ECLIPSE

Brett's RCA followup to "Interlife" was different enough to show that he was not going to sit still, but similar enough to sound like the same guy. He has opted for 10 shorter tracks and vocals appear on the weakest 2. The material is more varied, from disco funk to acoustic folk to calypso to heavy rock to Renaissance music to jazz standards. In general this release seems designed for greater digestibility. But none of that stops "Eclipse" from being another excellent album.

A whole new batch of thoroughly competent backing musicians provide Brett with the support to succeed again. Woodwinds add a new dimension to a few of the tracks, while brass has returned here and there. Old Tom Newman has a major behind the scenes role. The highlights are most of the instrumental cuts and the way they convincingly link together in spite of their disparity of styles. For instance, "Calypso Street" is a very accessible and jaunty number followed by the more serious and jazzy "Silent Runner". The gorgeous flute and acoustic guitar combination of "This Side of Paradise" leads convincingly into the crunch of "Mentalmusic", as unlikely as that sounds. The title cut is quite similar to the material on "Interlife" but far more concise, with a superb folk-based main melody expressed in a variety of accents and mingled with potent lead and sax soloing. "Overture to Decadence" is a well chosen follow up that persists with a ole Englishe theme more overtly and is enhanced by Rob Young's string arrangements. The album closes with an entirely convincing acoustic rendition of the Dave Brubeck classic "Take Five".

Sadly unappreciated and still without a digital treatment, this album eclipsed most of what came out in 1979 with its spirited best of breed arrangements and top notch musicianship. Highly recommended, although most here should start with "Interlife"