JAN HAMMER

Mahavishnu Orchestra fans rejoice! I know a lot of people were sad to see the original MO lineup dissolve, even though the second incarnation was equally fantastic, albeit in a different way. Fans who have a jones for more original Mahavishnu should look for this record. Jan Hammer, the virtuoso keyboardist known for his guitaristic signature Moog lead tones, and fiery violinist Jerry Goodman teamed up for this record - I'd love to know exactly how the conversation started, especially considering that two of these tunes - "Steppings Tones" (written by Mahavishnu bassist Rick Laird) and "I Wonder" - had been previously recorded and performed live by Mahavishnu Orchestra in the last days of the original lineup's existence. Perhaps they knew that the studio versions of those tunes, as recorded by Mahavishnu, were going to languish in Columbia Records' vaults (Until 1999, that is, when they were finally released on "The Lost Trident Sessions").

My experience with this album is unique in that I have been a Mahavishnu fan for over half of my life (since age 13!), and while I knew about this record, I was never able to find a copy, as it was long out of print by that time. I digested every note of every Mahavishnu Orchestra album I could get my hands on, but the enduring influence was always Jan Hammer and his beautiful Moog and Rhodes piano playing. I grabbed every record I could find that Jan played on, including the recordings with Jeff Beck - beginning with the live album "Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group LIVE".

Usually on a live album, an artist or group performs songs from their studio albums. I always wondered what studio album "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" and "Full Moon Boogie" came from, as I had all the Jan Hammer Group LPs, and they weren't on any of those. It never dawned on me to keep seeking out "Like Children".

Long story short; I finally have this record after all these years...I cannot describe what a trip it is to hear this now, since some of these tunes have literally shaped my musical taste (and my playing). It's like discovering a lost Mahavishnu album (another one ;-))!

So...what's it sound like?

Well, it's actually kind of quirky! The weird vocals that I never could understand on the Jeff Beck/ Jan Hammer live version of "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" are present here, sung by both Hammer and Goodman. They also sing on "Like Children" and "Full Moon Boogie", while Jerry Goodman sings solo on "Giving In Gently". The vocals are tucked pretty far back in the mix, with tons of echo added...I suppose to obscure the fact that neither Hammer or Goodman are world-class vocalists. Goodman really does a nice job on "Giving In Gently" though. Heartfelt and moving.

Jerry Goodman, in addition to being the Jimi Hendrix of violin, also plays guitar. While he's certainly no John McLaughlin, he definitely holds his own, even dueling with himself, Mahavishnu-style, on tunes like "Topeka". Jan Hammer plays everything else - keyboards (including Moog bass) and drums. He's not Billy Cobham, but I really enjoy his playing style. It has a recklessness to it that I really dig, similar to Stevie Wonder's drumming, albeit a bit more complex.

I bet this record was really fun to make. A truly collaborative effort.

Stylistically, it's all over the map, with Jan Hammer's full-on synth explorations via Oberheim digital sequencer, Minimoog, etc on "No Fear" (how he was able to do all those ostinati with a 256-note sequencer is mind-boggling) , Atmospheric, abstract tone poems such as "I Remember Me" and "Night", and fun stuff like "Country and Eastern Music" and "Full Moon Boogie". "Topeka" sounds like it would have been a Mahavishnu tune if John McLaughlin had given it half a chance.

Some of these tunes were recorded previously, as mentioned earlier, and some were recorded later. "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" is much slower and funkier here, but is lacking the energy of the Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer Live version (not to mention Beck's guitar stylings). "Full Moon Boogie" is almost a disaster here compared to the live version from the aforementioned album - not only is the groove better on the live recording, the vocals here sound almost like a joke. "Steppings Tones" was better played by Mahavishnu Orchestra. Since it's such a tightly-structured piece, it really benefits from a full band texture (and McLaughlin's guitar and Cobham's drums don't hurt).

However, I much prefer this rendition of Goodman's "I Wonder" here - it serves as a perfect segue from the moving, beautiful melodic "Giving In Gently", and the arrangement has more of a "rock" edge to it, partly due to Hammer's simple (but not simplistic) driving drums. Goodman contributes a very competent guitar solo to this tune. The emotional impact of the piece really works in this context, and is a great way to end a great record.

All in all, this is a fun experimental record, with plenty of stuff that will be of interest not only to Mahavishnu Orchestra fans, but to all fans of great music.

This has finally been reissued on CD by Wounded Bird records...do yourself a favor and get it!

— First review of this album —

"Please Hammer, don't hurt us!"

Well there's not much chance of getting hurt from this handful of cotton balls that Jan Hammer is lobbing at us on this album. Yes, the once fiery keyboardist is now serving up ladles of cold bland soup. Even the presence of the great guitarist and long time Hammer cohort Jeff Beck can't raise the level of this turkey. Just turn on the weather channel, or that channel that only shows automated weather maps of your area, and listen to the bland background dreck. Quiet Storm? This isn't even a light drizzle. I know Hammer can do better than this.

First post-MO album from Hammer, and a bit of a surprise move, away from the usual JR/F that we expect from him. While there are jazzy touches on TF7D, this is definitely more of an electronic music album, probably the one that gave him his electronic wizard reputation. Coming with an acclaimed artwork (although I find it completely average and even borderline overly naïve), this is a concept album (Jan disclaims it, but it's tough not thinking of it as such) that relates the Christian genesis of our world, without the religious content. This was his first shot at producing an album, and he did so in his brand new studio at home, somewhere in upstate New York and he plays every instruments on it, which means a wide array of keyboards and drums/percussions.

The album starts on some strong mini-moog, mellotron-filled track In Search Of A Sun, but the following Sun/Light is less enthralling, with the Sun part an unconvincing piano piece, while the Light sounds like it comes from rejected Tomita tapes, although this is not as violent a criticism you would believe (early Tomita s extraordinary stuff). Similarly to Sun, I find Oceans And Continents boring repetitive piano pieces, sometimes interrupted by a clumsy Wakeman or Emerson personification on synths over a bunch of synth layers. Plants and Trees sound like a Debussy piano piece (although Hammer was probably thinking more of Dvorak when writing it).

The flipside starts on the third day and Animals. The anachronic jungle beats might induce you to hear wild animals, but normally there is no humans yet to make these drum beats yet. I find this piece quite clumsy and dated, no matter my previous remark. The People has Jan playing some violin (real? 'cos the guitars on the second track was fake), while Seventh Day returns to the uneventful Sunday of a certain creator already bored of his new toy. Maybe Jan was bored as well.

While I've always respected Hammer's career and achievements, I've often been irritated at how some people make him out to be such a wizard of electronic music and especially at calling this album a masterpiece to be filed among the best. It would be easy to say that somehow Hammer missed the nail with this album, but it's more complex than that!! While TF7D is a good album, we're far away from the Germans, or Isao Tomita, etc. let alone some of the more adventurous Hancock in terms of electronics: Hancock's electronics in Mwandishi and much later with Rock It is certainly a worthy answer to Hammer's Miami Vice (BTW: I find both pieces atrocious piece of 80's crap). While usually hailed as a masterpiece by many, I beg to differ about this album, but I'm one in a small minority... But don't say I didn't warn you.

There are a lot of things working against this album before it even gets out of the gate; the music on here was made in the 80s, a lot of 80s sounding early digital keyboards were used in it's making and the songs on this album were created to serve as background music for some cheezy 80s TV shows. The big suprise is that this album sounds pretty good, especially if you take it for what it is; background music.

This isn't a true soundtrack album, instead what we have on here are twelve seperate semi-pop instumental songs that contain great original sounding, and often melancholy, melodies wrapped up in excellent innovative arrangements. Usually 80s keyboards are annoying, but occaisonally they seem to fit 80s music better than classic 70s analog keyboards would. For instance, some of the better 80s Genesis songs have unique keyboard parts that actually fit the song better because Banks is using the thinner more plastic sounds of that era. It is all part of a weird principal in which if something that is usually bad works, than it works better than something that is usually good.

Not all of the songs on here are pop oriented, some get into world music territory and others sound like prog-rock lite, sometimes even sounding like an easy listening version of Hammer's old Mahavishnu Orchestra. This album is not for everyone, but there are some listening groups that might like this kind of odd instrumental album. First, it's possible that people who like slightly progressive 80s pop rock groups such as Genesis, Asia or Toto might like this album. Also, people who like lite-rock groups who play lite- classical pieces, for instance groups like Sky or Mannheim Steamroller. Finally, people who like that unique style where instrumental progressive rock meets exotic lounge music, ie Manzenera's Primitive Guitars, Bo Hanson's Lord of the Rings or Fripp and Summer's Bewitched, might be able to dig this album.

MY REVIEW IS PRODUCED USING THIS RELEASE: MCA Records Ltd (813 407-2)

RATING: 4/10

GENRE: 80's POP with Jazzy/ New Waves moments

INTRO: This 'Escape From Television' is a compilation. I recommended this compilation regardless of the vote because it represents the spirit of seized POP of the 80's. Unfortunately I will not send many emotions. But this is not the catalogue as defect. Moreover, it is recognizable throughout the spirit of a great big keyboardist that here is at the service of television.

THIS RELEASE: 'Escape From Television' is the 'Best Of...' of the television's O.S.T. or similars that Jan Hammer has written and played during 1985, 1986 and 1987 (and the famous 'Miami Vice Theme' is present). Strange cover but good (also if poor) booklet with sleevenotes (exhaustive) written by (I think) the same Jan.

The songs: Not emotional, just typical 80's POP with Jazzy parts and New Waves moments. Great arrengements. The songs are for television and except for 'Miami Vice Theme' are the arrangements to save them. Despite this (or precisely because of this?) 12 songs (the 13 is a remix of Francois Kevorkian) are of superior quality. I explain better. I think Jan Hammer, with all his experience, surrendered voluntarily to produce music that remains alive over the years. And already there, manages to write the testament of the grasped POP of the 80's. So Jan Hammer writes 12 songs out of context for which it was composed not fail but not conquered. Penserete is a defect? Instead is an immense honour. More 80's so...

CONCLUSIONS: The vote is low but should not mislead. If you understand what I intend to demonstrate in this review are on horseback. it is clear that 'Escape From Television' is a contradictory album. However, it is a good album to listen in the car. And should not be recommended only for this reason, but also because it represents the music for television of the 80's

— First review of this album —

This one is surprisingly important record. In my oppinion the best record of Jan Hammer's solo music ever! Compilations are almost always the most unimportant records of artists' discographies... But just the vinyl version of "The Early Years" (without tame "Oh Yeah" which is only on CD version) is the record where all of the most important compositions of Jan Hammer are included - there are really the best opuses of Jan Hammer from 1974-1977. 3,5 stars really!

I found an old copy of this album on tape, not even knowing it had existed. The tape was in absolute terrible shape, but since I was a fan of both Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer, I decided to pick this album up on CD. Doing that was one great decision.

Being a big fan of live albums, I feel it brings more excitement to the forefront, and same can be said here. My favorite songs are 'Earth (Still Our Only Home)' because it features some amazing keyboards (which was to be expected), as well as some amazing vocals. My other favorite has to be 'Scatterbrain'. I feel that this is a much more superior version compared to the original. The guitar and electric violin are just amazing, sounding like jazz/fusion heaven.

Overall this is one rockin' album that I listen to on a regular basis with the rest of my collection. Definitely one of the better live albums of the 70's.

Some of my favorite music is on soundtracks. I especially like 70s stuff like Quincey Jones and Herbie Hancock. Their mixture of orchestra, analog synthesizers and sound effects can make for some interesting experimental music. Unfortunately this soundtrack by Hammer is from the 80s and was all done on keyboards, sequencers and drum machines.

No decade has dated as badly as the 80s when it comes to music. So much from that era sounds so plastic and phony. For instance, those awful drum machines and those cheesy horn blasts that sounded so cool at first, but sound so cheap in retrospect. The trouble with 80s music is that everyone immersed themselves so totally in the technology of the time that their music will always bear a stamp that clearly says, "this came from the 80s". Some bands who recorded music with that 80s sound have aged well, Devo and Prince come to mind, but many haven't.

Anyway, Hammer's tracks on here are professional and occaissonally almost interesting, but then there's that plastic sound and overall a total lack of subtlety. Some of the other cuts on the record are by folks like Glenn Frey, Tina Turner and Mr 80s himself, the formerly omni-present Phil Collins. There was some incedental dialouge on the record that caught my ear, apparently the always funny Busy Bee, one of NYC earliest rappers, made a spot appearance as an arrestee.

Jan Hammer: The First Seven Days - Fresh from working with the much lauded John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the time was right for Hammer to explore the limits of the new fusion of jazz, rock, and world music (before it even had name) on his own. The album and song titles are simply chosen to stimulate the imagination, and they really do. Not a single note is wasted, nor is any track given over to self-indulgence; each track is measured out to just the right length. Themes are often led by piano movements, but Hammer makes judicious use of percussion and violin as well as sequencer-driven rhythm tracks. A master at the synthesizer and keyboard, "The First Seven Days" showcases his skills and imagination, e.g., his use of portamento in simulating electric guitar solos. To sum up, Hammer really makes this fusion master piece musically infectious; he as produced an ageless eclectic mix of nearly all that the progressive music movement seeks to accomplish. Absolutely essential.

— First review of this album —

I wouldn't come right out and say this album is 'poor'-- it did represent, for a brief moment, the cutting edge of commercial cyber-pop and music born of the computer, flashing, chirping and fractalating it's way into mainstream media, leaving a robotic taste in the mouth. Problem is, there was and is much better tech music being made - like Thomas Metcalf's 'One' (1989) for example - and so, in hindsight, Mr. Hammer's hugely successful TV soundtrack music with its algorhythmics and syn-phonic aspirations doesn't keep its shimmer over the years.