VITAL INFORMATION

In 1983 while playing with the enormously successful arena rock band Journey drummer Steve Smith revieved a green light from the corridors of power that resided at Columbia Records to proceed with a project that had been burning inside of him since childhood : To form a searing jazz-rock fusion ensemble that would rock, swing and cry with compelling ardour and that would push stylistic parameters. He summoned old buddies Dave Wilczewski on saxes, Dean Brown on guitar, Tim Landers on bass as well as the then Miles Davis guitar whiz Mike Stern and dubbed the project Vital Information. The result, this extraordinary self-titled 1983 debut satisfied his dream ten-fold. It had the high octane energy of Journey but slipped out of Journey`s rock constrictions by substituting the fundamentals and essentials of jazz & blues which embraced the spirit and complexities of 70s fusion monsters such as The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever and Jean-Luc Ponty, the latter with whom Smith had previously recorded and toured with.

As the title would suggest there is a sense of urgency on every one of the seven tracks heard here. Full of devil-may-care electric guitar infusions, eager saxes, singing bass melodies with a sax-driven samba-like piece ( Stoughton To Stockholm ) thrown in for posterity, not to mention Smith`s iconic drumming.

Apart from the funky groovin` Looks Bad, Feels Good which leads off the album, the pulsating Questionable Arrivals or the scorching guitar/drum duet on the title track, first prize on this fusion battle royale must go to the mezmerizing All That Is which defines the whole work . From Dave Wilczewski`s igniting, ponderous tenor sax head through it`s almost straight ahead rock middle section save for some insane key changes it cries and burns itself into a frenzy that also recalls ghosts from other eras of the jazz realm finally resolving itself into a restatement of the head to restore it to a spooky calm with only smoldering embers that were extant afore this unmitigated sonic onslaught. It even recieved some limited play on FM rock radio no doubt partially as result with Smith`s ongoing concerns with Journey.

The whole record reeks of solid musical conviction drenched in passion giving the impression that these cats were really fired up for this baby; a creature that had been in a prolonged embryonic state which had just emerged from it`s gestation period fully mature. Despite the youthfulness of all the players at the time, all had spent some time at The Berkley School of Music and had played with a myriad of jazz and rock artists. For those who had only been familiar with Smith`s stellar work with Journey ( although elements of that are definitely to be found here ) some fans of that band might be taken aback at first by this leviathon. Smith draws more on straight-up jazz drumming with a peculiar bop/big band fusion which he pursues with ferocious abandon and most devious intent! An element which also contributes to the overall might of the work is one that isn`t there but would figure more prominently as Vital Information matured over the years : Keyboards. The absence of which give the music the fiery sound that it seeked, allowing for more catchy melodies to develop particularily with Landers` bass with some very lyrical lines to be heard on tracks like VG and 13th Month the latter being the only piece to feature a keyboard passage featuring Steve Smith himself on the rather pretty piano intro on this fusion ballad that literally burns with emotion and fire.

Simply beyond reproach, Vital Information`s first album is one of those albums that once you`ve eaten it up for the first time you will go for seconds saying to yourself gotta hear that again man!. For years it was a jazz-rock fusion jewel that time forgot until 2005 when it was brought back from the netherworld by Wounded Bird records on CD along with Vital Information`s subsequent `84 release Orion which is but another incredible story! For those of you fusion freaks out there who can`t get enough of 70s style fusion and missed this gem strap yourself into the ejection seat for this ride which ups the ante and blows the stylistic envelope off all 4 quadrants of the musical graph. Impeccable jazz-rock fusion.

Steve Smith was the drummer in the hugely popular JOURNEY at the time when he was given permission to record a solo album. His love was Jazz/Fusion and back in 1983 he put together this band of two guitarists in Mike Stern and Dean Brown, plus bass player Tim Landers, and a tenor sax player named Dave Wilczewski, and the only one I am familiar with is Mike Stern. I was really looking forward to this until I heard the sax, I just don't like it, the style or tone. I like that he brought in two guitarists though because they have very different styles so you know when they are both playing in the same passage of music.

The opener has this funky rhythm section and they don't really go into this style after this song but this rhythm continues throughout the opener. I like the guitar expressions but not the sax as they trade off. Nice bass before 3 minutes on "Questionable Arrivals" along with the guitar expressions. Dual guitars on this one. Some walking bass on "V.G." and the sound is fairly sparse until later. Favourite by far though is "All That Is" even if it starts with laid back sax and atmosphere. I like when the tempo speeds up as drums and bass join in. First time Smith works up a sweat. Sax joins in too until replaced by the guitar before 5 minutes. Love the guitar 5 1/2 minutes in as it soars. Best section on the album from 5 minutes in to the end. Smith plays piano on the beginning of the closer.

A little disappointed for sure.