Customer Reviews

Journey Within / In Europe

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It never ceases to amaze me how little known Charles Lloyd--and particularly his '60's quartet with Jarrett and DeJohnette. Amazingly, even a lot of serious Jarrett fans don't seem to know these recordings. Then, considering the sheer quantity of music Jarrett puts out, perhaps they simply don't have time. Anyway, I was even more surprised to see that this wonderful CD, containing two of the quartet's albums, hadn't merited even one review. Thus, I felt forced to chime in and heartily recommend this disc to any fan of '60's jazz--particularly that exquisite in-between stuff, not quite traditional but not free jazz, fusion, or psychedelic jamming, either; contemplative, with feints toward Eastern philosophy, perhaps, but far too lively and cerebral to be called New Age; a category in which I would include A Love Supreme, In a Silent Way, and Pharaoh Sanders' work from the time).

This CD comprises two of Lloyd's original Atlantic LP's on one CD. One of these is IN EUROPE and the other is JOURNEY WITHIN. EUROPE is in the vein of Lloyd's FOREST FLOWER material. People who like FLOWER will like EUROPE. And I love this period of Lloyd's music as much as anyone. But I really like Lloyd when his music changed after hanging out in San Fran in the 1960's with the hippy bands. So, I love JOURNEY WITHIN. This recording will certainly be a love it or hate it thing for most people. My sister hates it, for instance. I love it!! This is Lloyd at his trippy-est, spacey-est, best. The title song takes me there, if you've ever been there, even when I'm straight!! I love the free improvization of it. For those historians of you out there, this allegedly is the first live recording ever released from the original Fillmore Auditorium. This and Lloyd's LOVE-IN album were both recorded there, allegedly, over several nights. I don't think LOVE-In is as cool, however. My one complaint about this CD is that this is a remastered version of the music and I actually prefer the crappy sounding original version of the song on CD from the BEST OF CHARLES LLOYD on Atlantic issued in the late 80's or early 90's. It sounds more like the vinyl. This new version tries too hard to make up for the recording imperfections inherent in the original recording. Nevertheless, I would have loved to have been there with my friend Owsley, grooving to Charles, doing all of the things that made Ronald Reagan a rabid reactionary!! Legend has it that Lloyd jammed with the Grateful Dead at the Human Be-In in Jan. 1967. John Cipollina, Gabor Szabo and the Beach Boys recorded with Lloyd in the 1970's. I've seen him twice, and met him both times. Once with Billy Higgins. Nice man. Go see him!! And buy this CD and find out why his music was so inspiring to the hippies and the hippy bands of the 1960's. And the opening track may just take you back to a freer, happier time and place.....for 10 or 11 minutes.

In the late 1960s, Charles Lloyd's group was among the handful of bands that were really doing something new and different. These two Atlantic LPs, reissued on one CD are proof.

Thioughtful, even danceable music that sounds as fresh today as when it was recorded.