Customer Reviews

Gateway

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

 

 

This is definitely a cd worth buying. This is coming from a person who is admittedly not the biggest fan of John Abercrombie (or jazz with an electric guitar in-general). While I have to admit that I don't like track two at all, BACK-WOODS SONG, UNSHIELDED DESIRE, and SORCERY 1 are worth the cost of the cd. BACK-WOODS SONG just has an incredibly cool groove to it and Dave Holland's playing and acoustic bass tone on it get me every single time I listen to this cd. This tune is probably one of my all-time favorite jazz tunes.

DeJohnette's playing is stellar! He is just drenched in that hard swinging, power-rhythmic style that he has perfected, and he and Holland are fantastic together. As great as Abercrombie plays during his best moments on this cd, for me it is Holland and DeJohnette (and the tunes) who make this a cd worth visiting time and time again. If you don't know Abercrombie well, his guitar tone is "softer" than that of other "fusion guitarists" such as McLaughlin or DiMeola. Not as in a "smooth jazz" sort of way, I just mean that his sound isn't a screaming wall of stinging electricity. Actually, I don't consider this fusion really though. I don't like fusion... too many horribly dated sounds and bad synthesizer schlock. This cd is gloriously thick sounding acoustic bass, a master drummer who swings when called for and "goes out" when called for, and an ethereal guitar tone. For lack of a better way to explain it... John Abercrombie's guitar tone sounds sort of like some of Steve Kimock's better sounds, though Abercrombie is easily the more original of the two guitarists.

I had very strong reservations when I bought this cd. Electric guitar is probably my least favorite instrument in a jazz setting and I had quite low expectations but I let myself follow my curiosity. I am glad I did, the quality of the music on this cd surprised me greatly and I have since enjoyed many listens to it.

Yes, if avant garde jazz is your thing, this is the album for you. John Abercrombie is able to use his formidable pallet of sounds against one of the finest rhythm pairs on the market. DeJohnette and Holland mix it up for a framework that is just poetry. (For No. 1 ECM LP of all time, check out the original Rypdal/Vitous/DeJohnette recording).

John Abercrombie has developed into a far more conventional guitarist than anyone hearing this album in 1976 could have ever imagined. At that time, amid the ever-slickening technical wizards (such as DiMeola and Holdsworth), Abercrombie was featured leader or sideman on a series of inspired recordings for ECM. In retrospect, a lot of what JA was trying to do didn't work -- he would stray so methodically away from cliches (and sometimes even the harmony of the piece) that it could seem aimless and pointless. But the point was, at a time when post-Hendrix electric jazz guitar was being codified into its own set of cliches, JA was searching relentlessly for sounds that no one had ever heard before. This recording is the high point of that search. Bolstered by some great Dave Holland compositions and the incredible interplay with Holland and Jack DeJohnette, Abercrombie plays some of the wildest and most idea-driven guitar solos you'll hear anywhere. Listen especially to "Unshielded Desire" (a duo with drummer DeJohnette) and "Sorcery 1," where JA's out-on-a-limb approach has some of its most spectacular moments. "Jamala," Dave Holland's ballad, is a gorgeous Abercrombie/Holland duet. The only downside on this CD (big enough to cost it that fifth star) is the overlong guitar solo on "May Dance," where JA really loses focus and never regains it. Even here, though, you've got a magnificent Dave Holland solo to pull the song out of a nosedive. If you're a big fan of 70s fusion guitar or its influence on 80s rock guitar, you might hate this. But if you're a fan of the darker pathways of jazz improvisation, give this a shot. This is one of the deepest, most imaginative guitar trio recordings in all of jazz.

Somewhat rawer in both tone and composition than your average ECM mid-70s release, this first meeting between guitarist Abercrombie, bassist Holland and drummer DeJohnette grooves along with the fire of early fusion (Abercrombie's tone is usually clean, yet he's clearly capable of exploding into shards of noise, and just dig DeJohnette's peerless attack), yet remains true to the melodic & structural compexities of classic jazz. The highlights are many, yet it's the relentless swing of Dave Holland on the opener, 'Back-Woods Song' that continues to draw me in. Essential for electric guitar fans, and a good investment for any jazz enthusiast.

Its sort of depressing to listen to this cd in 2000. In 1975 when it came out it was possible for three really open musicians to get together, play some pretty over-the-top music, and here's the depressing part, ACTUALLY GET IT RECORDED AND WIDELY DISTRIBUTED. These guys were alternative before the term was coined. Some electronica fan will probably write the same review in 25 years after that genre gets codified if it hasn't already.

OK, so much for the sociology, how about the music? Imagine Hendrix hadn't died, and instead found a rhythm section that was his creative match. Serious electric guitar without the how-many-notes-per-second-can-I-play mindlessness into which both fusion and heavy metal would degenerate. "Backwoods Song" with its simple bass groove opens the album and draws in the listener. "Unshielded Desire" states emphatically that this ain't your father's jazz, and "Sorcery I," which closes, is a kind of "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" for intellectuals.

As a Rock based drummer seeking creative inspiration, this CD (along with anything that Miles did....and those involved with him) was the key to another world. I always look forward to hearing it and turning others onto it because it is truly one of the most exciting, creative and inspirational CD's that I own. It is like Jazz musicians rocking out, but in a way that was fresh compared to the typical 70's fusion that came to represent the genre(or sub-genre).This to me represents Music as Art...period.

This LP was on my turntable constantly back in the 1970s. A brilliant combination of three great players. Not to be missed.

This 1975 release on the ECM label had more ferocity and fangs than your average ECM disc of the time. Having come fresh off a recording session with Oregon's Colin Walcott for his Cloud Dance album, the three musicians decided to stir up some electrified and inspired mayhem of their own.

Bassist Dave Holland leads the charge on "Backwoods Song", starting innocently enough with a country-ish groove, then enters DeJohnette to give it further drive, then Abercrombie steers it toward the outer fringes of the woods, so to speak, with a vaguely unsettling, warbling melody, leading to a bluesy turnaround. From there, JA takes you to the darkest most unknown parts of these woods with his relentless guitar musings. "Waiting" is Dave Hollands' hypnotic bass solo piece that definitely conveys that feeling very well in fact. "May Dance" is a sunnier, more upbeat bop-inspired romp with Abercrombie leading the way with a clean yet edgy jazz tone from his axe.

Things get more intense with "Unshielded Desire" a duet of Abercrombie and DeJohnette that recalls the fiery exchanges of Coltrane and Elvin Jones from a decade earlier, both musicians relentlessly search for new melodic ideas as the piece almost blows itself apart. "Jamal" is a beautifully mysterious and enigmatic interaction between Abercrombie and Holland, To close on a high note, there is "Sorcery 1", starting with menacing spook noises from Abercrombie and equally menacing percussion noises weave in and out, building in intensity until Abercrombie roars in with some of the spookiest long sustained notes this side of Hendrix as DeJohnette unleashes violent explosions of drums and cymbals while Holland roars authoritatively underneath them eventually winding down as spooks are flying out of the speakers (LOL).

As is typical with ECM recordings, the overall ambience is spacious as all outdoors, yet the instruments are so crisp (especially drums and bass) while Abercrombie is recorded with just enough reverb and distance to give him, to my ears, one of the most genuinely unsettling, spooky and unique electric guitar sounds of the time, he sounded like NOBODY else.

Fusion with a strong emphasis on the JAZZ part of the equation with that kind of looseness combined with the ferocity of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. A great postcard from when creativity was the norm!

Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette and John Abercrombie get together for an easygoing set of original songs heavy on the improvisation. The opener, "Back-Woods Song", has an amiable vibe. I like it, though it sounds like three jazz virtuosos playing the first rock-blues riff which popped into their heads. "Waiting" is basically a Dave Holland solo. "May Dance" has a good melody, and the band keeps it going throughout. The middle section sounds like a premonition of Nels Cline CD's to come. "Unshielded Desire" starts fusion-y, and winds up being a showcase for Abercrombie's electric guitar. "Jamala" is the pretty song of the bunch, though Abercrombie's guitar lines could have been pasted in from one of the other songs. "Sorcery, No. 1" is the completely free song, and unlike the free songs on Holland's "Conference Of The Birds" or DeJohnette's "Special Edition", it doesn't work for me.

"Gateway" has some good stuff on it, and the band felt good enough about it to make another record, then reform in the early 90's. I think it sounds too much like the band members hadn't gotten used to each other, so I give it 3 stars.

This album is completely mindblowing. From the cascading guitar runs to the heroic and athletic drums, let alone the magnificent bass lines. This is the ULTIMATE POWER TRIO! Rush: eat yer heart out! Peace - jacobs