton' primary task is to hold the piece together, for this showcase is all about electric guitar and drums.
After the pace is set and Pasqua takes his solo, Holdsworth plays a solo which has been described as no less than "apocalyptic",pulling out all the stops, and throwing caution to the wind.

Coming out of that, he starts comping power chords, over which Williams seizes control,and proves why he was - arguably- the greatest drummer ever.
The drum solo is mind-blowing, and the album fades with Holdsworth's feedback and Williams' hi-hat and snare.

This 2004 re-issue has two bonus tracks, "Celebration",which is not too bad, but doesn't go all out.

"Letsby" is an alternate take of "Mr. Spock" which is possibly even better than the album version,as Tony's drum solo is a hair longer, and Allan's guitar solo has less effects on it,making the notes more distinguishable.

An amazing album from an amazing band.
5 stars out of 5.

Festive funk fusion equipped with the proper chops and informed transitioning can only mean it was written by someone outside the contained genre.

What a beautiful record, I bought it the first time in 1975 and since, I never stop to listen to it ; Allan Holdsworth ( formely with UK rock circles ), on the guitar, already played wonderfully with his famous sound ; Alan Pasqua on piano and clarinet ( formerly with Stan Kenton, Franck Foster and Don Ellis ), is also fantastic ; Tony Newton on bass ( former Motown bassist )is perfect. This version of Lifetime is more structured than the original 1969 group, built around Tony's explosive approach to rock rhythms . Essential CD in his library !!! Emilio ( France, Dordogne. ).

I am a jazz-fusion freak. This is a true classic. It's my favorite Tony Williams album, and it has, to me, the definitive fusion sound. This album has Proto Cosmos, which is a song Allan Holdsworth usually opens his live shows with. Every song grooves, has hooks, and rocks. It's close to the perfect fusion album. If you're a musician, then you will love it.

For those of you who have yet to experience Believe It by Tony Williams, let me try to explain what it sounds like. The guitar playing is pretty heavy, melodic and jazzy in a Santana or Al Di Meola kind of way, and the keyboards remind me of any number of mid 70's jazz artists such as Chick Corea or Return to Forever.

However, I'm only making these comparisons so you know what to expect. I'm not necessarily saying one is better than the other. Only *you* can be the judge of that.

I actually went in believing Believe It was Tony Williams most popular album, but I was told Emergency might have a slight edge in the popularity department. Well regardless which album is more popular, the fact remains that Believe It is a minor classic in the land of underappreciated jazz/rock.

"Snake Oil" features an insanely heavy guitar riff that possibly holds up just as well as the classic period of the Mahavishnu Orchestra or any number of other 70's jazz/rock artists, and the only thing that sort of bugs me about it is the way that one guitar riff repeats for about 4 minutes... and the song is only 6 minutes long. This means when the actual jazz jamming gets underway, the song is just about over.

"Fred" is quite possibly the coolest song on the album. Listen to that incredibly brutal guitar solo near the end. Is that awesome or WHAT? Yes it is! "Proto-Cosmos" is more of a display in keyboard jamming but features a satisfying amount of guitar playing as well.

The rest of the album ventures in the same jazzy territory, and it's terrific. Please pick it up.

I`m not one who believes that there is a 'best' guitarist, keyboardist, saxophonist, etc., yet as someone who has studied music for 40 years and was a considerably good drummer myself for many a moon, one name comes up again and again in my Lifetime - the incomparable (Samuel) Anthony Williams. If being the timekeeper and driving force behind the Miles Davis Quintet (arguably the greatest jazz group in history) at the tender age of 17 doesn`t prove my point alone, his playing in his own group Lifetime (which was erratic, I`ll give his detractors that) was unlike any other drummer alive, and I`ve seen him play live well over a dozen times. His combinations were untouchable, his sense of dynamics more melodic than any other player I`ve heard, his chops on a good night frighteningly ferocious, and he breathed time like no other. This LP is one of the greatest recorded documents of what jazz/rock COULD be, not the lame,self-centered Fuzak it became when everyone else jumped on board. This LP still holds up better than (and I KNOW I`m gonna piss off a LOT of people now) any Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra (with the exception of 'the Inner Mounting Flame') or the like, and Tony`s playing was more unique than (here I go again) Billy Cobham, Jack Dejohnette, Lenny White, Steve Gadd, Harvey Mason,etc. The Williams/ Holdsworth aggregation reached unparalleled heights on tracks like 'Fred' (after Fred Gretsch, whose drums he played), 'Proto-Cosmos', 'Red Alert' and 'Mr.Spock', the likes of which we haven`t seen since and never will again. Long may his memory live on (he passed away of a botched gall bladder surgery in 1997), for his contributions to the evolution of drum playing are both unforgettable and unfathomable. Ask Cindy Blackman.

My copy of "Believe It" is a transfer from LP to CD, so I don't have any knowledge of whether the CD version is as crappy as some have said. All I know is, this is a DAMN GOOD album. Allan Holdsworth is unbelievable. I am a big fan of Tony Williams going back to his days with the second Miles Davis quintet. He's that rare Jazz drummer who can also play Rock. But you know what really makes this record? It's the keyboards. They give it a dark, funky, cosmic, 70's feel that really sets the mood for me.