Gradually Going Tornado

Bill Bruford | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 30, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: E.G. Records
• ASIN: B000003S19
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,033 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Age of Information

2. Gothic 17

3. Joe Frazier

4. Q.E.D.

5. The Sliding Floor

6. Palewell Park

7. Plans for J.D.

8. Land's End

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Drummer's Album Not For Drummers, December 16, 1999

By 

revolucionaria - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gradually Going Tornado (Audio CD)

Although this album hasn't enjoyed the classic status of its predecessors (Feels Good To Me and One OF A Kind), but hell, this album is a product of vision.

First of all, Jeff Berlin's vocals and compositions are poisonous,adding a sarcastic mood to the overall LP. The tunes are hard to describe. Overall it's still in Bruford's electronic fusion vein, but the addition of the vocals really offered something fresh. Berlin's vocals owe something to Jack Bruce's late 60s/early 70s singing style (like in Cream's As You Said or the early Tony Williams' Lifetime tunes).

Bruford doesn't technically show off, but his playing still surprises us a lot. Just listen to the first instrumental break in Age Of Information, or how Bruford unexpectedly reversed a 4/4 meter during the latter half of Land's End.

Last not but least: the genius of (the canterbury, not the eurhythmic) Dave Stewart. Dense and complex chords, but played passionately. Though 'the unknown John Clark' might suffer from criticism (often depicted as a HOldsworth clone), his contributions on Gothic 17 or the Sliding Floor are brilliant.

After a few listenings, you might even think it's a great rock album...

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The pinnacle of the three classic Bruford studio albums, November 8, 2005

By 

Squire Jaco (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gradually Going Tornado (Audio CD)

"Gradually Going Tornado" completed the ascent to great, inventive and clever jazz/rock fusion that Bill Bruford began with "Feels Good To Me" (4-1/2 stars) and "One of a Kind" (4-3/4 stars). Yep, this was the complete album from these guys that I had been looking for. Believe it - this is a masterpiece in its genre.

You can't ignore the unique keyboards from Dave Stewart on this - they are upfront, all over, and feature a "wall of sound" effect more often on this album. "Palewell Park" is soft and beautiful on the piano, but his playing everywhere else is fast, surprising, cool and fun - even "urban"-sounding in spots.

I'm a huge Allan Holdsworth fan, but I think replacement John Clarke is FANTASTIC on this album. (And if you ever listen to the live "Bruford Tapes", you'll hear Clarke nailing Holdsworth's solos with perfection.) Here, he impresses most on "Land's End", "q.e.d." and "Gothic 17".

Fretless bass demigod Jeff Berlin is incredibly inventive and original on this album. His "Joe Frazier" still blows my mind with its combination of speed and virtuosity, while his melodic accompaniment to Stewart's piano on "Palewell Park" is simply sublime. And he sings on four of the songs with a slightly nasal, droll and friendly tenor that's not far from John Wetton or even - I've gotta say it - crooners Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams in places! (Think about it.)

Bruford himself never sounded better than on this album (in my humble opinion). And the songwriting and production is superb; a great mix of soft and ambient atmospheres along with solid grooves, pop hooks and world class soloing from all members.

Do this for me....no, wait - Do this for YOURSELF: Find a comfortable chair, strap on your headphones, put this cd on and close your eyes for 46 minutes. Focus on the BASS, because you'll hear the keys, guitar and drums easily enough. And as the last song fades into the ether, I bet that you'll open your eyes and say, "Whoa, man, that really was one of the BEST albums I've ever heard!" (O.K., maybe you don't talk quite like that, but you get the idea....;-)

It's a great, GREAT album. I speak the truth.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 9.5/10; Performance = 9.5/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 8/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.3 ("5 stars")

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome; the best of the 3 Bruford Band '70s albums, June 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Gradually Going Tornado (Audio CD)

The only reason Bruford fans rate this lower than the first two albums is because Allan Holdsworth is replaced by 'the unknown' John Clark. Now, Clark is no Holdsworth but he's still an awesome guitarist & dang-near almost a Holdsworth in that he even sounds like him without going as far into Holdsworth copy-cat as say Bill Connors on his Double-Up LP. Either way, in my opinion, the overall quality of the tunes on Tornado is higher than the first two albums & that makes up for the margin between Clark & Holdsworth. Jeff Berlin is famous as a bass virtuoso & does more than a credible job singing here than he ever did in later years as a solo artist. In fact, he should've sung instead of a voice-shot Jack Bruce on the awesome Allan Holdsworth album "Road Games." Fusion fans who do not own & worship this album are just dabblers. One of the top 10 fusion albums ever made along with Inner Mounting Flame, Aurora, Birds of Fire, One of A Kind, Unorthodox Behaviour, Livestock, Enigmatic Ocean, Barefoot Boy, I.O.U. & Mind Transplant.