2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Sublime, But Certainly Enjoyable, July 25, 2009
This review is from: Just Before Sunrise: Dream Weaver & Love in (Audio CD)
Once I was wandering through the jazz section of a local CD store when I saw a display that featured a come-on along the lines of, "a new recording by America's premier (or some work to that effect--maybe it was "greatest" or "best") jazz saxophonist." Now, I'm not going to say who the artist was, but that he was not Charles Lloyd made the advertising claim a misleading one (and I'm sure that fans of Arthur Blythe, Sonny Rollins, Chico Freeman, David Murray, Branford Marsalis, and a few other folks would feel similarly misled).
But on another wander through a CD store, I happened upon this re-release of two of Lloyd's early recordings from the `60s. Just Before Sunrise is actually a two-CD compilation of two Charles Lloyd Quartet recordings, Dream Weaver (1966) and Love-In (1967), the latter a live-concert recording made at the Fillmore Auditorium--in fact, it was the first live recording ever made at the Fillmore. Summer of Love, baby! With then-youngsters Jack DeJohnette on drums and Keith Jarrett on piano, this was one heck of a quartet whether anchored on bass by Cecil McBee (on Dream Weaver) or by Ron McLure (Love-In).
The sound quality on Dream Weaver is pretty good but not outstanding for a studio recording, while the live sound on Love-In is about what you would expect for a live recording--Lloyd's sax and flute given prominence, with Jarrett's piano usually pretty well in the background. DeJohnette's energetic drumming is able to fight its way through the mix, but McClure's bass sounds pretty light.
For fans who have been turned on to Lloyd's music by his work on ECM, this set gives a perspective on what he was doing three decades ago. Not quite as sublime as his ECM work, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jazz that turned on the Grateful Dead, June 22, 2000
This review is from: Just Before Sunrise: Dream Weaver & Love in (Audio CD)
A welcome re-issue for two albums from the group that are supposed to have turned the Grateful Dead on to jazz.In some ways a strange pairing,"Dream Weaver" being the quartets first Atlantic recording,and "Love In" a live recording of a different line-up. However three of the four in the band remain constant and its clear to see why Lloyd, Keith Jarrett and Jack de Johnette were so highly regarded.Jarrett in particular sprays the albums with amazing piano phrases and DeJohnette was equally inventive on drums. Many of the tracks from "Dream Weaver" have been available on Atlantic samplers, but it's an album that demands to be heard in full. "Love In" contains more extended moments, particularly "Memphis Dues again/Island Blue". It also features what was a regular part of their live act, a Beatles tune, in this case "Here there and everywhere". What is evident in the pairing is the enormous energy and enthusiasm that drove the band into extended experimentation, and made them so popular. If you're coming to these albums from Lloyd's more recent ECM albums you may find it rather frenetic, but for all us old hippies "it's good to have the both of you back"
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