IN TWO MINDS (WITH MICHAEL BORSTLAP)

Is it just me, or were Bruford and Borstlap treading water when they recorded this? Compared to their first album together, a miracle of instant composition, IN TWO MINDS is lacking in excitement. The general principle is the same as before: a drummer and a pianist/keyboardist take the stage without having the faintest idea what they are going to play. All of their music evolves spontaneously. But the problem is that little actually EVOLVES in this case. I'll admit it, I'm a dedicated Bruford fan, I admire most of his jazzy material (including virtually all the Earthworks stuff), not to mention the rock bands BB formed part of, and for me there's no more enjoyable drummer in all of popular music... It pains me to admit it, but on IN TWO MINDS his music (and Borstlap's) comes dangerously close to "aimless noodling". Especially on the first half of the album, where virtually everything sounds just like a bridge between two PROPER tracks on some half-forgotten live album... (With the exception of "From the Source, We Tumble Headlong", which is a pastiche of Joseph Zawinul at his most frenetic.) On the second half (from "Duplicity" onwards) there's some improvement. Tension increases and there are moments of magical interplay between pianist and percussionist. Unfortunately, any excitement dies out soon, and there's nothing here that equals Earthworks or King Crimson at their best. Of course Bruford completists can't afford to be without this album. There will never be another drummer like Bill, so in a sense every beat he lay down was sacred. (Except, perhaps, the horrible electronic drum rolls with which he ruined "Close to the Edge" on that ABHW live album...)