HANNIBAL

A jazz-rock one off from Birmingham. The musicians were obviously inspired by COLOSSEUM, CHICAGO, and BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS as well as PROCOL HARUM, The SPENCER DAVIS GROUP and even Andrew LLOYD-WEBER.

1. "Look Upon Me" (6:13) Oh! The bluesy kind of jazz-rock, not really what I'd call fusion. The music shifts to BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS territory for the second motif and chorus (part of which sounds as if it is intentionally lifted from Andrew LLOYD WEBER's Jesus Christ Superstar: Jesus' emotional performance in the "Garden of Gethsemane" scene (and song). There's quite a little of The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" in there, too. Nice musicianship and pretty good sound reproduction throughout. (8.75/10)

2. "Winds of Change" (7:26) more music that feels as if it's on the verge of going PROCOL HARUM or ANIMALS with some nice (and original) melodic singing over the top of interesting, subtly shifting and changing instrumental performances beneath. The slower middle section sounds a lot like The SPENCER DAVIS GROUP, even when it picks up. The sound of the Hammond organ is so domineering despite the wonderfully performed and mixed bass and drums. The guitar and horn accents are pretty cool, too. The final sections up the tempo while letting the instrumentalists go unrestricted for a bit. Great blues-feeling song. (13.5/15)

3. "Bend for a Friend" (10:27) opens with a guitar and bass riff that sounds like a Sergio Leone film score. The rest of the band joins in and proceed to set up a motif that is quite stereotypic for what we consider "Indian music"--that is, the music of Native Americans (as depicted, of course, in the soundtracks of film and the occasional Indian-themed hit song). At the three-minute mark the motif switches to a different, more strident and jazzy interpretation of yet another fairly familiar N.A. melodic theme. Guitarist Adrian Ingram goes a bit crazy on his electric guitar, again bridging the jazz and blues-rock worlds throughout his solo: part Hendrix, part Johnny Mac (or Randy California). At the 5:30 mark there is another, rather radical thematic change--this one feeling as if we've started a completely different song. It's cinematic like something befitting a B-movie horror flick. At 6:30 we again stop to listen to a solo saxophone solo: that's right: a solo with absolutely no accompaniment. Finally, 45-seconds in drummer John Parker joins saxophonist Cliff Williams' chorused woodwind. Then in the tenth minute the rest of the band throbs their way back in before lining up to finish the song with original pseudo-Native American motif. Interesting song. (17.5/20)

4. "1066" (6:28) (a reference, I take it, to either the Norman Invasion or the Battle of Hastings.) opens with a bluesy motif beneath Alex's recitation of words and terms tied into the year 1066. But then the music turns anachronistic-- almost "mediæval"--with flutes, bass, organ, and harpsichord and a Michael Giles-like drumming touch. I find this anachronistic motif the most interesting and favorite of the album. Next is a rather spacious percussion-dominated passage that is quite reminiscent of King Crimson's quiet passage in The Court of the Crimson King's "Moonchild." Bass and drums get their time in the spotlight here. Hearing this makes me wonder if Carl Palmer and Greg Lake heard this song before (finally) rendering Greg's 10-year old song "Lucky Man" to tape. A very interesting song that never really seems to gel into something consistent or cohesive. (8.875/10)

5. "Wet Legs" (4:44) a kind of jazzy intro morphs into another Blues-Rock riff-based alternating four-chord progression. In the second minute of this completely-instrumental song there is a temporary detour down a jazzy sidestreet, but then we return fairly quickly to the original motif for some funky organ play and slow ROBIN TROWER-like guitar soloing (ending in "The Note": a single guitar note that is held for 45 seconds of slow decay while the organ continues to bounce around rather excitedly). The two motifs cycle around a couple more times before the song cashes out. (8.875/10)

6. "Winter" (8:06) a song that sits on the fence from its very opening notes as to whether it's prog or J-R Fusion, soon reveals its (surprise!) blues-rock nature. Syncopated drumming is the only truly jazzy element over the first few minutes as a descending four-chord motif beneath vocalist Alex Boyce's R&B voice drives the song until the instrumental vamp of the fourth and fifth minutes. Here a different rock rhythm motif is played beneath Alex Ingram's guitar soloing. The dude has obviously had some training in both blues and jazz guitar play (and may revere artists like Wes Montgomery and John Mayall) as he unleashes a truly nicely evolving solo over the course of its three minute length. Then the band suddenly stops and lays down a very spacious, mellow, and gorgeous gentle JIMMY WEBB-like motif to finish the song with. Great song though I wouldn't really call this Jazz-Rock Fusion--or even Jazz-Rock. (13.5/15)

Total Time 43:24

B+/four stars; an excellent album of well-crafted, superlatively-performed, and nicely-recorded Blues-Rock-moving- into-Jazz-Rock songs. Highly recommended to all lovers of progressive rock--especially if you're into the origins and development of Progressive Rock Music.