SPECTRUM

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Here's an album that I could easily recommend to any fan of jazz-rock and to anyone who doesn't like jazz-rock, actually. Many people bought a set of drums because of this album. Many drummers sold their drums after hearing this album.

This album is technical perfection, with emphasis on drums - but how many drum-oriented albums that deserve a masterpiece status do you know?

This is not only a masterpiece, this is a desert island album. It will continue to grow on you every time you are listening to it- it's one of those damn albums where you can discover something new every time you are listening to it, even if you are familiar with it for ten years or more.

I prefer to call this one rock-jazz rather than jazz-rock; my impression is that this is a full-blooded jazz album and it rocks. It's a perfect balance of freshness & youth and maturity & musicianship.

The drums are incredible, astonishing and that is all I'm going to say about it. I do not like drum solos - but William Cecil Cobham is undoubtedly a genius, capable to balance everything in a song perfectly.

Most of the songs are interplays between keyboards and guitar with incredibly complex drumming and incredibly simple bass in a background. This formula is applied to almost all songs in the album - plus, there's usually a drum solo as an intro to the song (note the (a) and (b) parts in the track listing).

So, if the album is following some rules so strictly, what is so good about it?

Everything else. Controlled monstrosity, rock mannerism on a jazz background, brief and effective solos. Excellent musicianship. This album is pleasant, furious, focused, groundbreaking. Anything you want.

This albums is highly recommended to anyone on this planet who have some credibility as a fan of serious and intelligent music. Especially recommended to people who are not the fans of jazz-rock/fusion.

This is one of the masterpieces for the centuries to come.

A rock album with jazz sensibilities?; Get in and be amazed at the skill of that drummer!!. Billy Cobham has brought some of the Mahavishnu spirit for this album, with some drum interludes. In fact two song are introduced by two drum spots: "Searching for the Right Door" serves as an introduction for the title track and Anxiety opens for "Taurian Matador". The sax and the flute, unfortunately, serve mainly as accompaniment instruments (with only few solo spots), so the instruments that stand out the most are electric piano/guitar and Moog synthetizer.

The album sets sail with an explosive guitar/drum duo (I believe the guitarist is Tommy Bolin, as it fits his approach to guitar technique and fireworks); a speedy rock n' roll/blues song. Then Spectrum with it's great reed/woodwind arrangements and exquisite electric piano improvisation and the one crazed sax bridge. How about the Moog/guitar duo on "Taurian Matador"?... simply fireworks; amazing interplay!!!. "Stratus" is the longest track on the album andit takes about 3 minutes between studio tricks and drum display, then it builds up as a slow rocking jam. The insightful "To The Women In My Life" (a piano prelude) serves as opening for the latin-injected "Le Lis" and we get to the finale with a wicked "studio trick" track called "Snoopy's Search" which is followed by the legendary "Red Baron", one of my favourites tracks of the album.

A real treat for rock and jazz fans alike, and one of the most memorable fusion albums of the 70's. A 5 star!!

I listened to this album in 1985. It is a very good album, with very good compositions by Cobham who also is a brillant drummer. It is an album in the very "Fusion" style, and maybe it is one of the best examples of this style of music. Cobham selected very good collaborators for the recording of this album. In particular, guitarist Tommy Bolin (who died in 1976) and keyboard player Jan Hammer shine on this album, with Bolin playing very good lead & rhythm guitars on most of the songs (John Tropea also played guitar in one or two songs). Bolin`s playing is particularly good in the song "Quadrant 4". In my opinion, his style was more adequate for the Jazz-Rock music, so I don`t know why he played with Deep Purple years later, as his style wasn`t very similar to Ritchie Blackmore`s and Deep Purple`s. Hammer also plays very good synth solos in his very own style, and also other keyboards. Hammer plays piano in the brief and beautiful song called "To the Women in my Life", which sounds more like an introduction for the next song called "Le Lys", which has the same melody from "To the Women of my Life", but played with drums,congas, electric piano, synth, bass, guitar and wind instruments. In conclusion, is a very recommendable album.

Billy Cobham already had a top-notch pedigree stemming from his sessions with Miles Davis on his revolutionary "Bitches Brew," but his awe-inspiring drumming with The Mahavishnu Orchestra made him a household name among musicians of all genres in the early 70s. This well-deserved popularity helped him to land a record deal, assemble a group of virtuosos and cut his first solo album in 1973. But rather than write the kind of complex and difficult-to-assimilate tunes that had characterized his previous musical involvements, Billy optioned to string together a collection of powerful, energized instrumentals that placed a heavy emphasis on the rock dimension of Jazz Rock/fusion. Aware that he wouldn't have weeks of studio time to allow for unlimited takes in the pursuit of perfect tracks (not that these are loose by any means), Cobham aimed for emotional spontaneity mixed with adrenaline and the result is a joyous, unbridled album of great songs.

The extraordinary keyboard wizard Jan Hammer and Billy waste no time loitering in front of the album as they come charging out of the gate in a full sprint on "Quadrant 4." With Cobham's double bass drums rumbling like a freight train, the tune's laughing melody pulls you in without a struggle and sets you up for the full brunt of Tommy Bolin's fierce, fire-breathing guitar. The indispensable gadget he utilizes so expertly, causing his solo to explode out of your speakers is the famous Echoplex and I'm not convinced that modern technology has yet to fully duplicate (much less improve on) its unique capabilities. This project most definitely sprang from the mind of a drummer so from time to time you are treated to short but very expressive percussion forays like "Searching for the Right Door" where Billy shows off his meticulously fine-tuned kit. It leads to "Spectrum," a fine modern jazz piece that spotlights Joe Farrell's flute and soprano sax and Jimmy Owens' flugelhorn. It's presented in a tricky 7/8 time signature and Joe's sax break in particular is exquisite. "Anxiety" is another quick-to-pass drum sequence that serves as the intro for "Taurian Matador," a fast and funky strut with a more involved melody line that ends up in a battle of riffs between Hammer and Bolin that will tear your head off. A word here about Tommy. With his sterling reputation Billy could have recruited any number of incredible jazz guitarists to play on this album but I think he chose Bolin because he didn't want intricacy, he wanted dazzling fireworks and to hell with precision. Tommy was the right choice because he turns in some of the most intense guitar rides you'll ever hear.

"Stratus" is the tune that got the all-important radio airplay and everybody's attention. And for good reason. It's a monster cut. Smooth, spacey sounds from Jan and Tommy are followed by Cobham's light-speed noodlings and samplings on the Moog synthesizer drum, then a clean closed roll ends with a hard snap of the snare and off you go. One of the most appealing things about Billy's compositions is his ability to come up with memorable melodies and this is one of his best. Here Cobham and bassist Lee Sklar lay down a rhythm track that's tighter than the seals on a submarine but Billy's not content to just sit back and play the downbeat. He's an interactive drummer. When Bolin gets to shredding on his Strat Billy is right there with him, lifting the whole song into orbit. Same thing with Hammer's solo, then Cobham flies over the skins and a repeating riff as the song trails off into the ether. The tune is just under 10 minutes of pure sizzle. Billy wisely inserts some serenity at this point with Jan's beautiful acoustic piano rendition of "To the Women in my Life," followed by the Latin-flavored "Le Lis" that glides along gracefully like a lithe dancer. Hammer supplies a tastefully restrained synthesizer lead to complement Owens' skill on trumpet. "Snoopy's Search" is a final but furious taste of the drum synth that slows to a lone pulse before the band slides into "Red Baron." The song has a contagious funky feel and one of the coolest melody lines ever. Tommy's subdued tone is priceless and he throws in a few harmonics hither and yon to keep you intrigued. Hammer storms in with some lightning from his electric piano and guides you the rest of the way home.

This is a masterpiece not because it is immaculate or world changing or absolutely mind- blowing but because it is so consistently and undeniably GOOD. And I mean that in the best way. There's not a skip-over track to be found and there's a delightful atmosphere of shared, mutual gratification emanating from the musicians involved that seeps right out of the music directly into the heart. It's a one of a kind album that will appeal to and entertain your progressive ears even if you don't usually venture anywhere near jazz rock/fusion. Do yourself a favor and add this to your collection. Play it when you need some pep in your step. It's like sunshine for the soul.

The recent inclusion of this unsuspecting artist, owner of a timeless crown jewel with this recording, compelled me to register my complete elation in welcoming yet another masterpiece into the Prog Hall of Fame (hello, Cincinnati). My esteemed colleague (and seemingly highly adroit scribe) Rollie Anderson hit the proverbial nail smack on the head, with his highly explosive review, unable and unwilling to hide his unabashed awe. Simply put , and then we can move on, this is among the cream discs from the 70's new prog-fusion (once and then better described as jazz-rock), up there, onstage with the illustrious Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Birds of Fire", Return to Forever's simply ripping "Romantic Warrior" , Al DiMeola's blistering "Land of the Midnight Sun" and Weather Report's suave "Sweetnighter" . Yeah! It's that kind of pedigree. Mind blowing! No need to give a blow by blow account of each track's virtues, the whole is even better than the sum of its parts. To start, the sheer quality of the musicianship veers straight into the ridiculously insane. Both Cobham's drumming and Jan Hammer's synthesizing are well-documented inspirations to countless learning musicians, so the shift is directly aimed at the super cool bass patterns of famed and then busy LA session bassist Leland Sklar, enough to sit up and notice. Only need a good guitar to seal the deal and what a left-field choice. So enters "I died too young" Tommy Bolin, still revered today by knowledgeable rock fans whose jaw dropped at this first and fierce six-string recital, a guitarfest that has all the flair of sheer genius. The compositions just groove, at times intensely so, a controlled fury sculpted by warp speed fingers and sensitive hands. Even the brief drum solos , as well as the manic synth noodlings accent the creative package which is best showcased by the legendary (and oft sampled ) "Stratus" one of the finest instrumentals of all-time. When the brief synth- drum ends, the main bass-led beat is laid down like an anchor, propelling the groove (Ozrics style) and it's take-off time. What a detonation! When Tommy kicks in with a tectonic plate shaking guitar solo that defies description but will shatter your doubts and turn you into a fan, the apex has been achieved! One of those" You must be joking, take a running jump" kind of solos. I strongly suspect that this record will be heavily reviewed in the future and deservedly so as I cannot comprehend someone slamming this extremely original rock icon. Did I omit to mention Billy's titanic drumming prowess throughout? Not surprising as each return audition pursues the quest in "driving me mad", (I want you, I want you so bad, it's ..) . Any proud prog collection cannot afford the exclusion of this pentastar offering. Remembering 1973 when this was recorded , I am reminded that it was the nec plus ultra prog year, with tons of inspiring musical masterworks (just go through our site's top albums all-time section and chalk em up). Get, keep, treasure and forever enjoy 5 red barons

This is one of the easiest reviews I will ever write. Do you want virtuosic playing? Do you want music that sounds "cool"? Do you want music that will challenge you, yet still not make you feel like nerd with non-prog friends? Do you want a variety of instrumentation, styles and tempos on an album? If your answer to any of these is yes, then you simply need this album.

Quadran 4. An absolutely blistering opener, Bolin and Hammer engage in some fierce duels, while Cobham simmers on drums. Sure, it's a relatively simple jam, but it's also light-years more in-your-face and intense than your average rocker.

Searching for the Right Door. A great change of pace from the opener, this track is a light, intricate, fllute-oriented number in 7/4 that features excellent drumming (of course!) and ultra-cool keys and synths from Hammer. If I was a high-roller in Vegas, this would be my theme music.

Anxiety/Taurian Matador. Here the boys tone down the rock a bit from the opener and throw in some funk, but the blistering interplay between Bolin and Hammer remains. And of course, Cobham keeps right on cooking, with killer fills and nice change-ups throughout to always keep things interesting.

Stratus. This highlight of the album for me, this is one hard-working song, and Cobham and crew have cranked the funk to the max, and the results are simply awesome. A great spacey intro, including one of my favorite drum solos of all time, lead into the funky groove that takes up most of the track. Bolin gives us a guitar jam with a nasty attitude--too bad he only had so little time on this earth, though the song is captivating throughout.

To the Women in My Life/Le Lis. After the funk-filled Stratus, a classy grand piano intro, followed by a subdued yet lively trumpet groove is just what the doctor ordered.

Snoopy's Search/Red Baron. To round out the album, we're treated to a brief freakout and then a cool funk groove. Hammer's tasteful keys really keep this one interesting, though let's not forget Bolin's restrained, Beck-like riffs. Anyone listening to this will strut a bit more and feel a bit cooler.

As you can imagine, I love this album--tons of great tunes, incredible playing, and excellent variety. This is an essential addition to any fusion or progressive rock collection.

3.5 stars really!!!

While still on board with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham started thinking about releasing his own solo album as a solution to his frustration, which he shared with his bandmates. Most likely due to McLaughlin's authoritarian leadership of MO, the group was starting to implode by the summer of 73 and some conflicts lead to the "loss" of the Trident sessions that was supposed to the group's third album and Columbia released a live album instead. The fact was that most of the group resented McL's being the sole songwriter. Hammer, Laird and Goodman where often at odds with McL, but Cobham avoided the feud, because he was planning his future solo album Spectrum. So when MO did implode, Billy was ready with his project and entered the Electric Lady studios (Hendrix facility) with ex-MO Jan Hammer, bright hope guitarist Tommy Bolin (future Purple disaster) and studio-rat bassist Sklar. On two tracks, he opted on calling Ron Carter, Baretto and horn player Owens and Farrell.

As collab Hammer was toying around with the Moog, the mood was for experimentations throughout the three weeks it took to record the album, but this risk-taking might mean that the album hasn't aged all that well. One of the amazing things is that Spectrum doesn't sound like a MO offshoot, but more like a later 70's Jeff Beck album, this right from the energy-packed opening track Quadrant 4 all the way to the closing Red Baron track. With Hammer being an obvious link (but then again to MO as well), then it leaves Tommy Bolin's guitar to induce that JB sound. The only track where you might hear a hint of MO is the title track's start (in 7/4), but as soon as Owens' sax enters, it is gone. Taurian Matador again gives you the JB feel

The album's centrepiece (opening the flipside) is the 10-mins Stratus, starting on spacey sounds, with Cobham's lightning fast drumming and Hammer's electronic twiddles on the Moog for an intro, before Bolin takes the track into the open some three minutes into the track. Soon followed by Hammer's delightful electric piano (almost Manzarek crossing Auger), the album hits its peak with the improbable certainty that it won't be topped again.

Three drum solo are spread throughout the album and for this writer finding just one of them being more than enough, this might sound like pure hell. Only Cobham's extraordinary skills makes that these three drum pieces manage to get past the first few repeated listens without much harm, they inevitably hamper the album's enjoyment in the long run. Nevertheless, no matter how you feel about drum solos, Cobham is shining harder than the sun throughout the whole album, extending his craft beyond reason, playing with two sticks per hands on most tracks. The Women/Le Lis combi track is rather different with Hammer doing the intro, and the extended line-up bring the album into softer territory, but it doesn't lmean anyless challenging. Hammer repeats his Moog noodlings in Snoopy's Search, but again the experimentations sound dated (more than Tangerine Dream's experiments really). As mentioned above, Red Baron reeks again of JB feel, the track having a lovely funky reggae almost-lazy beat, allowing Hammer's electric piano tio tear up, the place, Bolin remaining in the background, thus negating the Beck experience.

Difficult not to give less than essential rating to such an album, but the repeated drum showcases (show-offs) are somewhat a drawback and unfortunately the album gets a below 4 stars rating, while retaining its essential status.

There's no question that Billy Cobham is one of the most talented and influencial drummers on the planet.I had high hopes going into this one that it would be another "Birds Of Fire" shred-fest.Not quite, although the first song delivers big time in that style.Jan Hammer, his old MAHIVISHNU ORCHESTRA band mate helps out,while Tommy Bolin doesn't disappoint on guitars.We also get some bass,sax,flugelhorn,trumpet and flute to round out this mostly jazzy sounding album. "Quadrant 4" opens with heavy,fluid drumming while Bolin comes in with some intricate melodies.A fuller sound 1 1/2 minutes in.This is so impressive.Ripping guitar after 3 minutes as the bass continues to throb. "Searching For The Door/Spectrum" opens with intricate drum patterns before we get to "Spectrum" which is very jazzy with plenty of keys from Hammer, as well as flugelhorn and flute. Guitar 2 1/2 minutes in.The drumming is incredible! Sax after 4 1/2 minutes with liquid keys a minute later. "Anxiety/Taurian Matador" opens like the last song with the first part taken up with Cobham's complex drumming skills.The second part kicks into gear quickly.This is another jazzy tune with some great keyboard and guitar solos trading fire as Cobham does his thing. "Straths" opens with 2 minutes of spacey atmosphere.Nice touch.Drums then come in sounding so amazing.The guitar in this one is excellent as well.Great tune. "To The Women In My Life/Le Lis" opens with piano before the second part arrives which is light,uptempo and jazzy.Alto sax,trumpet and congas all chip in.Hammer offers up some moog as well. "Snoopy's Search/Red Baron" opens with experimental sounds and ends with percussion.The second part features a nice drum/bass rhythm as keys then guitar join in.Great sound 5 minutes in. A must have for MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA fans but i'm sure you already know that.

While outdoing Mahavishnu is completely out of the question, Billy Cobham put out a strong solo debut, possibly stronger than any of McLaughlin's solo albums. Spectrum is a rockin' fusion record that obviously showcases the talent of the great drummer. great rhythm work is complimenting by solid improvisation. 2/3 of the record are done by a quartet comprised of Cobham, Jan Hammer, Tommy Bolin and Lee Sklar; the other third features some additional instrumentation (horns, woodwinds, auxiliary percussion). While the performance value is there, I can't say that there is anything especially memorable about the album. There aren't any stellar riffs or melodies to suppliment the soloing. We can expect something like this because it is, after all, a drummer's record.

It will suffice to say that Spectrum is a good but forgettable record. It is thoroughly enjoyable when you're listening to it, but you will never find any of it stuck in your head later on, and when deciding what to throw on when you're in a fusion mood, this probably won't be the first title you'll think of. Fans of predominantly jazz or jazz fusion would probably benefit from owning this one, especially those who can't get enough of the first form of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

I admit, of all the fusion bands out there(and I consider myself a huge fusion fan), I've never been able to get into Mahavishnu Orchestra. I have, however, always appreciated the talents of Billy Cobham and Tommy Bolin. Billy Cobham's _Spectrum_ album is a match made in heaven. If you want great guitar work, look no further. I would consider this album the framework of all things _Jeff Beck_ in relation to Beck's fusion period(especially _Blow By Blow_ and _Wired_). If you like those Jeff Beck albums, then Bliiy Cobham's _Spectrum_ is a must have since they are similar. Highlights are Quadrant 4, Spectrum and Stratus(this track has been sampled by several hip/hop artists). I seriously don't know how Billy Cobham pulls off this drumming at breakneck speed. It's simply incredible. The other tracks are mellow jazz/fusion and 1 minute drum workouts(intros to many of the pieces). After this album, Tommy Bolin would eventually join Deep Purple on their album _Come Taste The Band_(not my favourite, but it has since grown on me...worth checking out). _Spectrum_ is an almost masterpiece of jazz/rock fusion, but definitely a classic. It should be in every prog.rock collection.

Intersection of Two Fan Bases Secret Favorite = Classic

As a young guitar nerd in the late 80's most of my heroes referred back to jazz-rock pickers from the 70's as their influences. I checked out McLaughlin, DiMeola, and the usual suspects but for the most part the music was over my head at the time. And then I found Tommy Bolin. Bolin was a rocker with jazz sensibilities, rather than the other way around, and for some reason his playing just connected with me. Rather than relying on monster theory or note choice, he used everything he could to create dynamic cascades of sound out of the guitar. He became the absolute master of a 70's effect box that was archaic, noisy, and difficult to harness, the Echoplex. That effect became the defining aspect of his playing and he the defining player for the effect.

The absolute apex of Tommy's adventurousness is found on Billy Cobham's debut album, Spectrum. The opening song, Quadrant 4, is a strangely sparse solo duel between Bolin and keyboardist Jan Hammer. Tommy builds from pentatonic runs to early whammy bar aggression to finish with the Echoplex in its crazy glory - and jazz-rock may still have never reached that peak of rocking fire again. Later in the album, we get a good sampling of other elements of Tommy's playing including his funky comping, more extended lines, and a range of tones, but the Quadrant 4 solo is considered one of, if not THE high point of Tommy's playing by the TB fan community. (This has included me for over 20 years. For those interested, those "other" aspects are on even greater display on Alphonse Mouzon's allegedly copycat album to this one, Mind Transplant.)

Spectrum's significance at the time had little to do with Tommy Bolin, whose inclusion probably had some jazz fans scratching their heads prior to hearing the album. The album is first and foremost Cobham breaking free of the confines of Mahavishnu Orchestra and what a fine, funky, frisky emergence it is. His chops dazzle but always with a deep groove. Before Phil Collins brought in the gated snare or beats were corrected with Pro Tools, the 70's were the golden age of the drummer. And this drummer and this album are perhaps the primary standard bearers. Cobham takes many extended breaks for himself (yes perhaps a little indulgent, but it is his solo album) but as you take in this album a couple of times, they are a natural part of the flow of the music.

As others have said, this album is also a transition point between jazz fusion which included rock elements and true jazz-rock that Jeff Beck went on to remake his name performing. The time is more straight, the chord progressions more linear, and the attitude is just more rocking. Hammer plays like a demon, set loose and spurred on by both Cobham and Bolin. The group just sounds like they're totally enjoying the music they're making. It's a treat to listen to.

It doesn't get much more essential than this.

The accessible, though effective and addictive, entry to the Jazz Rock world...

Being a huge fan of Deep Purple, specially of their record featuring Tommy Bolin, Come Taste the Band, I was searching back then what else had this incredible and unique guitarist had made. First thing to come up was obviously this record, Spectrum by a unknown drummer for me at that time. Bought it with no hesitation, and when I first played it I can assure you that I was no less than astonished! Already from the initial blast-off of Cobham's rapid show-off drumming and Jan Hammer's fast paced Moog, I had to raise the speakers volume up to 11.

After having listened to the entire album, I really felt that Tommy Bolin's guitar work in here had really outdone his already marvelous work he had done with Deep Purple. In here he's capable of expressing much more than what he was allowed to express with Deep Purple; a totally mind-blowing mix of powerful rock-esque tones with funk and jazz sensibilities, as well as completely unique crazy sounds: this was immediately shown in the opener, Quadrant 4, though in Stratus can also be easily heard.

However that's as far how Tommy Bolin sounded, that said, he's not the only one sparking in here. Already knowing it's a solo album by a drummer, Billy Cobham, (and he's not any drummer) you must expect lots of show-offs by him as well, that is in each of the tunes the intro is done by him solely and of course all along the tunes his presence is always worth of mention; indeed a master of the drum-case.

Also, let's not forget of the Moog-master player, Jan Hammer, who few other players can match his proficiency on the synths, Hancock and Corea come to my mind. In this record he also standouts with lots of fresh sounds and ideas very much alike as he did with Mahavishnu Orchestra, worth mentioning is the eternal duels against Tommy Bolin, in which in the end you really can't be sure who really won, since both offer such creative and blasting solos: clear example of this is Taurian Matador.

So far from the descriptions from the standout members makes it seem more of a Rock record than a Jazz one, doesn't it? Well, don't think it's like that, you got Joe Farell, from the early Return to Forever line-up, delivering jazzy sax/flute melodies among some of the tunes, these are: Le Lis and Spectrum. And of course let's not forget that Tommy Bolin, Jan Hammer and Billy Cobham are very inclined towards jazz, so in the end do expect a full- blown Jazz Rock record with lots of funky and rock leanings, but still faithful to the jazz-roots.

5 stars: The musicianship on board needs no more mention, while the compositions not actually being the most inventive nor most complex and definitely any of the classic Jazz Rock bands really outdo anything on here on those terms(composition), they still all groove with such energy and become instantly addictive since day one, which in this case few of the classic Jazz Rock bands can manage to do that.

Masterpiece by Billy Cobham, Tommy Bolin, Jan Hammer & Co.