The best FUSION albums of all time?

[Steve LeBlanc]

[quote]Tony Williams Lifetime - Believe It![/quote] YESSS...everything from that group, the Organ sends me somewhere. There are so many great fusion albums...many of them have been mentioned. [quote]It was great for about twenty minutes, then the music started to get annoying in that sterile, overplayed, fusion sort of way...[/quote] What the hell are you talking about Dan? [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] Which fusion tune is less than 20 minutes? If you didn't listen to a whole song...well what are you talking about? Maybe you should have named the album you were listening to before dissing it as annoying, sterile, overplayed. One of my favorite Fusion albums is "Miles Davis - In A Silent Way", NOT sterile, definitly no "overplaying" whatever that is.

[DougP]

'Pangaea' and 'Agharta'. This message has been edited by DougP on 10-05-2001 at 04:00 PM

[dansouth]

[quote]Originally posted by Steve LeBlanc: [b] Maybe you should have named the album you were listening to before dissing it as annoying, sterile, overplayed. [/b][/quote] It's an excellent album by an artist that has been mentioned repeatedly, but I've discovered that my ability to listen to fusion for hours on end has diminished. I find my mind wandering toward bop or rock or funk, each of which has more feel than the typical fusion album. An exception to the rule is Heavy Weather; I could listen to that album indefinitely. It has GREAT feel. I wore the grooves out on Romantic Warrior when I was sixteen, but I don't think I'd be able to get through more than one track today. I always felt that Chick's playing was less "groovy" than Herbie, Josef Zawinal, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Dr. John, Joe Sample, Jan Hammer, et al. Maybe scientology sucks the funk out of you. But back on topic, does the pop-oriented stuff count as fusion? Spyro Gyra? Chuck Mangione? How about Chicago, BST, or EWF? EWF's All In All album features a REALLY cool fusion tune (don't remember the title). Wouldn't it be cool if a new genre featuring hot players would spring up and save us from the tattooed metal heads and manufactured face bands that dominate radio today?

[Steve LeBlanc]

[quote]Wouldn't it be cool if a new genre featuring hot players would spring up and save us from the tattooed metal heads and manufactured face bands that dominate radio today?[/quote] We exist: http://www.jamfree.com/ hehe, sorry I had to.

[AlChuck]

Fusion is often taken to mean jazz musicians playing electric instruments over rock rhythms. But I always thought of it as anything that combined jazz with different forms of music. Oregon and Shakti come to mind, as well as Bill Frisell's recent saturation in folk and country music flavors, and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones... Also, some groups that are often considered as "progressive rock" or "art rock" or whatever are often very "fusion-y." I always considered King Crimson, from [i]Lark's Tongues In Aspic[/i] on, to be a fusion group. Some of my personal picks for great "fusion" recordings: [list] Mahavishnu Orchestra - [i]The Inner Mounting Flame[/i], [i]Birds of Fire[/i] Weather Report - [i]Heavy Weather[/i] Miles Davis - [i]Jack Johnson[/i], [i]In A Silent Way[/i], [i]Bitches' Brew[/i] Larry Coryell - [i]Spaces[/i] (with John McLaughlin) Tony Williams Lifetime - [i]Emergency[/i] The New Tony Williams Lifetime - [i]Believe It![/i] Jaen-Luc Ponty - [i]Enigmatic Ocean[/i] Wayne Shorter - [i]Native Dancer[/i] [/list]

[lwilliam]

I wore out my copy of Romantic Warrier [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Being a guitarist, I'm partial to some of the definitive fusion guitarists: Lee Ritenour - Captain Fingers Larry Carlton - Larry Carlton (the first one with Room 335 on it) Al DiMeola - Elegant Gypsy Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire ------------------ Larry W.

[studioman adam]

I think anything Chick Corea did before he quit doing drugs (late sixties - early 70's) is totally hip. Like THE MAD HATTER and LITE AS A FEATHER. adam

[spokenward]

[quote]Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: [b] Wouldn't it be cool if a new genre featuring hot players would spring up and save us from the tattooed metal heads and manufactured face bands that dominate radio today?[/b][/quote] so a hidden agenda of this thread is revealed! I have wondered for the last 10 years about the death of the solo as artform. There is a lot less "playing". Now, uncharitably, maybe fusion and Nigel Tufnel killed it, but I am weary of strummy strummy little bands.

[Beatheavy]

I'll jump in... Mahavishnu- visions of the emarald beyond Herbie Hancock- Headhunters UK-UK Just a few of my faves.. P.s. Isnt ozric tentacles more like prog rock than fusion? JLB

[Steve LeBlanc]

[quote]Now, uncharitably, maybe fusion and Nigel Tufnel killed it, but I am weary of strummy strummy little bands.[/quote] [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] LOL! I needed a good laugh, thanks.

[BP3]

UK is truly prog as well. I love the Dennis MacKay albums. He brought a ton of polish with energy to the table. That's why I included Mahavishnu's "Visions" to my list as well as Brand X "Morrocan Roll", Gong "Expresso". I believe he also did RTF's "Romantic Warrior". A lot of this stuff was recorded at Trident, and had killer drum sounds. One I forgot was Passport [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]. "Cross-Collateral", "Infinity Machine", and others were sonically superior to many of the fusion recordings of the early seventies. There's a fine line between prog and fusion of the seventies. If the music had any sort of disco beat, I considered it as neither. BTW - little known fact - Jaco was to be the bassist for the 'new' Tony Williams Lifetime. Botnick forced the change to Tony Newton. I love the way Tony Newton played on that stuff, but one wonders what it would have been like with Jaco???????????????????

[DougP]

[quote]Originally posted by deepness71@aol.com: [b]I'll jump in... UK-UK Just a few of my faves.. P.s. Isnt ozric tentacles more like prog rock than fusion? JLB[/b][/quote] No more so than UK, who could certainly be considered prog rock, as well as fusion (and honestly, unlike Holdsworth & Bruford, I have trouble considering John Wetton to be a jazz musician, especially given the band he was in after UK)! I'd consider Ozric Tentacles to be fair game for the "fusion" term since they're extremely heavily influenced by Gong (already mentioned once or twice in this thread), who were the jazziest of the early-70s spacerock bands (and their first album was on the seminal French free jazz label, BYG/Actuel), and became even jazzier in the late-70s after all the original members left.

[stanner]

godddddd, i got most of the albums mentioned here. thanks lord that i lived long enough to get thru that period. in hindsight i think of it more like 'conFUSION'. s

[Steve LeBlanc]

I have all of the albums in this thread...and I even still play them a lot...oh Gawd...I must be retro or something...shit I'm only 29.

[BP3]

I'm 41 and bought my first Mahavishnu album when I had just turned 13. I had just seen Mahavishnu on ABC's "In Concert" and didn't like the guitar much, but I knew that Carl Palmer had his ass kicked!! I bought "Birds of Fire" that next week along with "Starless and Bible Black" by King Crimson. Needless to say, music was quite different for me from then on.

[dansouth]

[quote]Originally posted by spokenward: [b] so a hidden agenda of this thread is revealed! I have wondered for the last 10 years about the death of the solo as artform. There is a lot less "playing". Now, uncharitably, maybe fusion and Nigel Tufnel killed it, but I am weary of strummy strummy little bands. [/b][/quote] The REAL hidden agenda is that I want to buy some good CD's. [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

[fantasticsound]

My favorite fusion... Definately Cold... cold fusion... Man does cold fusion r-o-c-k!!! Seriously, I tend to agree with D. Gauss and Lee. It's difficult for me to get excited about most fusion. I love the beginning of an ELP song, Trilogy. "I tried to mend.. the love.. that ended long ago although we still pre-te...end.. Our love is surely coming to an end. Don't waste the time we've got to love again.." It's accompanied by piano only, for two more verses, a bridge, and solo. Then it jumps right into in-your-face analog synths, guitar,bass and drums. It pre dates heavy metal by over a decade, but the style reminds me of how every metal band would write an acoustic ballad, then knock us on the head with the full band. No transition. Maybe a fadeout to silence if you were lucky. Man it was annoying to have to kill that song, in the middle, every time to keep from getting blasted by the second part. (which, of course, goes on for 10 min.) Interesting, but not my favorite cup 'o tea. ------------------ Neil [b]Reality[/b]: [i]A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity.[/i]

[soapbox]

[quote]Originally posted by Lee Flier: [i]I love rock and I love jazz but put 'em together and it just sucks, IMNSHO.[/i][/quote] It puts me in mind of those old Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercials - "Hey, you got chocolate on my peanut butter! Hey, you got peanut butter on my chocolate..." For me, the combination works like that, or like peanut butter and jelly: sweet and satisfying! ...but I like sequencing, drum machines, and Auto-tune as well, so what do I know? [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] This message has been edited by soapbox on 10-06-2001 at 12:10 PM

[Hippie]

I'm not a big fusion fan, but I still enjoy the album called "801 Live", from 1976. I'm not even sure if it is "fusion", but whatever it is, I like it. But, anything with Phil Manzenera/Eno playing on it, is good by me. -Hippie

[fantasticsound]

[quote]Originally posted by soapbox: [b] It puts me in mind of those old Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercials - "Hey, you got chocolate on my peanut butter! Hey, you got peanut butter on my chocolate..."...[/b][/quote] Funny you should mention that, Soap. Breathe Right nasal strips introduced a version of their product embedded with Vicks mentholated vapors. They recently began a using a tv commercial that directly rips-off the Reese Peanut Butter cup ad. Wow, did that trigger some 20 year old memories! [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] ------------------ Neil [b]Reality[/b]: [i]A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity.[/i]

[dansouth]

[quote]Originally posted by Hippie: [b] I'm not a big fusion fan, but I still enjoy the album called "801 Live", from 1976. I'm not even sure if it is "fusion", but whatever it is, I like it. But, anything with Phil Manzenera/Eno playing on it, is good by me. -Hippie [/b][/quote] Hey, I'm glad someone mentioned Eno. How about Another Green World? That was supposed to be an awesome album. Other artists conspicuous in their absense. Jeff Lorber Fusion (they've got Fusion right in their name!) Hubert Laws Herbie Mann Grover Washington, Jr. Matrix 9 Art Ensemble Of Chicago Bill Laswell

[SFOracle]

I don't know if these are the best, but they are certainly some of my favorites. Pat Methaney - American Garage and Travels. Dixie Dregs - Unsung Heroes. Jean Luc-Ponty - Fables and Live at Chene Park. UZEB - U B EZ. Spyro Gyra - Alternating Currents and Stories Without Words. Chick Corea - Elektric Band. Don.

[Jeep]

Count me in as a big fusion fan. Fusion ideally comes from the highest level of solo and ensemble playing ability. To me, the supreme ingredient is a monster funk drummer. Gimme the likes of: Harvey Mason, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Garibaldi, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, or Dennis Chambers, for example, and add a complementary variety of other virtuosi playing cohesive thought-trains of tight, smokin' jazz-funk. You get stuff like: Miles Davis - Aura UZEB, with Alain Caron (the bass player Miles wanted and never got)-any Herbie Hancock - Mr. Hands, Head Hunters Tony Williams Lifetime - (Turn It Over) Flim & the BBs - New Pants Tribal Tech - any Mike Clark and Paul Jackson - The Funk Stops Here The Brecker Brothers - any Skywalk- Paradiso The Groove Collective P.S.- ditto Steve LeBlanc's LOL! regarding spokenward's remark. This message has been edited by Jeep on 10-14-2001 at 10:30 PM

[Guest Room Warrior]

One more vote for "Heavy Weather." And an off-topic nomination for the contained track "A Remark You Made" for top honors in two voting categories: Most Heartbreaking Melody Ever and Best Title for an Instrumental Composition. - Jim Bordner

[BP3]

[quote]Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: [b] Hey, I'm glad someone mentioned Eno. How about Another Green World? That was supposed to be an awesome album. Other artists conspicuous in their absense. Jeff Lorber Fusion (they've got Fusion right in their name!) Hubert Laws Herbie Mann Grover Washington, Jr. Matrix 9 Art Ensemble Of Chicago Bill Laswell[/b][/quote] Dan, "Another Green World" is an excellent album. With excellent contributions from Phil Collins, Percy Jones & Robert Fripp Don't know about Jeff Lorber though, didn't Kenny G come from that band?

[inadequate.com]

For a fusion of jazz skils & rock styles I reckon the best example is Stanley Clarkes first album with Jan Hammer & Tony Williams. Also the Brand X record that doesn't have Phil Collins was good. Wish I could remember the name. Heavy Weather is just awesome music. It doesn't matter what style it was. I used to like fusion when it was funky but I thought it got too introspective sounding in the late 70s. Then Bob Marley and punk sounded fresh & exciting in comparison. So with a '77 use by I like any by Herbie Hancock Miles Davis Mahavishnu Return to forever Parliament (just funnin' yall) Jean luc Ponty Stanley Clarke Tony Williams Jeff Beck

[Hippie]

[quote]Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: [b] Hey, I'm glad someone mentioned Eno. How about Another Green World? That was supposed to be an awesome album. Other artists conspicuous in their absense. Jeff Lorber Fusion (they've got Fusion right in their name!) Hubert Laws Herbie Mann Grover Washington, Jr. Matrix 9 Art Ensemble Of Chicago Bill Laswell[/b][/quote] Hey Dan, I'm not familiar with Another Green World, yet, but I give a "2 thumbs up" for Eno's "Here come the warm jets". -I bought that one from the golden showers inspired title alone [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] , and wound up liking it quite a bit. Eno rocks! Hippie

[Kendrix]

[quote]Originally posted by gmd: [b]-------"Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy", by Return To Forever. If you don't like that album you might want to make an appointment with your friendly local hearing specialist... [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] [/b][/quote] GMD, I was in college when "Hymn" was released. I Saw them play it live in NYC and in Albany NY. I blasted this album every day for months and drove my dorm mates nuts with it. I could not get it out of my head. The guitar tones on this one are killer. The guitarist, Conners, left the group for no good reason. I actually had a chat with Stnaley Clarke a few years later- they wre playing in Nj the night before recording "where have I known you before". Stanley said they were shocked by his leaving had didnt have a clue why. Dimeola is technically great - but Conners was gritter and more soulful to me. Se la vie. I really wish Clarke and Corea would work together again in this style. They had class, style, technical chops great comositions, and sounds. However, I must also admit that, after all this time, I cant get quite as pumped up about listening to it today as I did then.

[BP3]

There were three drummers other than Phil Colins in the 70s versions of Brand X. Mike Clarke (ex Headhunters), Chuck Burgi, & Kenwood Dennard. Another little known bit of fusion trivia. Earl Klugh was to be the guitarist in RTF after Bill Connors. Didn't work out. Then came DiMeola.... BTW - Did anyone out there listen to Passport much?

[AlChuck]

I saw that edition of Return to Forever perform, too -- at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC with Weather Report when Miroslav Vitous was still in the band (maybe 1973?). A great show... I dug that album too at the time. But in retrospect I think the recording was pretty poor (especially Stanley's muddy pre-Alembic bass and Chick's awful cheeso synth sounds). And Connors playing was pretty limited. Great tunes, though. Connors resurfaced a couple of years later playing with Jan Garbarek and did two solo albums on ECM, all acoustic guitar, very lovely and sad music. Then about ten years after that he popped up in NYC, did three electric, very Holdsworthy-sounding albums, great stuff... then that was it. I have no idea what happened to him after that (maybe '87, the last of those three records?).