Record Reviews

CHRIS FARLOWE ~ WAITING IN THE WINGS MIG 00962 (Barcode: 885513009623) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1991 Released: 2013 This is a reissue of an album recorded by the British Blues-Rock vocalist Chris FarloweFind albums by this artist in the early 1990s, following a five years long period of inactivity in the recording studio. The songs on this album were recorded during several studio sessions, featuring different lineups. As a result no less that six guitar players are featured: Micky MoodyFind albums by this artist (Juicy LucyFind albums by this artist), Alvin LeeFind albums by this artist (Ten Years AfterFind albums by this artist), Albert LeeFind albums by this artist (everybody), Clem ClempsonFind albums by this artist (ColosseumFind albums by this artist), Geoff WhitehornFind albums by this artist (Procol HarumFind albums by this artist), Phil PalmerFind albums by this artist (a great session player) and Tony CrooksFind albums by this artist (The KickFind albums by this artist with bassist Leo LyonsFind albums by this artist, ex-Ten Years After, who also plays here). Despite the stellar team of musicians and a very solid collection on songs, the album was rejected by the Major record labels and was finally released on a tiny Spanish label BarsaFind albums on this label Records (originally titled simply "Farlowe") and than on FreestyleFind albums on this label Records in UK (with a different mixes of two songs), but disappeared from the market almost immediately. This reissue adds four bonus tracks, two of which are the original mixes of the two a/m songs and two more, which are live recordings. Obviously produced for the US market, this album has a much more Rock oriented sound and luster, taking Farlowe away from his Blues-Rock roots. Nevertheless it is still a very solid album as far as Farlowe´s vocal delivery is concerned and for his many fans this album deserves a proud place in their collection. Sadly it will take another five years for Farlowe to record another studio album.

Updated: 27/04/2016Posted: 27/04/2016

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RAFAL ROKICKI ~ CHOPIN REVISITED ELLYAH 808114 (Barcode: 888174875125) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the second album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Rafal RokickiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic piano trio format with bassist Michal KapczukFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist. As the title suggests, the album presents seven compositions by Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, transformed into the Jazz setting. Since Polish Jazz musicians "discovered" the music of Chopin as a source of inspiration, more or less a couple of decades ago, hundreds of Jazz albums with Chopin´s music were recorded and released in Poland over time. Such multitude usually has some adverse effects, reaching a stage when some people seeing a new album in that specific niche react with a: "Please, not another Chopin Jazz album…" Not that God forbid we have anything against Chopin or even Chopin Jazz, but what else can be said and done after everybody who is anybody already tried to present their point of view on the subject. Therefore this album lands on a most perilous ground, where it will be, willingly or unwillingly, compared to all its predecessors placing it face to face with the best out there. Rokicki and his cohorts should have thought about that and perhaps they did and said: "what the heck, we´ll try anyway…" Be as it may, unfortunately vis-a-vis the best Chopin Jazz out there, this album simply does not compare well. Not that there is anything badly wrong with it, it is simply not up to par with the others. The biggest problem with this album is the liberty with which Rokicki approaches Chopin´s music as an arranger. His particular approach is to move away from the original, mostly simplifying, or even worse trivializing the phenomenal original music. The result sounds somewhat like a New Age doodling, which is meant not to bother anybody – more or less the complete opposite of what Chopin´s music is all about. Now this music is pretty and very well played. The rhythm section, with veteran and highly professional players, does its job perfectly, but again mostly unobtrusively. Yes the album has its moments, and is rather well recorded, so not everything is lost. I suppose enthusiasts of the easy Jazz will love this stuff to bits, but I´m not sure is Chopin himself is so excited about this revisit?

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SKICKI-SKIUK ~ CHRARUMIMIA BITTT 006 (Barcode: 5907632690140) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2016 - 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz quartet called Skicki-SkiukFind albums by this artist, which consists of saxophonist Dariusz RubinowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Jakub MizerackiFind albums by this artist, drummer Jakub MiarczynskiFind albums by this artist and bassist Roman ChraniukFind albums by this artist (now you can guess the inspiration for the quartet´s name). The album presents eight original compositions, credited to all four participating musicians. It seems that almost all the young Polish Jazz ensembles, which feature a guitar player, tend to play some kind of Fusion, with varying degrees of Jazz elements present in their music. It is sad that guitar can not be treated as a Jazz instrument per se, the way it used to be in the Jazz tradition, especially in view of the fact that Fusion sadly proved to become a very restricted genre, which hardly moved an inch in decades. The music on this album fails to present anything beyond standard Jazz-Rock Fusion attempts, which have been tried already in the late 1960s. The combination of guitar and sax front is also a much tried out attempt by many early Fusion / Prog groups in the 1960s and 1970s. The sound quality of the recording leaves much to be desired, with a muddy ambience and lack of clarity, but perhaps this was done purposely to achieve a retro effect? Having said all that, these young musicians certainly are talented and play their hearts out. There are inspired solos and good ensemble playing throughout the album. The compositions have merit and if performed more ambitiously might have sounded much more impressive. Perhaps this album was recorded a tad too early before they managed to achieve a more personal musical statement. Hopefully the next effort will be much more impressive.

Updated: 06/08/2018Posted: 06/08/2018

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