|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy a CD or a vinyl record, get a $1 Amazon MP3 Credit. Limit one promotional credit per customer. Here's how (restrictions apply)
- Includes FREE MP3 version of this album Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Williams's group Lifetime, which looked on paper like an organ jazz-funk trio, produced in 1969 this headlong hybrid from jazz complexity and rock immediacy. Williams, fresh from edging Davis towards his jazz-rock-soul period, concocts a driving, high-volume fusion that has more conviction and flare than anyone else's would until the advent of the great Mahavishnu Orchestra a couple of years later. That band was led by Williams's collaborator here, John McLaughlin, as blistering and savvy a guitarist as any jazz-rock saw. Larry Young's organ is a skirmishing juggernaut, clearing and blasting into space above, behind, beneath, and between the drummer's crashing, jittering rhythms. A cautionary note: To be sure, Williams's singing on Emergency! is brave, at best, but it is blessedly limited. --Peter Monaghan
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Alright, I think we can all agree that the sound quality is atrocious, and that Tony's singing (think a hungover Dylan) doesn't do this album any favors.. but the music is hotter than a lava flow.
This stuff is raw, innovative (1969) fusion that thoroughly emphasizes the ROCK half of the equation. Not as sophisticated as McLaughlin's own Mahavishnu Orchestra or Tony's later albums with Allan Holdsworth, but fiery and inspired trio work nonetheless. Larry Young, McLaughlin, and Williams are all playing like they're locked in the studio with guns pointed at their heads; especially Williams, who was probably tired of being held back in his collaborations with Miles, and totally cuts loose here (listen to him on the title track--he's just not HUMAN, I tell you). And Young's cosmic organ kicks it into the stratosphere. Listen to him play off of John on Sangria For Three. Mindblowing!
Minus the vocals, this is landmark music and essential listening for jazz/fusion heads, as is the 1970 followup Turn It Over. About as far removed from the soundtrack of "Miami Vice" as you can imagine.
This stuff is raw, innovative (1969) fusion that thoroughly emphasizes the ROCK half of the equation. Not as sophisticated as McLaughlin's own Mahavishnu Orchestra or Tony's later albums with Allan Holdsworth, but fiery and inspired trio work nonetheless. Larry Young, McLaughlin, and Williams are all playing like they're locked in the studio with guns pointed at their heads; especially Williams, who was probably tired of being held back in his collaborations with Miles, and totally cuts loose here (listen to him on the title track--he's just not HUMAN, I tell you). And Young's cosmic organ kicks it into the stratosphere. Listen to him play off of John on Sangria For Three. Mindblowing!
Minus the vocals, this is landmark music and essential listening for jazz/fusion heads, as is the 1970 followup Turn It Over. About as far removed from the soundtrack of "Miami Vice" as you can imagine.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was there when this band was playing opposite Herbie Hancock at the Village Vanguard. Tony had just brought John McLaughlin over from England, and he was recording 'In a Silent Way' with Miles at the time. I was totally blown away by the garage band sound and the exotic, funky Bley tunes. This was art. I wore out a stylus and the vinyl long ago. I remember the old ampeg amp and the stratocaster, the Hammond B3 and the mike inside the hi-hat cymbal. Wish I could give another 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Blues, rock, and jazz are all in here but strained down to their essence and played with tremendous energy. Three virtuoso musicians coalesce into something great. This is a wild wild wild trip and the music is a real layer of sonic energy. Williams' drumming it at its greatest and most idiosynchratic, and McLaughlin's guitar playing combines the best elements of his work with Miles and early Mahavishnu. Unlike anything else ever recorded and a real underappreciated classic work.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Groundbreaking album, but listeners must accept it's a late-60s...
I won't add any more words of praise as others before have done that well enough, but just want to assuage the worries of any prospective buyer that this album is practically... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars
quality jazz, but the recording technology used to make this album......
I love the music on Emergency. Lots of really good drum work, jazzy guitar playing and keyboard jams that feel really ambitious. Read more
Published on January 22, 2011 by B. E Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Adventurous, exciting flawed classic.
To me, this record is has a lot of great examples of the best "fusion" ever released. It's loud, organic, creative, powerful, and not afraid to take chances. Read more
Published on March 25, 2010 by Art Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where rock and freebop intersect
I got into jazz via fusion, and picked this up as a "historically important recording". It went completely over my head at the time (as did B*tches Brew). Read more
Published on February 28, 2010 by G B
5.0 out of 5 stars
classic
Miles Davis may have added rock beats to jazz, but it was Tony Williams Lifetime that made jazz rock. Read more
Published on July 28, 2009 by Bill Your 'Free Form FM Print DJ
5.0 out of 5 stars
a gem released
This album has been a must hear for a long time, but was always out of print, and vinyl copies not always easy to track down, especially pre internet. Read more
Published on November 22, 2008 by muzo
4.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible sound, great music
Now this is supposed to have been a quite ground-breaking record. The music is really splendid but the sound quality is really horrible and does distract somewhat since a lot of... Read more
Published on March 25, 2008 by Lovblad
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bad singing...WORSE lyrics
I agree with what's been said. Tony should never have attempted to become a vocalist. But it might have been more tolerable had the lyrics not been so embarrassing! Read more
Published on January 24, 2008 by Treegarden
4.0 out of 5 stars
Visionary Trio
I hesitated to purchase this cd for years based on misleading comments about the sound quality. Finally relenting, I now own a copy and this remaster sounds great. Read more
Published on April 12, 2006 by Star Thrower
2.0 out of 5 stars
Who on earth recorded this?
As I look over the reviews for Emergency!, I notice that only one agrees with me. So, I'm writing my own review, just in case there's someone else who wonders if they're the only... Read more
Published on February 12, 2006 by David Lerner
