CORYELL

Whether this is the debut album or not is debatable, but its his first one under his own name and what a debut this album makes. It's actually virtually impossible to tell that the guitarist on this album will be the jazz and jazz-rock giant he became. Behind this very hippy-ish artwork hides a pure blistering piece of hard rocking guitar. The line-up consists of permanent sidemen such as school friend Mike Mandel (KB), drummer Purdie, with the bass slot still not decided between Rainey and Stinson. Guesting are old collab Amerindian Jim Pepper, Miles collab Ron Carter, while wife Julie signs the liner notes (and gets two track credits as well) and in-house producer Danny Weiss at the production helm, this debut album is certainly no accident and the very base of LC's early career.

Quite a varied album we get here, as the tracks range from the good rocking sung track like the opening Sex track (sounding like Lenny Kravitz circa Let Love Rule, with more instrumental space) and Morning Sickness (guitar as medication), to incandescent lengthy instrumental extrapolations Jam With Albert (Stinson the bassist), from the softer psych-blues Beautiful Woman (again early Kravitz comes to mind) to the slow-starting boogie Elementary Guitar Solo #5 (an excuse for a hot searing and soaring solo) turning into a wild mid-section tempo. The two Julie-penned tracks are both quality piece that do not detract from the rest of the album, especially the wild No One Really Knows, starting out nicely, until Larry hoofs it into the stratosphere with his guitar and the closing Ah-Wuv-Oh, where Pepper's flute plays an interesting contrast with Larry's guitar.

Certainly one of LC's best moments in his career that will feature many, I would like to point out that if LC would progress musically greatly, he was starting from a solid base like this album. Indeed this album can't be called jazz, jazz-rock t all, it is a pure R'nR album, and one that's highly recommended, too.

I feel some albums that this Larry Coryell made in the item of Jazz/fusion at the time of Vanguard there are a lot of very reformative elements. As for it, the listener will feel the element of Rock at this time and the element of psychedelic remarkable. Coryell that placed "Lady Coryell" announced at the same time and had digested with this album in the age submitted the perfection as a certain answer in continuing album "Spaces". Generally, Spaces of the work of Coryell at this time might be famous. And, the item of Jazz/fusion had a lot of musicians who took various elements to the music that relied on one road that Miles in the 70's advocated and derived. And, it might be Coryell to have submitted it most remarkably at this time. The performance and the sensibility of this Coryell are guessed also for Phil Miller of Hatfields to have been influenced. It is spoken that fact Phil listened to Coryell well. It might be too regrettable to catch this album as an attempt before "Spaces" reaches music with which the throb feeling overflows and the tension. As for the drum of Bernard Purdie, the style is already consistent and the Play is good at this time with Bass of Ron Carter and Chuck Raney each other. As for the situation in this age of the musician who participated in the recording, some music character might have looked like directionality. Making the electronic sound comes to expand the frame of Jazz/Fusion from the tohubohu at the same time as symbolizing the age.

Hard..complete..tune..this..age..suitable..mellow..impression..give..movie..drama..theme..beco me..anacatesthesia..drift.｢Ah Wuv Ooh｣

Album Art might be a photograph of the family of Coryell. The theme and the age of this album might be symbolized. The work in the age of Vanguard is one of the symbols of Coryell that takes various elements and challenges to these albums.

This album continues in the vein of the previous one with traces of psychedelia, rock, blues and jazz. "Sex" is a particularly wild explosive track with excellent guitar soloing. "Beautiful Woman" is a beautiful mellow lo-fi track with jazz-rock guitar, a typical Coryell feeling of time. The guitar sounds as it can't decide if it should sound jazzy or rocky, in particular when guitar run are done. "The jam with Albert" is clearer - hard rock with clear rhythm and a jam feeling. "Elementary guitar solo #5" has splendid mellow solo guitar. "No one really knows" could be well used 30 years later in 90's acid jazz chord structure be it not for its raw sound. Cool song structure! "Ah wuv ohh" has a terrible name but shining guitar licks, both chords and soloing. Not much jazz here but promising.

Late-Decade Larry Returns With Infectious, Fiery Groove

Coryell (1969) is the sophomore release by one of Fusion's foundational participants/minds, Larry Coryell, released during the great explosion of Jazz-Rock and Fusion in the late-1960s. The album's drummer is the all-important Bernard Purdie. Fellow Free Spirit Jim Pepper provides reeds, and the responsibility of bass falls on three performers: on acoustic double bass[???], the incredible Ron Carter and the lesser known Albert Stinson, and on electric, for the majority, Chuck Rainey. [The credits here simply don't match up exactly with what's on Wikipedia; someone with the real liner notes should help haha.] I'm unsurprised, but I'm only getting more and more warmed up to this man's work. Hope you enjoy likewise.

"Sex" launches the festivities (quite the opposite to how most affairs begin haha), and with the use of Mike Mandel's organ, I was launched into the stratosphere. Larry's more solid Rock vocals are backed by a steady beat, further fortified by Chuck Rainey's forward driving performance. The spacy effect is only built up with Larry's crunchy, Wah-laden guitar solo. Naturally sexy still, "Beautiful Woman" is next, a bluesy number with soft accompaniment, which opens and speeds up a minute in. Really delightful, and then yet another, much spicier solo from Larry. Sheesh... Give it a try; it's pretty daring and just damn cool.

Back into a solid Blues Rock, though heavier than most from said idiom, "The Jam with Albert" is next, and the longest at over 9 minutes. Coryell's knowledge of the guitar is astounding, and the band is understandably hot fire. Purdie is so badass, and it needs to be said, but I don't think Stinson is even possibly playing an upright here; it's too free-flowing and beefy. These thoughts only arose because he's killing it just much as Pretty Purdie. I'm often hard-pressed to be im-pressed by such an open jam like this, though really that's the context that would be most appropriate to show what you've got as a group (of individuals haha).

The funnily titled "Elementary Guitar Solo No. 5" follows and... I'm just not buying that, Lar [Come on, you're incredible]. After an exact minute of clean soloing, the band enters in for a well-performed Rootsy number as Mandel switches to acoustic piano. Agnostics everywhere, rejoice! "No One Really Knows"! Haha! This number keeps it low and slow, feeling and emotive. After one more 1-minute intro section, Purdie brings us back into a sweet groove. There's plenty to latch onto here (I had to work hard to unfurrow my brow). Some of his guitar solo here is just searing emotion. I'm certainly rejoicing.

"Morning Sickness", despite the name, brings us back into the light. Groovy. This track just moves! Rhythm section with Rainey at the helm is quick and feisty. The mood shifts slightly approaching minute 4 as Larry delivers some angularity and familiar dissonance. Finally, Jim Pepper joins us with sweet, sweet flute on the closer, "Ah Wuv Ooh". The guitar effect used here reminds me of... something from The Beatles. A softer tune, its composition is certainly ear-catching. The crescendo around minute 2 is something mighty powerful. Crazy amount of tension here. With "Sex", this is the best the album had to offer, for sure.