Customer Reviews

Morning Dance

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was it -- THE smooth jazz ablum. Before Kenny G, before Richard Elliot, before (m)any of the others, this album defined the smooth jazz sound. And it is as fresh a sound today as it was when it came out -- really!

I can still hear the songs in my head just by reading the titles. It still feels like a fresh spring morning on an Italian terrace by the sea with the hummingbirds sweeping around you. And this is almost TWENTY FIVE years later.

This truly is a classic. I had to write as I just listened to it yesterday. What is old is new again, and like the first true love, this just never seems to lose it's lustre!

I heard the track "Morning Dance" at a jazz club several weeks ago and had to buy the album. I was not dissapointed. This album was originally released in 1979 but the music is still as fresh 20 years down the road. The melodies are simply superb. If you're a jazz fan and you don't own this album, rectify the situation now.

This is by far one the best and most acclaimed albums by SG. For many, it is the definitive sound of SG and it never got better than this. It is a serious fusion of beach-side Latino, with NY funk and enough smooth for it to be a viable record in the morning, afternoon or late night. The stand out tracks includes "Morning Dance", "Starburst", "Rasul" and Jay Beckenstein's mom-tribute song "Song For Lorraine". The good thing about this album is that it always lifts you up with its catchy jazz riffs and hooks. It almost as if they approached the album with a `pop hook' sensibility. However, with helping hands from the Becker Brothers, the album is not ion the least bit frivilious when it comes to musical depth and content. The album opens with "Morning Dance", a tune that immediately takes you away to a sunshine `n' sand beach, with icy Pina-coladas and beautiful ladies. Mind you, not hot `n' lustful ladies but beautiful ladies. That is the SG difference. Thereafter the album is just smooth and easy with the beautiful ballad `Rasul' adding color and emotional depth to it.

To coin a phrase, back in the day, this was, excuse me, "da bomb," for us 70s and 80s children of the sun. That was back when life was as refreshingly cool and sweetly mellow as the blue sky above Chuck Mangione's trumpet. I highly recommend this recording, not only for its nostalgic value, but also for the simple reason, that at some time or other you've heard the song "morning dance", whether it was while in line at the grocery store or (God forbid) in an elevator. So when you hear it now, it will affect you, and like Prince or Jimi Hendrix--you'll remember where you were or what you were doing when you first heard it. Peace.

This is the album die-hard Spyro fans hate. Yes, Morning Dance. Many fans are tired of it, want to hear something different on the radio, and just can't stand that after 25 recordings, this is the only one that is played or raved about. Well, that might be a good argument, but this truely is a great album. Morning Dance is just a great melodic tune. Every member of the band works great together. Back to the album itself. Some great tunes are Jubilee and Song For Lorrane. The others are all good, those are just the ones that stick out for me.

This bright CD from Spyra Gyra has many soothing sounds whether its the brass, keyboards, or horn section. All of the songs are quite tuneful yet there is some room for freeform improvisation. Many textures are light and breezy but there is some edgier material like Hellopolis and End Of Romanticism where the guitar solos add some bite. Whereas this album can be classified as modern jazz, tehre are many rock and easy listening elemnts that make this collection sutiable for a wide audience.

While this album dates back to the close of the 70's it is one of those albums that is simply put a benchmark of the genre. Spyro Gyra defined the contemporary jazz, then called "fusion", with this album. If you own 5 albums in your whole collection, this should be one of them. In addition to the huge hit "Morning Dance" the album contains some of the group's best tunes including "Starburst", Jeremy Wall's beautiful ballad "Rasul" and the song for leader Jay Beckenstein's mom, "Song For Lorraine". This album combines great song writing and production with something Spryo does perhaps better than anyone in this genre, melody.

Like everyone else from "back in the day", Spyro Gyra was the group that got me excited about jazz and Morning Dance was THE track. Then I saw the band live at Disney World in Orlando. That was it, I've been a Spyro Gyra freak ever-since. Although I must admit, I haven't been tuned into their music over the past 10 years but if you love Smooth Jazz, you must have this CD in your collection. Then again this just maybe nostalgia overload!! Naw, this is EXCELLENT music, even today!!!

Just picked this LP up in mint condition at a record shop in Troy NY for $2. Like many of the other reviewers, this is a smooth jazz/fusion classic with catchy tunes that was the forerunner to the sound of smooth jazz through the 80's and 90's. I especially like "End Of Romanticism" for the harder fusion sound. Great musicianship.

No matter when or where I hear the title song of this album it always cheers me up.And I don't find it corny at all-sorry.Most of the music I love (Stevie Wonder,Donald Fagan even the Isley Brothers)are played in supermarkets now-this has almost the moment it came out.What a surprise listening to this entire album what a a diverse and even explosive band Spyro Gyra can be.The title track isn't indicative of 'Morning Dance' as a whole-"Jubilee" for example is full on polyrhythmic funky grooving with a KILLER bass line.The backbeat and the level of playing on "Rasul" is actually very conventionally jazzy and relaxed."Song For Lorraine" and "Starburst" actually both return to more funky grooves.On the second side of the album the musical environment changes yet again,this time to a more Brazillian percussion flavored fusion sound on "Heliopolis" and "End Of Romanticism",reminding us that depsite there place in the history of smooth jazz Spyro Gyra were at this point still holding very true to more improvosational jazz fusion and funk-the pop stuff was only secondary.To round things out "Little Linda" and "If It Doesn't Matter" both have the light tone of the title song.'Morning Dance' might very well be Spyro Gyra's best known recording and certainly is their signiture song.It's also a great album instroduction outside a best of.Alot of their best songs are here and the album is very consistant and almost intense at time.Well worth the effort to listen to!