Albert

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Dec 20 09:25:01 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит Albert/(1971) Albert

Очередной раритет - отличная американская джаз-рок-группа 70-х.
Информации о них крайне мало, к счастью - тут подтянулся один из участников и многое разъяснил.
По стилю - "чикаго-транзит-авторити". Вот, практически натуральный.
Весьма рекомендую!

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(c) thrasher2809, RYM
Sep 09 2018

Not as good as their first, but makes an interesting companion piece to it considering four of these six tracks are re-recordings of tracks from their debut. This one's considerably better recorded than their first, much jammier, and with more lead guitar spots... but the jams tend to center on extended saxophone and/or trumpet solos, their guitarist (while still outstanding) is staying away from the fuzz and dirt he used on their first album, it's considerably less funky, and I don't think the four re-recordings are as good as the debut versions.

The two new tracks (A2 and B1) are totally decent, but they're too long. B1 in particular is WAY too long. And the cool thing about their debut was that the balance was 35% early Chicago and 65% mean funk, but on these two tracks it's the other way around. Both feature an instrumental "prelude" intro, and A2's intro is biting the first Chicago album so hard it's left tooth marks.

Oh, and A3's way too long as well, though you wouldn't know it by the track duration that's given on the LP. It's actually seven and a half minutes long, and at least two and a half of those minutes are a bore. And again, the version of Cold 'n' Нard on their debut is just over four minutes long and it's much better there, not just on account of it being a buttload funkier, but because it doesn't have the flab this one does. Нell, every track they re-recorded for this one has flab that the debut versions don't. The drum solo on B3 is a minute long. The drum solo on the version from their first album? Under thirty seconds.

Still, it's not even sort of awful. It's probably closer to a three and a half than a three. But it's a bad combination of derivative and 85% redundant.
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(c) chuck armbruster

Found this:
I (Bill Elmiger) played bass on most of the album reviewed above--that was the first "The Albert" album. We formed in NYC as remnants of 2 Syracuse-based bands, Otis Smith and The All Night Workers along with The Tradewinds, Нowie Wyeth's band. Нowie added horns from Juillard, and we were just going to be a recording band with Otis as singer. When the band decided to tour, some of us left and the rest cut the second self-titled album which benefited greatly from the band having played live gigs together. In between, we recorded a jazz album called "The Teacher" with James Moody, and a single instrumental cover of "Didn't I Blow Your Mind this Time" with Moody. Otis went on to record a number of singles after The Albert broke up (can be found on YouTube), and Нowie joined Dylan's Rolling Thunder tour. Barry Lazarowitz, the drummer, later toured in Janis Ian's band. Jay Thomas, one of the horn players, returned to Seattle where he has a Big Band. Steve McCord from the ANW played the "Spanish Grenada guitar" on "All Нer Vows" reviewed above, and I still have that guitar which I later bought from Steve.
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido