Eric Burdon and War - 1970 [1992] "Eric Burdon Declares War"

Eric Burdon Declares "War" is the first of two original albums by funk band Eric Burdon and War, released on MGM Records in April 1970. It peaked at number 18 on record charts in the USA, number 50 in the UK, and number 7 in Australia.[citation needed] The back cover includes this declaration: "We the People, have declared War against the People, for the right to love each other". The album received a gold record award.

Capturing the improvisational energy the band would soon become famous for, WAR's debut with Animals frontman Eric Burdon burst on the scene and on the charts with the erotic, Latin-tinged hit "Spill The Wine." For rock icon Burdon it was a dream come true, blending his powerful vocal style with a raw and creative blues band. Standout tracks include "Vision Of Rassan," "Blues For Memphis Slim," and the simmering soul revamp of John D. Loudermilk's blues classic "Tobacco Road."

You are probably familiar with 'Spill the Wine', the great single and best song from this album; but there are other interesting nuggets here. This is a tough album to review. I really like it; but it's probably not for everyone. Recorded / released in 1970, this album reflects some of the musical trends that were prevalent at the time: Blues, Rock, Jazz, Latin, Psychedelic... There are others, Santana to name one, that married these influences to greater success; but this album deserves a listen if only for the quality of the musicianship. Eric Burdon is an excellent vocalist; but it's really WAR that carries the weight here. Eric Burdon was still in a Trippy Psychedelic phase during this time - probably a little out of sync with the direction of WAR - so you get an interesting hybrid. This album might have the greatest appeal to fans of the early 70's music, where there we so many musical styles being explored / merged. In the context of the period, this is an interesting and mostly enjoyable album.

The debut effort by Eric Burdon and War was an erratic effort that hinted at more potential than it actually delivered. Three of the five tunes are meandering blues-jazz-psychedelic jams, two of which, "Tobacco Road" and "Blues for Memphis Slim," chug along for nearly 15 minutes. These showcase the then-unknown War's funky fusion, and Burdon's still-impressive vocals, but suffer from a lack of focus and substance. "Spill the Wine," on the other hand, is inarguably the greatest moment of the Burdon-fronted lineup. Not only was this goofy funk, shaggy-dog story one of the most truly inspired off-the-wall hit singles of all time, it was War's first smash -- and Eric Burdon's last. The odd closing track, a short piece of avant-garde sentimentality called "You're No Stranger," was deleted from re-releases of this album for years. 

The cover, credited to The Visual Thing (with Burdon credited for the concept), depicts two disembodied but joined arms, one white and one black, both giving a three finger salute, similar to the peace sign which uses two fingers. The three fingers may represent the letter "w" in the word "war". This salute was also used on the cover of a future album, War. The use of a background sun also appears as a recurring theme on both front and back covers of The Black-Man's Burdon and the innersleeve of Deliver the Word.

Track listing:

All tracks written by War (Papa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, Eric Burdon, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard E. Scott) except where noted. Note: Memphis Slim composed music under the name of Peter Chatman which was actually his father's name; on the original album the composer credit is misprinted as "P. Chapman".

1.    "The Vision of Rassan" - 7:40
        "Dedication"" – 2:33
        "Roll on Kirk" – 5:07
2.    "Tobacco Road" - 13:44
        "Tobacco Road" (John D. Loudermilk) – 3:47
        "I Have a Dream" – 6:39
        "Tobacco Road" (Loudermilk) – 3:58
3.    "Spill the Wine" – 4:38
4.    "Blues for Memphis Slim" - 13:30 (individual times not accurate)
        "Birth" – 1:31
        "Mother Earth" (Peter Chatman) – 2:46
        "Mr. Charlie" – 3:05
        "Danish Pastry" – 3:18
        "Mother Earth" (Chatman) – 2:28
5.    "You're No Stranger" (Thomas C Carter) – 1:55

Personnel

    Eric Burdon – lead vocals
    Lee Oskar – harmonica
    Charles Miller – tenor sax, flute
    Howard Scott – guitar, backing vocals
    Lonnie Jordan – organ, piano
    Bee Bee Dickerson – bass, backing vocals
    Harold Brown – drums
    Dee Allen – conga, percussion

Larry Carlton - 2006 "Fire Wire"

Fire Wire is an album by Larry Carlton that was released in 2006. It received a nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards which took place in 2007.

If veteran session guitarist Larry Carlton's Sapphire Blue (Bluebird, 2004) was a first shot at the bow of those who'd written him off as too smooth, Fire Wire is a veritable volley. Sapphire Blue found Carlton in a more energetic, blues-based context, but his trademark singing tone still spoke the language of jazz. Leaving all such references behind, Fire Wire is more rock instrumental than jazz fusion—and the rawest album he's made in his forty-year career.

The laid-back minor blues of "The Prince" is a respite from the energy of the rest of the record. Carlton restricts himself to acoustic guitar and demonstrates, once again, his debt to legendary bluesman B.B. King. "Inkblot 11," on the other hand, is a flat-out, pedal-to-the-metal rocker. Even the inclusion of the Sapphire Blue Horn Section does little to soften the wide-legged rock stance of Carlton's gritty tone and searing lines.

Carlton's writing on Fire Wire is his most direct, least complicated to date. Complex harmonies are nowhere to be found, nor are there any odd bars to break up the pulsing rock groove of songs like the four-to-the-floor "Double Cross." His language may be simpler, but his ability to squeeze the most out of every bend, and phrase in ways that maximize every note, keeps Fire Wire in context with the rest of his nearly two dozen solo records. If Blow by Blow (Epic, 1975) proved Jeff Beck's ability to transfer his visceral rock style into a jazz fusion setting, Fire Wire shows Carlton's ability to move in an opposite direction. The changes are simpler, but Carlton remains ever an inventive player, even when speaking in those terms.

The core quartet's other members, drummer Matt Chamberlain, bassist Michael Rhodes and keyboardist Jeff Babko, get little solo space. Still, they're the perfect rhythm section—loose and responsive when required, tight and completely in synch behind Carlton elsewhere.

One could argue that by moving away from the smooth leanings of his more recent work, Carlton runs the risk of alienating a core fan group. But anyone who's followed Carlton's forty-year career knows that his tastes run wide. On first glance Fire Wire may appear to be an anomaly, but given Carlton's ever-present less-is-more approach, its raw lyricism and avoidance of excess place it completely in context.

Issued in Japan in 2005, Larry Carlton's Fire Wire was issued stateside in March of 2006. This is a kind of continuation the Sapphire Blue session from 2004. Where the former album used a textured approach to the blues, many of the tunes here are in your face. They are mostly uptempo, funky, and tough, though some of them are moody and dark. And while "blues" are ever present here, they seem to inform Carlton's more rocking style on this offering. What's more, unlike some of his more commercial and fusion oriented projects, this one engages rock directly with a keen lyrical sensibility.

Keyboardist Jeff Babko seems to be a key collaborator on these tracks. His big fat synthetic backdrop provides ballast for the rhythm section -- bassist Michael Rhodes and drummer Matt Chamberlain -- and a big enough jump-off point for Carlton to do his considerable stuff both riffing and filling the spaces. "Inkblot 11" roars out of the gate with Carlton stereo riffing alternately with the four-piece horn section that makes it groove. "Double Cross" touches on the blues, but it's funkier, especially when the guitar lines and Babko's Rhodes play in tandem and then Carlton goes for the power chords. "Surrender" is a smoky little blues rocker that sounds like a postmodern tribute to Peter Green. "Naked Truth" references Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand" in the opening moments and becomes its own distorted lyric ballad.

The big crunch returns in "Big Trouble," courtesy of Carlton's stereo guitar, and Csaba Petocz's in-the-red production. This is one of those tracks where the guitar just screams and screams of simple heavy rock vamps but who cares? It kicks butt. The funk returns on "Dirty Donna's House Party," with horns and keyboards popping all over the mix. Carlton's in the high register doing some serious string bending. The record closes with the abstractly moody jazz-funk number. It's an odd cut, but when it hits its groove, one can see why it was chosen to end the set. Carlton is simply loose, pushing the dials up and Babko supports him in the same way Jan Hammer supported Jeff Beck, filling spaces for the rhythm section to jump on, putting the vamp in the back instead of the front, and accelerating things in the middle so Carlton can just let loose -- and he does. Fire Wire isn't the most imaginative or creatively challenging record Carlton has ever made, but it is loose, reckless, and fun; he must have had a ball making it, but you'd never know it by the cover.

A departure from this heavy-duty program is “Sunrise,” a melancholy acoustic ballad in the tradition of his Grammy-winning album from 20 years ago, Alone/But Never Alone. Other highlights include Carlton’s stinging, Albert King-flavored licks and wah-wah wailing over the top of the funky “Dirty Donna’s House Party” (reminiscent of Billy Cobham’s “Stratus”) and his liquid harmonic sensibility on the lyrical ballad “Naked Truth” (inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”).

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=larry+carlton

Track listing

01    "Inkblot 11 – 3:18
02    "Double Cross – 4:36
03    "Naked Truth" – 3:49
04    "Surrender" – 5:01
05    "Big Trouble" – 3:42
06    "Goodbye" – 4:40
07    "Dirty Donna's House Party" – 5:37
08    "The Prince" – 4:35
09    "Sunrise" – 5:11
10     "Mean Street" – 6:48

Personnel

    Larry Carlton – guitar
    Mike Haynes – trumpet
    Barry Green – trombone
    Mark Douthit – saxophone
    Doug Moffet – baritone saxophone
    Jeff Babko – keyboards
    Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
    Matt Chamberlain – drums

Jeff Beck - 1977 [2008] "With The Jan Hammer Group (Live)"

Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live is a live album by Jeff Beck, released in 1977 on Epic Records.

This album is definitely an epic performance of Jeff and Jan, I have it in all the formats available, it is music that can be listened many times and never get old!

Starting with Freeway Jam, that's exactly the way an improvised song should sound, you can just feel how the power of these two monsters of music is just waiting to be unchained, and when the time comes, their soloing travels giving so much dimension to the song.

Later Jeff sings She's a Woman flooding the air with a guitar so sensual that it feels he is singing to her, and her moaning to the touch of his master hand, monumental version!

The album closes with a no less great tune, Jeff Beck at his higher, Blue Wind still has the flavor of The Jeff Beck Group, agressive, dynamic, taking music to the next level with a so revolucionary sound only Beck can project.

Jan Hammer's uncanny ability to simulate the pitch-bending qualities of an electric guitar on his Minimoog synthesizer made him an explosive duet partner with rock's Jeff Beck on this live album -- the third of Beck's successful flirtations with jazz-rock. While leaning toward the Mahavishnu Orchestra brand of jazz-rock, with the word "rock" heavily emphasized, this is a looser, less lockstepped variant. The song selection is split almost equally between Hammer and Beck's repertoires, with Hammer's remake of his techno/mechanized "Darkness/Earth In Search of a Sun" making the biggest splash.

Beck is a marvel, his stinging guitar darting in and out from everywhere like a hit-and-run guerrilla fighter, and Hammer matches him blow by blow, so to speak, with his purer yet equally agile tone quality on shootouts like "Full Moon Boogie." Hammer is a terrible vocalist, but that indulgence fortunately is limited to one track; Beck himself only vocalizes through a gauzy electronic filter on a reggae-like treatment of the Beatles' "She's a Woman." Though the jazz-rock idiom seemed almost spent by the time this was released, Hammer and Beck happily pretended not to notice.

No precise dates and locations are given for the live recordings. The tour began in June 1976 and ended in February 1977, with 117 shows performed.

A&R man Tom Werman suggested[2] that the date at the Astor Theater in Reading, PA (31 August 1976) yielded the best performances, and was going to provide the bulk of the album at the time of his involvement in the project. Beck mixed this along with other recordings at Allen Toussaint's studio in New Orleans.

Then Jan Hammer decided to mix the album himself, and did so with Dennis Weinreich at Scorpio Sound Studios in London, England.

The stereo spectrum of this album duplicates the stage set-up with guitar positioned center right, keyboards center left, violin right and drums and bass center.

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=jeff+beck

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=jan+hammer

Tracks Listing:

1. Freeway Jam
2. Earth (Still Our Only Home)
3. She's A Woman
4. Full Moon Boogie
5. Darkness /Earth In Search Of A Sun
6. Scatterbrain
7. Blue Wind

Total time 44:30

Personnel:

    Jeff Beck - guitar, bass guitar, special effects

The Jan Hammer Group

    Jan Hammer - Moog, Oberheim and Freeman string symphonizer synthesizers, electric piano, timbales; lead vocal on "Earth (Still Our Only Home)"
    Tony "Thunder" Smith - drums; lead vocal on "Full Moon Boogie"
    Fernando Saunders - bass, harmony vocals; rhythm guitar on "She's A Woman"
    Steve Kindler - violin; string synthesizer on "Darkness"; rhythm guitar on "Blue Wind"

Super Funky Sax - 1980 [2014] "Super Funky Sax"

Couldn't find a lot of information on this CD except a 4.5 rating and all titles were written and arranged by David Matthews but he does not play on it.

Track listing:

01 - Super Groove (David Matthews)
02 - Mika (David Matthews)
03 - Noches Calientes (David Matthews)
04 - Seditty (David Matthews)
05 - Black River Rhapsody (David Matthews)
06 - The Return Of Zorro (David Matthews)

Musicians :

David Sanborn : Alto Saxophone
Michael Brecker : Tenor Saxophone
Ronnie Cuber : Baritone Saxophone
David Spinozza : Electric Guitar
Don Grolnick : Electric Piano
Clifford Carter : Synthesizer
Neil Jason : Electric Bass
Andy Newmark : Drums
Sammy Figueroa : Percussion

Emerson, Lake & Palmer 1972 [2007] "Trilogy"

Trilogy is the third studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in July 1972 on Island Records. The cover, designed by Hipgnosis, depicts a combined bust of the three members, while the interior of the original gatefold sleeve features a photomontage of the three in Epping Forest.

Trilogy increased ELP's worldwide popularity, and included "Hoedown", an arrangement of the Aaron Copland composition, which was one of their most popular songs when performing live.

References to a quad version of this album appeared in 1974 Harrison or Schwann record and tape guides, listing Trilogy in the Quadraphonic 8-track tape cartridge format. Collectors report never seeing a Trilogy Q8 at retail, despite its having a catalogue number "Cotillion QT-9903."

In September 1971, the band took a break in their summer North American tour promoting Tarkus (1971) and Pictures at an Exhibition (1971) to record new material for their next studio album. In a May 1972 magazine report, the album had yet to have a title. Emerson was pleased with the album after it was completed, noting its varied and difference in style to Tarkus.

The artwork was designed by Hipgnosis. Spanish artist Salvador Dalí was approached to design it, but he requested $50,000 to do it and was subsequently turned down. The front cover depicts each of the band members' faces; Emerson said this was so as their previous albums had not featured them.

After the heavily distorted bass and doomsday church organ of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album, the exhilarating prog rock of epic proportions on Tarkus, and the violent removal of the sacred aura of classical tunes on Pictures at an Exhibition, Trilogy, ELP's fourth album, features the trio settling down in more crowd-pleasing pastures. Actually, the group was gaining in maturity what they lost in raw energy. Every track on this album has been carefully thought, arranged, and performed to perfection, a process that also included some form of sterilization. Greg Lake's acoustic ballad "From the Beginning" put the group on the charts for a second time. The adaptation of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" also yielded a crowd-pleaser. Prog rock fans had to satisfy themselves with the three-part "The Endless Enigma" and "Trilogy," both very strong but paced compositions. By 1972, Eddie Offord's recording and producing techniques had reached a peak. He provided a lush, comfy finish to the album that made it particularly suited for living-room listening and the FM airwaves.

Greg Lake considered "Trilogy" ELP's masterpiece and he isn't to far off in that assessment. "Trilogy" demonstrates a maturity to their work. While there's a bit less fire here compared to some of their previous albums (or the live performances), the songwriting demonstrates a new level of depth.

Tracks Listing

1. The Endless Enigma (Part One) (6:42)
2. Fugue (1:57)
3. The Endless Enigma (Part Two) (2:05)
4. From The Beginning (4:17)
5. The Sheriff (3:23)
6. Hoedown (Taken from Rodeo) {Aaron Copland, arranged by E, L & P} (3:47)
7. Trilogy (8:54)
8. Living Sin (3:14)
9. Abaddon's Bolero (8:08)

Total Time: 42:29

Line-up / Musicians

- Greg Lake / vocals, bass, electric & acoustic guitars, addit. keyboards (9), lyricist & producer
- Keith Emerson / grand piano, Hammond C3, synths (Moog IIIC & Mini Moog model D), zukra (1)
- Carl Palmer / drums, percussion

Joe Henderson - 1981 [1993] "Relaxin' at Camarillo"

Relaxin' at Camarillo is an album by American jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson recorded in 1979 and released on the Contemporary label.

Henderson had been doing quality work for years on numerous independent and foreign labels, and 1979's Relaxin' at Camarillo, is just one among many examples of that. There are five selections, only one less than eight minutes long, with the usual Henderson attributes: full, deep tone, keen ideas, and an ability to sweep through registers and across octaves with ease. Chick Corea made an excellent partner, playing with none of the self-consciousness that crops up repeatedly in his fusion and electric fare. Bassists and drummers were interchangeable, although you can certainly tell Tony Williams from Peter Erskine (and that's no knock on Erskine).

Joe in his good mood is receiving a packet in velvet and lace, indigo-blue and tomato-red. Gets in the vanes and the bones, gets in, good for relaxing, working, cardriving and...saying it to someone.., it all is there, yeah. Muscular, straight ahead Joe like I've never heard him before. met him back in days of my military career in Norfolk, Virgia where he was playing. Like its title, this album is really the one to listen to if you want to relax. joe henderson's version of my one and only love is simply beautiful and the rest of the album are just equally great.

Joe Henderson's Relaxin' at Camarillo I recommend, not only for Joe Henderson's tenor saxophone playing, he is one of my favourites, but Chick Corea's piano playing, interpreting the lone Joe Henderson composition, first cut on the album, as if he wrote it himself and of course on the two Corea wrote for this album, his playing stands out. Charlie Parker and George Gershwin composed the other two tracks making five enjoyable compositions. Henderson and Corea are great musicians but Tony Williams on drums (on some tracks its Peter Erskine) is always welcome by me. Richard Davis and Tony Dumas take turns on bass.

FANTASTIC SAXOPHONE RECORD! On here Joe Henderson is every bit as good as Sonny Rollings, Dexter Gordon and other all time great saxophonists. He reminds me of John Coltrane before he went Free Jazz (ca. My Favorite Things Album). There is also an excellent backing band supporting him. (chick corea not only plays the piano but also wrote two of the songs here).

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=joe+henderson

Track listing:

    "Y Todavia la Quiero" (Joe Henderson) – 11:42
    "My One and Only Love" (Robert Mellin, Guy Wood) – 9:59
    "Crimson Lake" (Chick Corea) – 5:26
    "Yes, My Dear" (Corea) – 8:44
    "Relaxin' at Camarillo" (Charlie Parker) – 9:21

Personnel:

    Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
    Chick Corea - piano
    Tony Dumas - Bass (tracks 1, 2, 5)
    Richard Davis - Bass (tracks 3, 4)
    Peter Erskine  - Drums (tracks 1, 2, 5)
    Tony Williams  - Drums (tracks 3, 4)