JERRY GOODMAN & JAN HAMMER: LIKE CHILDREN

I've read a few reviews bemoaning the breakup of the original Mahavishnu Orchestra line up. I think there is some consolation in the fact that the individual musicians went on to make some great music on their own. Like Children fine example. This is another one of Jan's great long lost albums. No disrespect to Jerry. He's an equal partner in this music. He seemed to have disappeared from the music scene after this one until he started making reasonably good new age music in the '80's. This album hasn't totally missing over the years. It did resurface in parts on the 1986 Jan Hammer compilation The Early Years.

I know there's a lot of early Maha fans who really need to check it out. If you've acquired the Lost Trident Sessions, you've already heard two songs here - Steppings Stones and I Wonder. The piano line on I Wonder reminds me a lot of Beethoven's Fur Elise. I think it's in the same key.

It's strictly a studio creation. Goodman and Hammer play all the instruments here. Hammer actually plays drums fairly decently. Goodman does some vocals. Also of note, Ken Scott provided engineering. He'd worked previously with the Orchestra and late with the Dixie Dregs.

As with Oh Yeah?, the vocal bits might put off hard core fans of the original MO, but this is really a must have item for your collection. I was fortunate to have found a used copy of the LP a few years back and have been enjoying this music for quite a while. Extra special thanks to Wounded Bird Records for releasing the CD and Mr. Hammer for remastering. No bonus tracks or remixing, unfortunately.

Posted Tuesday, November 21, 2006