"Drastic Plastic" is the fifth full-length studio album by UK rock act Be Bop Deluxe. The album was released through Harvest Records in February 1978. It´s the successor to "Modern Music" from September 1978. "Drastic Plastic" would be Be Bop Deluxe´s last album before disbanding.

"Drastic Plastic" is exactly the right name for the album, as Be Bop Deluxe now travels a new wave keyboard/synth laden pop/rock sound with elements of art rock, instead of the art rock of the previous three releases. The signs were already there on "Modern Music", which featured a decrease in the use of guitars and especially solos, which had otherwise been the greatest assets of the band´s music on the previous studio albums, so it´s not a bit surprise that Be Bop Deluxe went all the way on "Drastic Plastic" and transformed their music into something pretty much unrecognisable if you´re only familiar with the preceding releases.

When that is said "Drastic Plastic" is a pretty pleasant new wave styled pop/rock release, which is obviously performed by a skilled unit of musicians, but that´s about it. It´s not an album which stands out much on the scene and it makes sense that it´s not an album often mentioned. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

"Modern Music" is the fourth full-length studio album by UK rock act Be Bop Deluxe. The album was released through Harvest Records in September 1976, which makes it Be Bop Deluxe´s third full-length studio album in just little over a year.

"Futurama" (July 1975) and "Sunburst Finish" (February 1976) were both art rock records with small touches of progressive rock, but built upon a basis of 60s UK blues rock. "Modern Music" is a more polished and tame affair, showing Bo Bop Deluxe within a polished environment and lacking the most raw and wild guitar antics of frontman/guitarist William Nelson. It´s still well composed rock music, performed by skilled musicians but the more futuristic keyboard-laden rock sound takes the tiger out of the band. The occasional guitar harmonies and rare guitar leads don´t save "Modern Music" from being a bit of a disappointment after the two preceding albums, which showed Be Bop Deluxe at their best.

So upon conclusion this is a decent quality release from Be Bop Deluxe and fans of polished and uneventful rock music with a strong keyboard presence should take notice. A 2.5 - 3 (55%) rating is warranted.

With its surprise hit self-titled debut release VANILLA FUDGE demonstrated its uncanny ability to carve up overexposed pop songs of the past and reconstruct them into a completely new coalescence of steaming hot late 1960s psychedelic rock. The band was riding high after the debut shot into the top 20 followed by a top 10 hit of The Supremes' #1 chart topper "You Keep Me On" only a year after its heavy radio exposure. VANILLA FUDGE probably should have followed up the album with another reinterpretation of classic pop songs or then ventured into self-penned tracks that kept the growing fanbase's attention but instead rocketed helter skelter into the world of avant-garde experimentalism with "The Beat Goes On." While still maintaining enough momentum to sustain a top 20 album, the abstract songless nature of the album's sound collage effect may have prognosticated the wonderful world of rock and roll moving on into a new intrepid era of complete freedom and unthinkable exploration but as a business move in the world of 60s pop music, not exactly a brilliant move.

The band shrugged it off and moved on quickly and in 1968 released not one but two albums. "The Beat Goes On" emerged early in February 1968 and although catching fans and critics off guard did give the quartet of Vince Martelli (vocals, guitar), Mark Stein (organ), Tim Bogert (bass) and Carmine Appice (drums) a new lease on life that propelled them beyond the status of being a mere cover band. By summer, VANILLA FUDGE released what many deem should've been their proper second album. On June 14, 1968 the band unleashed its third album RENAISSANCE, the first of which featured all original tracks and although two covers were employed, their choices were more suitable with the psychedelic acid rock that the band had developed as its primary expressive mode. Yes, the sound that VANILLA FUDGE made famous with clever reinterpretations of classic pop hits such as The Beatles' "Eleanor RIgby" and Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" was back only this time with completely original self-penned cuts that propelled the band into the next arena of competency. VANILLA FUDGE was now a bonafide force of musical creativity to that the likes that the band had become a pioneering force in developing the earliest sounds of both progressive rock and the harder rock and heavy metal sounds that would dominate in the 1970s.

Opening with "The Sky Cried - When I Was a Boy," RENAISSANCE reacquaints its listener with its innovative mix of fuzzy organ ponderosity along with the emphasis on heavier guitar, bass and drum playing. Also making a much needed reprise are all those intricately designed vocal harmonies that propelled VANILLA FUDGE's music to a magical 60s psychedelic universe that had been gestating all throughout the previous two years. It becomes immediately clear that RENAISSANCE really does reflect its titular definition and signifies a rebirth in the band's development. With all aspirations of pop hit stardom extinguished, VANILLA FUDGE instead evolved its distinct style into something much more - that being a veritable art rock band that embodied all the contemporary developments that were steeped in psychedelia, mystique and complexity. The album featured only seven tracks with the opening "The Sky Cried" and the closing cover of Donovan's "The Season Of The Witch" both exceeding the seven-minute mark. RENAISSANCE also was a concept album thus showcasing on the rock's paradigm of focusing on album long listening experience rather than the banality of short catchy singles to lure audiences in. The involvement of producer Shadow Martin helped sculpt the band's new aspirations into a captivating adventurous musical performance.

While the tracks may have been unfamiliar, VANILLA FUDGE's sound was back and firing on full pistons. The band retained its slow and steady pace of developing strong melodic constructs before unleashing its heavier display of instrumental virtuosity. RENAISSANCE also introduced a more cosmic feel to the band's style which allowed brooding keyboard-induced atmospheres to seep into every motif and cadence like a leaky bottle of pancake syrup. The band was essentially carving out an early prototype of keyboard dominant rock that would become popularized by Deep Purple and Uriah Heep just a few years down the road. As the album continues with "Thoughts" and "Paradise," the album delivers a mesmerizing display of ritualistic organ performances, fuzz guitar and rhythmic ingenuity of the bass and drums. Vocal harmonies are accompanied by varying variations including short spoken word narrations and more emotive outbursts.

RENAISSANCE is an amazingly adept and consistent album with the perfect 60s sounds that emerged from the very opening of the album to the excellent cover of Donovan's "Seasons Of The Witch" which takes a rather straightforward pop song and transmogrifies it into a magical display of excess, a trait that would become the hallmark of all that progressive rock to come. The track also wove in interpolations of Essra Mowhawk's "We Never Learn." Mohawk was the first female member of Frank Zappa's Mother of Invention" and was the writer of the track "The Spell That Comes After" thus displaying VANILLA FUDGE's true intent of taking music into the true world of innovation and leaving behind their pop hit origins without hesitation. While stylistically perfect at this point and a totally satisfying display of acid rock, VANILLA FUDGE unknowingly created some of the most accomplished mix of proto-metal that would lead to bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple all the while crafting a proto-progressive sound that would quickly find its way around the world and reemerging as the explosive wellspring of creativity that would erupt the following year in 1969. Wow these guys came a long way from a mere cover band the year before! RENAISSANCE is a true classic of the 1960s.

VANILLA FUDGE only existed for a mere four years but in that short time developed an extraordinary wide range of expressing itself through its five album run that began with its psych-soaked renditions of classic pop songs and then followed by a leap of faith into the world of the avant-garde. After regaining traction, the band sallied forth delivered a solid masterpiece of 60s acid rock before going off the deep end and sputtering quickly into irrelevance as the sounds it nurtured into creation had been adopted and improved upon by an explosion of fertile talent that really took off in 1969.

NEAR THE BEGINNING was the band's fourth album but in retrospect would've suitably been titled "Near The End" as the band's momentum which peaked on "Renaissance" was clearly derailed leaving the band a victim of its own whims and shortcomings. One of the biggest developments in VANILLA FUDGE's career was the fact that after three albums, the band decided to self-produce and take full creative control into its own hands. While on one side NEAR THE BEGINNING showcases the band's developing taste for harder and heavier rock as showcased on the feisty opening cover of Jr. Walkter & The All Stars top 10 hit "Shotgun" however without a producer who served as an intervening force to keep the band focused, this fourth album emerged as an interesting but highly disheveled collection of tracks.

Clearly restless and ready to jump headfirst into the world of hard rock, NEAR THE BEGINNING opens with an adrenalized hard rock version of "Shotgun," the 1965 hit single that peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and led the way for similar Motown artists to capture the soul market in the 1960s. An unlikely opening track to say the least, "Shotgun" succeeded in showing that VANILLA FUDGE was indeed a multi-faceted band that refused to be pigeonholed into any particular style of music but also displayed a complete disregard for the organ-fueled psychedelic magic that had come to full fruition on "Renaissance." The six-minute track sounds woefully out of place as a VANILLA FUDGE remaking and basically sounds like one of those tracks you throw in as a bonus cut when finding extra tidbits for a re-issue of some sort.

The band surprisingly features two covers as the first tracks, the second being the hit "Some Velvet Morning" recorded by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra. The band returns to its expected stylistic approach that featured a slowed down build up fortified with trippy organ runs and the accompanying guitar, bass and drum combo effect. Unlike the traditional symphonic pop style of the original, VANILLA FUDGE transmogrifies this classic song into a veritable slice of psychedelic acid rock which to be honest wouldn't have sounded out of place on the the debut album as it takes the exact same approach topped off with the exquisitely divine vocal harmonies contrasted by the bombast of the crushing organ, guitar, bass and drum rock heftiness. In this process it leaves the song almost unrecognizable in comparison to the original, a knack VANILLA FUDGE was wise to continue since it appears that it was its greatest strength.

After eking out 7 1/2 minutes of a the classic Hazlewood / Sinatra pop hit, the track is followed by the Appice original "Where Is Happiness" which opens with some trippy avant-garde freakery with strange organ noises frenetically conjured from an unseen realm and slowly develops into a melodic musical score that sounds very much like a continuation of the previous track with the same lackadaisical build up, Mark Stein's emotive and emphatically emphasized lyrical delivery and a slow build up as the guitar, bass and drum chomp at the bit to get on with the heavier action to come. That very action emerges as an energetic display of beefed up bass, sporadic jazzy drumming and a sizzling guitar soloing sequence with a tinge of Middle Eastern influences to exude an exoticism unheard of in the band's usual repertoire. Probably one of the best songs of the band's career actually.

The album's second side is another head-scratcher curveball delivers by the band. It consists entire of the live recording "Break Song" which was performed at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The track pretty much just showcases the band's ability to jam, improvise and engage in extended solos. Everyone gets a crack with some nice moments of guitar, others of bass and a rather droll drumming sequence that outstays its welcome. This track really seems pointless and drags down the entire album's momentum, well what there was of it. Also the band jettisoned its trademark build up techniques as well as its vocal harmonizing. In fact this track exudes a sense of the generic and pretty much comes across as one of those type of "milk it for all its worth" performances of a typical 60s blues rock band that didn't have the talent to inject anything innovative. This track unfortunately doesn't highlight the VANILLA FUDGE sound but rather detracts considerably. A studio version was recorded but nixed in favor of this for some reason but personally i like the studio version better. It is featured on the remastered editions of the following album "Rock & Roll."

Basically NEAR THE BEGINNING was a followup album that had just been thrown together without much care for an album experience. There are really only two interesting songs here and a decent if not outstanding Motown cover. The live track is listenable but not amazing or even remotely successful in delivering what you would expect from VANILLA FUDGE. It seems like the point of this album is to announce the band's freedom from any controllers and that it just wants to do what it wants. Unfortunately that didn't translate into a compelling album. In retrospect A NEW BEGINNING signified a transfer of the band's innovation on the first three albums into a quick downfall that would give the baton to a new breed of rock musicians who would take the band's unique approaches and gestate them into some of the most exiting and dynamic sounds of the 1970s. While seemingly the end, VANILLA FUDGE had one more album in them. While highly influential for so many VANILLA FUDGE was indeed "Near The End."

3.5 stars. Kevin Godley and Lol Creme left 10CC because of artistic differences in 1976. 10CC had just completed the studio album "How Dare You!" which is my favourite by them, where it all came together for them to these ears. But Godley and Creme wanted to pursue the sounds of the Gizmo they created that attached to the guitar and made string sounds. Also they wanted to continue down that road of experimentation whereas the rest of the band(Stewart & Gouldman) were more into the commercial aspect of the music as seen in the followup album to "How Dare You!" called "Deceptive Bends" with songs like "The Things We Do For Love".

Meanwhile GODLEY & CREME would release as their first album in 1977, the mammoth "Consequences" a triple record that had one vinyl album of Gizmo tracks, an album of songs and narration taking turns throughout it, and then a piano concert pretty much. No it didn't exactly go over well. In 1978 though, they would return to where they left off with "How Dare You!" it seems with "L", but again less commercial sounding. Still this has Zappa written all over it with the clever lyrics, sophisticated sound and especially those hilarious vocals. There's a lot of humour here on this less than 35 minute album with seven tracks.

The opener and closer are over seven minutes in length, while the rest range between three and five minutes. We even get some QUEEN-like vocals and arrangements on the opener "The Sporting Life" again bringing 10CC to mind. I like the inventive instrumental section that follows. "Sandwiches Of You" is pretty funny and light with interesting sounds to start. "Art School Canteen" is another one that is relaxed with the focus on the vocals. They change it up on "Group Life", this just sounds different. "Punchbag" is catchy with silly vocals that turns intense later on. "Foreign Accents" and the closer are my top two. Both have Andy MacKay from ROXY MUSIC adding sax. That closer "Hit Factory/ Business Is Business" is really impressive, the best tune on here in my opinion. A lot of fun.

Of all the GODLEY & CREME and 10CC albums I'd rate "L" as my second favourite after "How Dare You!" with "Sheet Music" and "The Original Soundtrack" bringing up the rear. These guys were so talented.

The last full year as a band, VANILLA FUDGE followed suit after releasing two albums in 1968 by once again releasing two more in the calendar year 1969 before the band ran out of steam and called it quits in early 1970. After a two year roller coaster ride that began with the surprise success of the band's self-titled debut which propelled VANILLA FUDGE to the big boys' league in the world of 1960s psychedelic rock, the band had derived a wide variety of styles to its repertoire and to its credit never really stagnated however the relentless push to constantly move on to the next thing yielded varying results.

The band ended its career with its fifth and final album ROCK & ROLL which emerged on 25 September 1969 and thus not only ending one of the most dynamic decades in the entire history of musical innovation but also the end of one of the bands that became an extremely influential force for the many other acts that would soon adopt its unique perspectives on merging the seemingly disparate worlds of soul music, pop and experimental psychedelia that would soon take on a greater role in morphing into hard rock and progressive rock. VANILLA FUDGE's last offering featured a more streamlined approach after the rather scattered "Near The Beginning."

One of the primary forces that whipped the band into being focused was by having a producer who could offer a perspective that a bunch of drifting musicians could realize on their own. ROCK & ROLL welcomed Adrian Barber who had worked his magic with The Velvet Underground and would eventually go on to usher Aerosmith into the limelight. His contributions forged ROCK & ROLL into another cohesive album's worth of material that coexisted snuggly side by side and teased out all the brilliance that had put VANILLA FUDGE on the music map in the first place without all those annoying excesses that emerged when the band was left to its own devices on the self-produced "Near The Beginning."

This final chapter once again saw a track listing of self-penned psychedelic rock tunes along with cover songs stripped of their hit making immediacy and given the proper psychotropic makeovers. ROCK & ROLL begins with the fiery "Need Love" sung by guitarist Vinnie Marteli and showcases what sounds to me like an early prototype of what Deep Purple would crank out the following year on its classic "In Rock" album. This feisty track mixes energetic blues guitar rock with the fuzzy organ and boogie-woogie piano rolls along with a sizzling rhythm section that finds bantering bass and drums rolls screaming that the band has successfully taken the genre of ROCK & ROLL into the world of hard rock and a sampling of proto-metal intensity.

"Lord Of The Country" follows and features some of the earliest examples of what i would call Queen. The soulful gospel rock track crafted by Mark Stein almost sounds like something that would fit in on Queen's "The Night At The Opera." The style only awaits Freddie Mercury to charismatically animate it to the next level. The first cover track, Carole King's "I Can't Make It Alone" is another soulful heavy psych reinterpretation that the band excelled at from its earliest origins. Tight vocal harmonies, skillful rhythm section and a reweaving of the melodic fabric to allow for another tasty treat of VANILLA FUDGE charm. "Street Walking Woman," another Martelli sung track allows another band original to follow suit with the same soft / hard tradeoffs.

Another captivating song is the brilliant "Church Bells Of St. Martins" which features an army bugle i believe and military march drumming introducing the main song which goes on into folk and rock territory but once again highlighting the band's evolution of its vocal harmonizing. Once again this sounds exactly like what Queen would build its career on throughout the 70s but once again Stein's vocals don't quite have that Freddie Mercury magic. It's still a highlight of the album though as the arrangement is brilliant.

The near 9-minute "The Windmills Of Your Mind" is the other cover, this time a song written by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for the film score "The Thomas Crown Affair." While originally sung by Noel Harrison, the track was covered by Dusty Springfield in the same year as this version in 1969 except her version found its way into the top 40 whereas VANILLA FUDGE was imploding and failed to capture much fanfare with this final release. This soulful interpretation pulled out all the usual VANILLA FUDGE punches and the band owned it much like it did with Donovan's "Season Of The Witch" on its previous album. The original vinyl ended with the 1961 James Ray hit "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" sung by drummer Carmine Appice which the band teases into a soulful hard rock sensation. Some remastered versions also feature a studio version of "Break Song" which appeared in a side-long B-side on "Near The Beginning" only this version is far superior as it emphases the band's strengths.

Given all the low ratings of ROCK & ROLL and almost ubiquitous panning by critics and reviewers alike, i was quite surprised to love this final offering from VANILLA FUDGE. This is one of the most focused album of its five album run and mixes all the things that made the band so unique. It retains the soulful covers turned heavy psych while emphasizing the newfound love for hard rock turned up a few notches. Likewise the band's unique vocal harmony arrangements took a leap in ingenuity and clearly passed the baton on to Queen whereas the organ dominated hard rock in the vein of Grand Funk Railroad only more soulful was ripe to gift to Deep Purple for an upgrade. It's a shame VANILLA FUDGE couldn't develop its own creations into the next phase of rock and metal but it cannot be understated how influential this band was to the next generation of rockers that dominated the 70s. I personally love this album a lot and find it to be third in line after the masterpiece "Renaissance" and the crafty self-titled debut. A great way to go out and i'm surprised very few have taken notice.

Absolutely gorgeous album by this great band!

I discovered IZZ thanks to this site in 2018 and I my taste for them and their related projects has been growing since them. Now, Collapse the Wave is their brand new album and it is one of the best of their career. Like on the previous album, there is a palpable Yes influence on the guitar, bass and keys (which is great to me), and this time there is more variation and dynamism. You can find soft melodic pieces such as Deep Inside, which could have been on a Laura Meade solo work, more experimental ones such as Brace for Impact, short ambient tracks like Brethren or true prog rock epics like We Are the 3rd or the title track, that are my absolute favourites here.

All in all, this is an album to listen quite a few times because is full of details, with a lot of variation in between the pieces and within them, so it never bores. A strong competitor for album of the year for sure.

— First review of this album —

'Comment tu t'appelle' written 19 years ago, 80s sound with the sax for a nocturnal ballad with the unknown of the night and this instantly recognizable tune and the heady chorus. 'It's always her' for one of the two big pieces and the reason for this column here; a melodic crescendo in the Manset vein with violin, drums and languorous vocals, echoes, redundancies to hypnotize the listener; the drug takes effect with this melodic and haunting title until the repetitive finale, on an absurd kidnapping story. Bewitching 'L'algae bleue', already heard and already in our heads with its heady riff between solemn blues and western music on repeat and the memory of the seaweed of Copacabana; addictive metronomic atmosphere defying time. 'Paradise Lost' with the piano, a solemn anthem with its phrasing voice, a morbid tone and raw images of naked children on a beach invaded by conquistadors. His gravelly voice on the acoustic guitar emanating oozing spleen, a crude keyboard pushing down the progressive melodic vein.

'Missing your life' with a piano over a narration to reassure yourself that you have to move or miss your life; relentless moment on his resonating, reasoning voice; divine orchestral rise and a marked depressive defeatist opinion. 'Monsieur' with a 60's organ continues to recount a moment of life; a voice duet with Lisa Spada as a guest who paraphrases, who tires, who bewitches; a hymn to the growing child becoming a gentleman set to warm orchestration.'Melancholy' is like rain; Minimal arpeggio tune then orchestrates in the distance for a spleen dripping with deep sadness. 'On the moon we dance' cinematic intro if he knows it exists; the rhythm starts with a convoluted dub reggae, surely due to the fact that there is no air on the moon; a trippy and compulsive title and a meeting on the edge of a crater with progressive content. 'We'll hide together' soft, crystal clear arpeggio of warm guitar; a grave rhyme of rabbits running through a patch of wild thyme, yes you read that right; the ferret is the bad guy, yes, yes, yes, for those who have already listened; the slap in the face of an insipid text on a tragedy of life.(3.5 originally on Progcensor)

If you like your Jazz/Fusion heavy, then I'm sure your already familiar with Australian drummer Virgil Donati. He's an in demand drummer when it comes to this style of music, playing with the who's who of this sub-genre. I always remember when Derek Sherinian left DREAM THEATER to do his own thing, the first thing he did was to connect with Donati. And then after it was clear they had this chemistry together, Tony MacAlpine was brought in on guitars. And the result was Derek's first solo album. Interesting that Derek would keep Donati for his PLANET X project along with MacAlpine but brought in drummer Simon Phillips for his solo stuff which I do prefer.

"Virgil Cane is the name..." oops wrong Virgil. So Donati released what? Three solo albums in the 90's if you count his ON THE VIRG album under that band name, and three in the 10's. He's so busy with other people's music. My favourites are the ON THE VIRG one and then the "Just Add Water" album with Scott Henderson on guitar, and there was no keys on that one. Lots of keys on this 2013 recording called "In The Life". This is a little different from the 90's albums in that he's gone and brought in a lot of musicians for the different parts, instead of the more band efforts of the 90's.

This is a strong album that sounds amazing. Really punchy and heavy at times with riffs, but there's plenty of atmosphere created by the synths as well. Getting close to 67 minutes of music here over ten tracks. As usual we get a couple of talented Australian guitarists helping Virgil out in Brett Garsed and Simon Hosford. Nice to see Italian Marco Sfogoli here too, and he's the main guitarist. Virgil has played with some talented guitarists no? That "Live In London" disc for example which is a Steve Vai solo record is a great example. But there are many. We actually get some english horn and oboe on "The Fall Of Dreams" which was surprising, and cello on "Paradise Lost".

This is a consistent record despite it's length and a very solid 4 stars. It's hard even to pick out a few tracks from the bunch but the opener "Rhythm Zero", the closer "The Empire" along with "Trinity" might be slightly better than the rest. Slightly.

To start, this is a Bruford album, which means good music made with integrity and skill. On the negative side, there's the vocals, and Bill's decision to to take a back seat to the bass. This album is not as strong as Bill's first two, but they were brilliant. 3½ stars, because several tracks qualify as an "excellent addition to a prog collection".

At first, I figured that Berlin was a weak vocalist, but there are times when he sounds fine. Why did the engineer not give his voice more love at the mixing desk? Why did JB not do extra takes when some notes were clearly out of tune? At times, his voice reminds me of Eno's, but Eno always had a lot of help from the desk. Such details can make a world of difference, especially with vocals.

The first two tunes, Age of Reason and Gothic 17 are straight up prog, not fusion, with thoughtful lyrics and enough ear worms to stay in my head for days. Age of Reason is good and Goth 17 is brilliant. Gothic 17 has a great arrangement and superb playing, including gorgeous cello by Henry Cow's Georgia Born.

Joe Frazier is Jeff Berlin's "Jaco piece". He's not far off, either. One of the best bassists around. A pretty cool fusion track.

QED is a long piece, like a cross between Weather Report and the Canterbury scene, with some deadly playing by all members, especially Dave Stewart and Mr Anonymous Clark. It's not all that memorable, but interesting and tasty.

Sliding Door returns to UK-ish poppy prog. A good track with entertaining lyrics, although some of the riffs do not make my ears happy. Killin' dramatic refrain in the middle, though.

Palewell Park. Bill sits out and leaves the rest of the band to play this fairly typical jazz ballad. I prefer BB's crazy stuff to his "admirable restraint", but maybe that's just me.

Plans for J.D is a pop tune. Catchy melody, neat guitar by The Anonymous One, amusing lyrics, with a quirky delivery. Why were the vocals served up so dry? If you are going to add some "oohs" and "doo doos" in the chorus, the least you can do is add some subtle effects to help a second-string vocalist keep up with such a stellar group of accompanists.

Land's End. The 10-min epic ... but somehow the start of it reminded me of Guns n Roses! Thankfully, the melodies and harmonies evolve from there. There's nothing new on this one, and it's not all that appealing or memorable by BB's lofty standards. Gob-smacking bass, as usual, and a couple of hero drum fills but, wow, Bill was super-disciplined on this session. Too disciplined IMO. I always liked BB best when he was flamboyant and creative, especially his sneaky detials.

It's no surprise BB moved on to Crimson and Earthworks, because album gives a sense that he'd drawn most of the good stuff from this band and was running out of ideas. No matter, the first two albums, the live album and some of this one are brilliant. All musicians involved can take a bow.