Customer Reviews

Cab

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

 

 

Made in USA in 2000, Serial# TC-40072, Playing Time 52:09

I got this because of MacAlpine's solo albums and Dennis Chambers' contributions to some albums by John McLaughlin and Tom Coster.

I wasn't too sure was to expect musically, maybe something like Liquid Tension Experiment.

This albums contains some fabulous performances, a blend of 1/3 rock and 2/3 jazz. Tracks range from about 4 to 7 minutes, so there's room for development without getting free-form and lost in improvisations. Each performer demonstrates his talents, but without trying to bury the other musicians: more like an "exchange" or a 3-part conversation.

Interesting, and worth a careful listen; get your own CAB, this one's already taken!

This is not smooth jazz. Thank goodness!!!! I went out on a limb in buying this. It was rated 5 stars in Bass Player magazine. It is. So much of the instrumental [stuff] today is mindless soloing with a drumulator and a sequencer, hats off to these three gents. It has a Return to Forever feel, only with a funky edge and great soloing. Dennis and Bunny are top notch, Tony holds his own too. If you are looking at Cab2, the new release, get this one. They lost their edge on the second album. Fusion still lives on this one.

I've always appreciated Tony MacAlpine's neo-classical shredding technique if not the music, so when I chanced upon CAB in a specialist jazz store in the sales I thought why not. I was more than pleasantly surprised as it fairly rocks and grooves in equal measure thanks to Dennis Chambers powerhouse drumming and Brunel's busy basslines. Over this MacAlpine lays down some tasty licks, although sometimes his tone veers towards metal. I recommend this to anyone who likes fusion in as done by Tribal Tech, and Billy Cobham on 'Spectrum'. I'll definitely check out CAB 2 and 4 on the strength of this one.

I bought this on Dennis Chambers name alone, having never heard either Brunel or Macalpine. A terrifying collection of inspired heavy fusion, the kind that melts ears. Brunel is stylistically all over the place from staccato Jaco-like lines to the heavy slap tone of 'Just Perfect', he is really a master player. Don't be scared off by Macalpine's rep as a shredder, he also contributes keyboard work to this disc. Dennis Chambers is a human drum machine, he's the best at what he does. A perfect CD for testing the limits of your home system.

This album showed that Macalpine, has more then just one way of playing. If you don't have this album then something is wrong with you. This is by far the best Cab album that was released.

If you like Dave Weckel's Senergy you'll love Cab. It is truly awesome.

Tone Center has become the haven for fusion fans. This is one of their best releases; of which there are many. CAB features the guitar madness of Tony Macalpine. Tony was one of the leaders of the neo-classical fusion movement of the mid eighties. On this disc he plays over chord changes and doesn't purely shred. He also does all of the keyboard work except for one song. Once again, Tony shows that he is as proficient on keyboards as he is on the guitar. Not many multi-instrumentalists can be virtuostic on both of their instruments. If you are familiar with and like Tony's neo-classical and Rock fusion albums you won't be dissapointed here. Bunny Brunel is a great fusion bassist who specializes in fretless work. If you like Jaco,Victor Bailey, or Percy Jones you will love this guy. Dennis Chambers is, in my opinion, the greatest drummer on the planet. His playing on this is typically amazing. Most of the songs were written by Brunel but Tony does contribute a couple of compostions. As far as the playing all of the voices of the musicians are heard. This is a complete collaboration and a fan of any of the three will get to hear his favorite do his thing. The songs don't take the genre to any new levels. However, there is some diversity and the musicians are excellent throughout. Highlight tunes include. "Night Splash" which has a theme that is repeated while each member of the band trades solos with the others. Tony does double duty on this one. "One for Stern" is , I believe, dedicated to guitar great Mike Stern. The tune has a bebopish groove and all three contribute solos. Dennis Chambers is unreal on this one which is fitting seeing that he and Stern have been collaborating for years. "Boogie Me" is an uptempo boogie in the vein of other instrumental boogies such as "The Satch Boogie" and "West Side Boogie". Once again all three members are awesome on this rock injected tune. Overall CAB is a disc that fusion fans should love. If you like any of these three musicians you'll be happy with the results and might become a fan of the others. I recommend this to fusion fans.

dennis chambers is the man !,tony is old school yes,but with getting dennis on the recording.this gives him(tony)some more up to date groove and respect with todays players.i'm from marin county ca, where shrapnel records is from.thats where in the 80's all the speed guitarists like tony got their stuff heard on mike varneys great label.now i live in atlanta,so players out here are not too hip with knowledge of tonys work.they sure know who dennis is though,i mean p-funk is from here(atlanta).so this will give tony some good exposure out here in the south.the cd jams and yes tony tears it up too.EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THIS CD IF THEY ARE SERIOUS PLAYERS.bunny kicks some booty also,but i didn't even need to say that.most bass players know that already!-peace RIMSHOT :)

The group sounds so imposing on paper, but when I listened to the album, I was really disappointed by the lack of true interplay and Tony's inappropriate use of metal shred licks in a jazz-fusion format. Tony's got ways to go before he can really feel comfortable in this kind of a musical setting. Dennis Chambers is an amazing drummer, but even the best drummer will not be able to save an album of bland compositions and uninspired playing. Scott Henderson's Tribal Tech is a much better bet for the high-energy fusion genre.