Steve Hackett: Voyage of the Acolyte (1975)

It was a difficult walk. We had a fight just before then, and because I wasn’t sure if it was going to continue I kept my headphones off in case I needed to listen and respond. She put hers on first, and I I did the same, reaching for something to get lost in. I’d been so enamored of Steve Hackett and his live series of discs covering large swaths of the Genesis catalog I had largely foregone his actual solo output. I found a great 1st US pressing of his debut Voyage of the Acolyte on Discogs, spun it up (virtually) and proceeded to get lost.

ChrisAugust 5, 2025August 6, 2025Leave a comment

PSI: Horizonte (1977)

One look at that cover art and I know I was going to pick this title up. Horizonte is the sole album from German fusion band PSI, released in the heyday of the explosion of jazz rock in Germany in the mid to late 70s. Tight, complex rhythms with a lead focus on keyboards and guitars, the album hits a broad, sunny tone throughout most of its seven tracks, never getting overly dark or serious. That’s not to say the music isn’t serious: this is fusion, after all, and everyone takes their job seriously. But like the Web Web I reviewed the other day, for my ears it’s effervescent, clean and clean and leaving soon after arriving.

ChrisJune 24, 2025Leave a comment

Jeff Beck: Wired (1976)

If my admiration for Blow By Blow was lukewarm at best, I wasn’t sure if Wired was going to be any better. A few more days spent watching tons of live videos showed me exactly what it is about Jeff Beck that was so influential: the guy was an absolute master when it came to dynamics, phrasing, and no one used the volume knob and whammy bar better than he did. Would that translate to a better studio album, especially one with a change of guard that now included some of the very same players who were inspiring him in the fusion world? I like Wired more: there are a few small issues here and there, but to my ears this sounds like the fulfillment of what Beck was shooting for on his previous album.

ChrisMay 16, 2025January 6, 2026Leave a comment

Jeff Beck: Blow By Blow (1975)

I know a consistent refrain here is that it’s never too late to discover an artist or band. And that’s true, for the most part. But time and distance can sometimes blur or fade the response to a legend, and I’m not going to lie here: Jeff Beck is most certainly a fantastic guitarist, but based on my first thorough impressions of Beck’s first “proper” solo album, the instrumental multi-genre hybrid Blow By Blow, I’m a little underwhelmed. There are a few moments when the tracks really soar, and Beck’s playing is always fine, but the songs themselves often feel rote and shallow. Yeah, I’m as surprised as you, and happy to return my cool cred card, but on the whole I’m not sure this is one I’ll revisit often.

ChrisMay 13, 2025January 6, 20263 Comments

Vinyl

Bruford: One Of A Kind (1979)

Somehow reading about and buying a lot of those Three Blind Mice and East Wind releases led me from Japanese jazz fusion over to what the rest of the world was doing with fusion. I decided to start filling gaps in my knowledge and collection with Bruford, the solo group project led by former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford. One Of A Kind is his second solo album, moving the murderer’s row of talent he assembled for his debut into an actual group unit, including Allan Holdsworth on guitar, Dave Stewart on keyboards, and Jeff Berlin on bass. Yeah, it’s kind of U.K. Pt. II with this being where Bruford and Holdworth ended up after leaving that supergroup, but make no mistake about the genre: this is pure jazz fusion rather than any attempt at prog rock or pop.

ChrisMay 9, 2025July 19, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Trigon: Cosmic Kraut Jam (2024)

I had never heard of Trigon, the German self-proclaimed “HeavyZenJazz” trio before seeing the drop dead gorgeous cover art for Cosmic Kraut Jam. See, really good, non-AI art can still drive people to your music! The band have been around since 1990, and their brand of instrumental rock straddles a lot of different genres and influences. Despite only having six “official” studio albums in that time (the last being 2018’s 30 Jahre Traumzeit) they’ve been pretty active with live releases and improvisational jams. Cosmic Kraut Jam was recorded in a bunch of different sessions throughout 2023, seeing release late last year, and it’s a driving, electric mix of charged up jams that put you directly in the room with the band.

ChrisApril 28, 2025April 29, 2025Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

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Tag: fusion