Tony Williams Turn It Over CD

 Falls Short of True Brillance
Tony William's Lifetime including John McLaughlin, longtime (at that point) McLaughlin colaborater Larry Young, and (searching for a life without Eric) post-Cream Jack Bruce on bass is a stretch towards something previously unobtained but not quite reached. Compositonally ahead of its time, "Turn it Over" highlights a few early McLaughlin tunes, in particular, "One Word" features Jack Bruce maddeningly catterwalling over a progression that would later morph into Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Resolution" from Birds of Fire. Tony Williams himself delivers a few out of tune, irritating, and almost unlistenable speech-sing on a few songs. "Big Nick", "Right On" and "Vuelta Abajo" seem to hit closer to the mark and are inspired- fully pushing the limit of what was "acceptable" for the period. Overall the album seems mostly induced by LSD-inspired spiritualism, take it or leave it. Trancendantal in some aspects but never acheives the brillance of later works by some of the same musicians, (e.g. accomplished through the aid and focused direction of Miles Davis on Bitches Brew). Although, it cannot be said that Miles was not in anyway influenced by this recording himself. As a piece of art, in a historical and musicological context, it is an important and vital work that set the tone for the fusion influx- though it falls short of being truly meritable as a classic in the genre as it is not entirely coherent.
Submitted by R.J. Bernfield (Rochester, NY, USA)
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 Groundbreaking JAZZ-rock fusion that ROCKS!
Unlike the myriad of boring Fusion records that came out in that era, most of which sound like "I'm clever" guitar exercise drills, this one rrocckkss, and the Jazz component is distictly recognisable as well as contributing to the repertoire. It is meant to be listened to ** LOUD! What would you expect with Tony Williams, Jack Bruce, and John McLaughlin in combination? It is a courageous record broke a lot of ground: this did it FIRST and best. I would have given it 5 stars, except the mix on the CD is a lot tinnier than I remember the vinyl sounding. Still, most people don't listen to music in HiFi anymore, as home theatre sound is mostly mid range, so this shouldn't really be an issue.
Submitted by stanciu2 (Melbourne Australia) 
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 The Real Punk Jazz
This music was so far ahead of its time, recorded in 1970, it's not even funny. It's a complete monster,with stellar playing all the way around and could well have been entitled "Kick Out the Jazz Jams, m.f.!" The remastering is also superb. Run, don't walk, to buy this immediately.
Submitted by lloben (Sacramento, CA) 
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 What fusion should have been!
Lifetime's second disc is a powerhouse of sound and emotion. The original lineup had been expanded to accommodate the outstanding Jack Bruce on Bass, giving the band a thicker bottom end to their already fully potent sound. (Songs like Big Nick, Vuelta Abajo, Right On and Allah be Praised are proof of this) The only drawback to the this effort was that several of the tracks could have been longer. (Right On for example sounds like a small sample from a much longer jam, and Big Nick is such a sonic orgasm that it should have been at least several minutes longer) I guess that the boys were attempting to get some radio air play, and 10 or 15 min. songs just don't get played. Turn it Over, a required addition to any serious fusion library.
Submitted by jwtate2 (PA, USA)
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