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A piano player horrifies it's audience when he plays modern and rude music
no copyright infringement intended, i do not own this video
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VojinD liked a video
(1 week ago)
A piano player horrifies it's audience when he plays modern and rude music
no copyright infringement intended, i do not own this video
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VojinD liked a video
(1 week ago)
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VojinD liked a video
(2 weeks ago)
Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer - Like Children
Following the implosion of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra, keyboardist Jan Hammer supported drummer B...
more
Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer - Like Children
Following the implosion of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra, keyboardist Jan Hammer supported drummer Billy Cobham on his first solo debut, 1973's Spectrum. Hammer then hooked up to make his own first album post-breakup together with the Orchestra's violinist Jerry Goodman. Like Children was recorded at producer James William Guercio's Caribou Ranch in Colorado (other albums recorded there included Chicago VI and Supertramp's Even in the Quietest Moments) and also the Trident Studios in London, where the first line-up of the Orchestra had attempted to record their third studio album. It would also be the inaugural album launched under the Nemperor label, originally distributed by Atlantic Records then later on Columbia/CBS.
Hammer was the dominant partner on this collaborative effort, having produced, engineered, and now remastered this long-awaited version for CD release in 2006. This dipping of the feet into solo waters would give him the comfort he needed to go entirely on his own for his next effort (the keys classic The First Seven Days) and onwards. Also with Like Children, Hammer was finally freed to exert his presence as a writer, contributing a majority of the songs. As with The First Seven Days, the music on this is very much in the spirit of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, leaving the listener to speculate if Hammer and the other band members' writing contributions or credits might have been suppressed on the first two albums Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire. "Giving in Gently," a beautiful ballad written by Hammer and sung by Goodman, ironically would not be at all out of place on the albums McLaughlin was making apart at the same time with his new line-up. It is very easy to picture it being sung by Narada Michael Walden, along the lines of "Earth Ship" on Visions of the Emerald Beyond or "In My Life" on Inner Worlds. Yet it is "Steppings Tones," interestingly credited to Mahavishnu bassist Rick Laird, that is the piece most directly bearing the Mahavishnu imprint. In its chromatic cyclings and Bartokian melody, it is a clearly in the family of tracks like "Dance of Maya," "Birds of Fire," "Sanctuary," and even "Faith" (from Visions of the Emerald Beyond).
Coming directly on the heels of the jittery early digital sequencer experiment "No Fear," the spectral, sighing "I Remember Me" is certainly one of Hammer's best; actually, I think it's quite possibly the finest thing he ever wrote. "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" is a funk jam with guitar parts quoting The Beatles' "Come Together," and just when you are getting comfortable with its fairly simple groove, Hammer inserts crazy-fast Moog arpeggios—an inspired moment. Also of note, many of the songs ("Country and Eastern Music," "I Remember Me," "Giving in Gently") abound with wonderfully rich harmonies to give them an added color and complexity. In the case of the former two, the harmonic language is drawn from Hammer's Eastern European roots.
A number of criticisms to point out. The first is that the vocals, when they appear, are unfortunately pretty bad. This is strange in that Jerry Goodman by himself has a good voice, as is evident on "Giving in Gently," the sole instance where the vocals do not detract from the track. Two other observations echo my feelings in listening to The First Seven Days. First, the Moog bass was no replacement for the real thing and dilutes some of the power. Second, not that I'm usually one for alternate universes, but diehards like myself can't help but wish that some of the material here had been recorded by the full Mahavishnu quintet. It is fun to hear Goodman and Hammer tackle guitars and drums, respectively, but at the end of the day they are no McLaughlin and Cobham (...who is?). Granted that at the time they were probably just happy for these songs to see the light of day, but compare the versions of "Steppings Tones" and "I Wonder" here with the full-band Mahavishnu recordings of the same, posthumously released on The Lost Trident Sessions. Similarly, "Night," "I Remember Me" (with acoustic guitar from McLaughlin), and "Country and Eastern Music" all seem to cry out for the full Mahavishnu treatment.
Fans of the Mahavishnu Orchestra will probably come to this album largely as a historical supplement, but in truth it more than stands on its own terms musically.
Jerry Goodman - guitars, violins, electric mandolin, vocal, viola, violow
Jan Hammer - piano, Moog synthesizers, electric piano, Oberheim digital sequencer, drums, percussion, vocal
Highly recommended for every jazz rock fan.
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VojinD favorited a video
(2 weeks ago)
Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer - Like Children
Following the implosion of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra, keyboardist Jan Hammer supported drummer B...
more
Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer - Like Children
Following the implosion of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra, keyboardist Jan Hammer supported drummer Billy Cobham on his first solo debut, 1973's Spectrum. Hammer then hooked up to make his own first album post-breakup together with the Orchestra's violinist Jerry Goodman. Like Children was recorded at producer James William Guercio's Caribou Ranch in Colorado (other albums recorded there included Chicago VI and Supertramp's Even in the Quietest Moments) and also the Trident Studios in London, where the first line-up of the Orchestra had attempted to record their third studio album. It would also be the inaugural album launched under the Nemperor label, originally distributed by Atlantic Records then later on Columbia/CBS.
Hammer was the dominant partner on this collaborative effort, having produced, engineered, and now remastered this long-awaited version for CD release in 2006. This dipping of the feet into solo waters would give him the comfort he needed to go entirely on his own for his next effort (the keys classic The First Seven Days) and onwards. Also with Like Children, Hammer was finally freed to exert his presence as a writer, contributing a majority of the songs. As with The First Seven Days, the music on this is very much in the spirit of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, leaving the listener to speculate if Hammer and the other band members' writing contributions or credits might have been suppressed on the first two albums Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire. "Giving in Gently," a beautiful ballad written by Hammer and sung by Goodman, ironically would not be at all out of place on the albums McLaughlin was making apart at the same time with his new line-up. It is very easy to picture it being sung by Narada Michael Walden, along the lines of "Earth Ship" on Visions of the Emerald Beyond or "In My Life" on Inner Worlds. Yet it is "Steppings Tones," interestingly credited to Mahavishnu bassist Rick Laird, that is the piece most directly bearing the Mahavishnu imprint. In its chromatic cyclings and Bartokian melody, it is a clearly in the family of tracks like "Dance of Maya," "Birds of Fire," "Sanctuary," and even "Faith" (from Visions of the Emerald Beyond).
Coming directly on the heels of the jittery early digital sequencer experiment "No Fear," the spectral, sighing "I Remember Me" is certainly one of Hammer's best; actually, I think it's quite possibly the finest thing he ever wrote. "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" is a funk jam with guitar parts quoting The Beatles' "Come Together," and just when you are getting comfortable with its fairly simple groove, Hammer inserts crazy-fast Moog arpeggios—an inspired moment. Also of note, many of the songs ("Country and Eastern Music," "I Remember Me," "Giving in Gently") abound with wonderfully rich harmonies to give them an added color and complexity. In the case of the former two, the harmonic language is drawn from Hammer's Eastern European roots.
A number of criticisms to point out. The first is that the vocals, when they appear, are unfortunately pretty bad. This is strange in that Jerry Goodman by himself has a good voice, as is evident on "Giving in Gently," the sole instance where the vocals do not detract from the track. Two other observations echo my feelings in listening to The First Seven Days. First, the Moog bass was no replacement for the real thing and dilutes some of the power. Second, not that I'm usually one for alternate universes, but diehards like myself can't help but wish that some of the material here had been recorded by the full Mahavishnu quintet. It is fun to hear Goodman and Hammer tackle guitars and drums, respectively, but at the end of the day they are no McLaughlin and Cobham (...who is?). Granted that at the time they were probably just happy for these songs to see the light of day, but compare the versions of "Steppings Tones" and "I Wonder" here with the full-band Mahavishnu recordings of the same, posthumously released on The Lost Trident Sessions. Similarly, "Night," "I Remember Me" (with acoustic guitar from McLaughlin), and "Country and Eastern Music" all seem to cry out for the full Mahavishnu treatment.
Fans of the Mahavishnu Orchestra will probably come to this album largely as a historical supplement, but in truth it more than stands on its own terms musically.
Jerry Goodman - guitars, violins, electric mandolin, vocal, viola, violow
Jan Hammer - piano, Moog synthesizers, electric piano, Oberheim digital sequencer, drums, percussion, vocal
Highly recommended for every jazz rock fan.
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