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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol 34 no. 17. September 22 1971

[Record reviews]

Off the Record

Off the Record

It occurred to me of late that most of the records reviewed in this column this year have represented one front of the rock scene while another area has been virtually ignored. I'm referring to jazz-rock, that artificial pigeon-hole for mainline jazzmen selling out and small-time pop artists attempting to progress. However, it's not that phoney a field now, and a recent spate of releases serves to illustrate this.

First, there is an album by CCS, the new home of the grand old man of British rock, Alexis Korner, who was singing the blues in London clubs while the Stones were still at school. It's a big band, about twenty pieces, with a strong woodwind/brass section. The players were hand-piced to provide the best elements of the jazz and rock worlds, including fine players from the training grounds of the Dank worth and Heath bands. Also present are such performers as Harold McNair and Tony Carr, who mix tours of America with such artists as Donovan with work as accredited jazz and studio musicians. Every player is a name in his own right, and to list all their credits would take too long here.

The conductor is John Cameron, who, with a background of formal musical studies at Cambridge, has worked in almost every field of the music business. Finally, production is by Mickie Most.

Rak album cover

With this accumulation of talent it's not surprising that the album is tremendously powerful and polished. With confidence they can adapt Jethro Tull's Living in the Past as a sweaty syncopated jive in five-time, and treat an old spiritual in seven, slipping into thirteen when that gets boring. There are no empty, weak points, though the timbre of the arrangements varies considerably.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the music is its overpowering sexuality, in the Shirley Bassey mould. All those phallic brass instruments pounding and blasting, rampant, hot, and rhythmic. There are moments of contrast, however, though these do not detract from the excitement generated.

Cover versions of material by the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin are also included, with some excellent original material. While you're there, take a look at the beautiful Rak label this album carries.

"Actors in the cast of six, we moved on down the road. It couldn't be much farther, it's only three more inches - on the globe. Whistle stops and bunny hopes from Pittsburgh to L.A. Don't think the day will ever come when we go our separate ways. Friends of feeling, feeling the pleasure and the pain that's part of living. Together with a common bond, enchanted by a magic wand, led by a crazy band baton, together - with a common bond."

So begins Common Bond, a new album by the Ides of March (Warner Brothers). While not as tempestuous as CCS, this sextet features strong vocals in songs that are built on a solid organ/guitar/brass foundation. Some of the tracks are reminiscent of Blood, Sweat and Tears - indeed, Superman is a straight copy of the BS&T version. Its composer, Jim Peterik, is chief vocalist for the Ides of March. The music is commercially oriented, though it draws freely from jazz sources. While rhythmically strong it retains a strong melodic character as well.

The Allman Brothers Band's Idle wild South provides an excellent selection of highly professional jazz material. Led by the brothers Duane and Greg Allman, on guitar and organ respectively, this seven man group performs well in a wide range of styles. Most of the songs are by Greg Allman or the group's other guitarist Dicky Betts. They're good, harmonically and melodically strong, and Greg's vocals suit them well.

The album reveals a talented combination of musicians who successfully explore the extent of the styles they adopt. There are regions of brilliance like the beautifully effective recurring guitar figure in Midnight Rider. A Santana-Style number, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, is wonderfully charismic as well as being technically adventurous. Innovation and good musicianship lend quality to this album.

Chase (Epic) is a nine man combination led by Bill Chase on trumpet. Formerly of Herd, this guy is a phenomenon, an energizer who, by the strength of temperament and prodigious technical resources, can create an uncommon drive.

Unlike a number of previous attempts at jazz-rock fusion. Chase does not dilute either of its elements. The members have a high level of musicianship as well as an unusual capacity for openness and flexibility. On this first album, the scope of this singular group becomes immediately clear. All the crisp trumpet solos are by Bill, but it is the group sound and presence which particularly distinguish Chase.

The core of the Band's character is excitement, and the ingredients of that excitement are numerous and precise - the rhythmic drive, the intricate harmonic textures, the symbolic relationship between the human and instrumental voices, the remarkable fullness of the band's impact.

Possibly you recall Get it on a brassy single released earlier this year. The five part Invitation to a River deserves special mention as a multilayered evocation of a turbulent emotional collision with a falling, fatal ending. There is a finely honed use of a trumpet expression for dramatic pruposes, including cascading lines of brass that create kaleidoscopic patterns.

Chase album cover

It is particularly impressive that Chase refuse to indulge in effects for their own sake. Honest excitement is part of the Chase credo. Their music makes rewarding listening.

-Zeke