Honesty is important in this blog so here I go:Jazz Rock was my cup of tea in 1978, and maybe in the first semester of 1979, (God, I even have Bob James and Earl Klugh albums!)
Nowadays Jazz Rock is not even my glass of water, because I have been immersed in other genres, sub-genres, supra-genres, proto-genres,meta genres and ultra-genres.
Anyway, somebody asked anonimously for this album and as I was able to grab a copy, so I will help this guy get it. Why not? I needed to listen to it anyway. To know myself better. And to know what I like (in my wardrobe).
My job is I saying something about this piece of work and this is it: This album is frantic. Pure Energy Outbursts. Vertiginous and Explosive.
The trio is a virtuosity paradigm: Larry Young on Organ, John McLaughlin on guitar of course, and Mr. Tony Williams himself, beating the soul out of his drums and cymbals. The combination is frightening.
They really delivered here… delivered everything they got, with a vengeance.
Williams, one of the best drummers ever, was truly committed to make a Jazz-Rock album and extreme Rock-Jazz was what he got.
Actually, Emergency was very badly received by the jazz audience of its time. They were caught totally unprepared. I am sure this is one of the most outrageous albums ever edited by Verve, a label which direction is good jazz but not schizoid experiments, like this one. And like it or not, that’s what we have here, a most radical experiment.
Extremely influenced by the psych scene of its time, specially in its deepest manifestations, Williams wanted to made a noisy free rock album that was too much for jazz audience (and maybe too complex for the pop drenched public) He even sings in some tracks, which makes things even harder.
I think it a failed experiment, but don’t get me wrong. Failed doesn’t mean bad, actually it is a hell of an album!
Failed might mean, too excessive for its time. It might also mean avant-garde rock years before musicians dare to perform avant-garde rock. Failed might mean that Emergency fell, unfortunately, on deaf ears.
It was a bold and brave attempt at taking madness by assault
We, almost four decades later, will be the judges of this exquisite musical atrocity.
Schizophrenia is my playground
Enter the realm of vertigo and,
Keep listening…!!!
The links are in the usual place.
Tony Williams -Vashka...
You need Part 1 and Part 2
ReplyDeleteThanks a grand friend, brilliant album, imo this is what mahavishnu should have been like. cheers
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