Track Listing

1. Quadrant 4
2. Searching for the Right Door/Spectrum
3. Anxiety/Taurian Matador
4. Stratus
5. To the Women in My Life/Le Lis
6. Snoopy's Search/Red Baron

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55800 in Music
• Released on: 1992-02-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Amazon.com
Cobham's first album as a leader, in 1973--a jazz-rock classic. As on his slightly earlier outings with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham dazzles with rapid-fire pyrotechnics. But, listening carefully, he also does his job of rhythmic support--for this, he calls on his roots in drum-corps and Latin timbale drumming. His compositions here set fire to a stunningly tight band. The scowling, scurrying, skirmishing performance by the late rock-guitar ace, Tommy Bolin, is particularly memorable. He merges beautifully with Cobham's Mahavishnu bandmate, Jan Hammer (Moog/keyboards), who eggs Bolin on with warp-speed synthesized guitar sounds. The band was just as involved rhythmically as McLaughlin's, but had a gritty rapid-transit flavor where Mahavishnu was in spiritual quest. --Peter Monaghan

Customer Reviews

A word to guitarists:
This cd is groundbreaking in an aspect that hasn't yet been referred to: the union of the more frantic 'Mahavishnu' type soloing ,(McLaughlin, DiMeola) with a more relaxed, blues inflected style,(Clapton,Allman), from Bolin. Up until this moment the two soloing styles had been at odds with each other; the fusion guys thinking the blues-rock guys weren't ambitious enough, the blues guys thinking the fusion guys weren't soulful enough. Bolin was the man for the job of unifying the styles, combining a relaxed bluesy vibrato with chops to spare; still the hallmark of the best modern soloists.

From Rock To Funk To Jazz
One of the things I enjoyed about the 1970s fusion era was the way it allowed musicians to indulge their taste for different genres. Artists are easily pigeonholed, and the more successful they are, the harder it can be to break out of the role they are cast in by fans, the media, and their own promoters. Miles Davis recognized this stultifying syndrome in jazz and refused to be trapped, breaking ground for the merging of segregated forms with his pivotal album "Bitches Brew." Other pioneers, like Ornette Coleman, Tony Williams, Joe Zawinul, and John McLaughlin, also cast off the stale conservatism of "mainstream" jazz and experimented with combinations of jazz improvisation with rock, eastern, Latin American, electronic, and purely abstract forms.

In the aptly titled "Spectrum," Cobham revealed his interest in, and aptitude for, rock and funk, as well as considerable compositional skills. Fans who were used to the more esoteric, odd-metered intensity of the wildly original Mahavishnu Orchestra might have been disappointed by the down-to-earth, straight time jams found in Billy's solo work, but those of us who appreciate a solid, funky groove along with hot solos immediately cottoned to this side of his personality. We also dug the fact that he could go from barnburner tracks like "Quadrant 4" and "Stratus" to the cool and jazzy "Le Lis" and it was the most natural thing in the world. Yeah, you could dig rock, you could dig jazz: it was all good.

"Crosswinds," "Spectrum," and "Total Eclipse," were mainstay albums in many collections during the '70s. Each one reveals different aspects of Mr. Cobham's special talents and tastes. In my humble opinion, they are essential listening for anyone interested in the evolution of jazz-rock.

BILLY & BOLIN BURN!!
a reviewer here actually said this disc was...boring?!?! Hmmmmm.
I still find this to be one of Cobham's best releases. When Jan Hammer and Billy kick off 'Quadrant 4' you know they mean business. Not only does Cobham have great fusion chops, the man is flat-out funky! He can lay down the fattest grooves. Tommy Bolin scorches on the guitar. So sad he couldn't overcome his subsance abuse and left us much too early. What a talent!

Listen to Tommy and Hammer trade riffs in 'Taurian Matador', brilliant! Hammer is leading the charge and Bolin is right there with him, burnin' up the fretboard while Billy lends his usual brilliant support. This disc has remained a personal favorite of mine thru the years. Just a very solid effort from Billy and the boys. R.I.P Mr. Bolin

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