DOWNWIND

The first time I tried to listen to this album, I was so incredibly bummed out by the first song that I just turned it off. I thought "if this is any indication of what this album has in store for me, no thank you."

I was shocked that a band of Gong's caliber would stoop to writing and recording such a lackluster and generic hard-rock song.

But then, a few weeks later, I decided to give it another shot. I gritted my teeth and made it through the first song. A very good thing, because the rest of this album is top-notch fusion- prog, the type which makes my soul smile.

Thereis plenty of great soloing over really cool music beds. I love the herky-jerky, propulsive rhythm of the second track "Crosscurrents" and the way it slips into a seriously funky groove with bass slapping and popping....and then to add to my delight, the violin takes a solo over the percolating groove. At this point, its sounding like some of Jean-Luc Ponty's best work from the late 70s. When the violin solo ends, the music goes back to a stutter-step section, and then there's a really cool, albeit too short, guitar solo. And the song still isn't over!

So that's just song number 2, and already I'm in a state of prog happiness. The rest of the album holds many surprises and musical treats. I even like the other track with vocals, titled "What You Know." Sure, the instrumental tracks are stronger, but "What You Know" has a really cool funky feel to it and the quasi-psychedelic 60s-style vocals are kind of fun.

If it weren't for the first track (and to a lesser extent "What You Know"), I think this might've been a 5-star album. Its close. Inspired songwriting and musicianship of the highest caliber. I'd definitely recommend this album to fans of Jean-Luc Ponty, Steely Dan, Genesis, Santana,Mike Oldfield, King Crimson, and a bunch of other bands.