EAST WIND: FREEDOM IS FRIGHTENING

Certainly Yamash'ta's most acclaimed album by connoisseurs anyway, even if the Go experiments are much better known because of the high profile musicians. Apparently East wind was supposed to the group of musicians accompanying Stomu (I don't have the full infos), but Freedom Is Frightening is the only album (to my knowledge anyway) bearing that name. As with all too many of Stomu's works, this album cries out for a Cd reissue. Even the original vinyl with its excellent day/night draw, artwork gracing both sides of the cover, leaves few infos as to what and why in the album.

Just four announced tracks on this album (but there is a separate short vocal piece at the end of Rolling nuns), and they are stunners too. Opening on the slow developing title track, the musicians start very atmospherically, to slowly shift to early Barrett-less Floyd, gradually introducing a harder edge music through organs and electric guitar, By half the track, they are rocking solid with an infectious spacey groove, which continues to grow until its death. Rolling Nuns is a much quicker tempoed affair based on a funky bass (SM's Hugh Hopper is brilliant throughout the album) that moves from organ to splendid quick guitars (Gary Boyle , ex-Auger and future Isotope is also excellent), and the track ends in the afore- mentioned unnamed celestial vocal movement, lasting roughly two minutes.

The flipside takes on a much jazzier tone with Pine On The Horizon, but there is an annoying fiddle throughout most of the first part, but once it stops, the track veers red-hot funk-jazz with some good brass parts, then the track slowly dying on organs growls, spitting their guts out. The closing aerial Wind Words (so calm that it sounds new-age avant-la-lettre) starting with a melancholic violin, then irritatingly strident electric piano. Definitely the weaker track on this album.

One of the few Yamashta album's begging for a Cd reissue although still flawed, this album is warmly recommended as an introduction to his 70's career, which is the only one really worth investigating for progheads, his 60's and post 70's works being avant gazrde free-form "classical" music.

Stomu Yamash'ta is a keyboardist/drummer from Japan who composes and arranges his own music. He released two albums in Japan in 1971 before moving to France and then over to England. That explains why his next album from 1972 "Floating Music" has all these english musicians on it including two future BRAND X members in Peter Robinson and Morris Pert. A strong record then two from 1973, first "The Man From The East" where Robinson and Pert return with bigger roles, plus Gary Boyle guests on guitar on one track. Significant because he would be the guitarist on the next one from '73 called "Freedom Is Frightening" that I'm reviewing now, and I understand this is where he met Hugh Hopper who is on here playing bass and they would later form ISOTOPE.

There's just four tracks here but each one is different. The opener is a haunting affair at first where the organ stews in it's juices and we get these creepy synths. A bass line after 3 minutes and this is catchy and heavy. Boyle starts to light it up before 7 1/2 minutes. "Rolling Nuns" is a complex and impressive song with some good contrasts while "Pine On The Horizon" features a jazz section contrasted with a more keyboard driven sound. Love Hopper and Boyle late on this one. The closer "Wind Words" is a disappointing way to end it. Just too mellow and new agey for almost 7 minutes. Not my thing.

I have to mention Stomu's GO project that released two albums in the second half of the seventies with Klause Shulze on synths, Al DiMeola on guitar, Michael Shrieve on drums and the first record had Steve Winwood singing and playing keys. As for "Freedom Is Frightening" I feel it's his best work and a solid 4 star album.

Short story. I bought a cat from this cat shelter who was born there and never been outside, he had been there 5 years at this point. I kept him as an indoor cat since that's all he's known and besides we've lost so many cats over the years. Anyway, so here we are many years later he's around 12 now and his name is Miles Davis. A couple of weeks ago I open the front door, go outside and call him. He gingerly comes out, keeps looking behind him at the open door, walks about 5 feet then couldn't handle it and runs back in the house. Freedom is frightening. I actually mentioned the name of this album as I related this story to some people.