BRUFORD: FEELS GOOD TO ME

This recording was released 40 years ago! It will soon have a new remastered release later this year as a 6CD, 2DVD box set. So, it seems only fitting that another review be added to honor this rather phenomenal piece of jazz-rock art. If anything, to alert other Bruford fans that new mixes and remasters are on the way. The boxed set will feature this recording, One Of A Kind, The Bruford Tapes and Gradually Going Tornado, along with some other select special additions. It cna be found through a web search and/or a visit to a web site having to do with a scorched outbuilding.

Previous reviews truly hit all the marks, even the not so glowing ones. I can relate to some of the misgivings, but as a whole, the compositions are about as complex as permitted in music theory textbooks. Bruford and company push the envelope in terms of rhythms and compositions.

Bruford's percussion is (ahem) flawless, The late Allan Holdsworth's guitar work is still fun to listen to, including those on-purpose notes that almost sound like errors. No such thing in Allan's delivery. The bass of Jeff Berlin is tight, on the money, and possesses phrasing that rank among the best bassists. Absolutely love Dave Stewart's keyboards and synth sounds. He's a master; as can also be appreciated in his work with Barbara Gaskin. Annette Peacock's vocals do take some adapting to, but once you gain familiarity with the music, you appreciate her style, range and presence. Then throw in Kenny Wheeler's flugelhorn for good measure and some smoothness (especially on Seems Like A Lifetime Ago Part I). With co-production by Robin Lumley, it is a conglomeration of shear mastery.

I bought this one, the first time, brand new, without any in-store listening, in 1977 on vinyl. On forst listen, it knocked my socks off. I played that album a lot through the years and nearly wore it out. Thankfully, I re-purchased it on CD 13 years later, in 1990, and once again enjoyed clear digital sound. This coming October (2017), I look forward to becoming re-familiar with this recording (and others in the box-set), some in the delights of 5.1 DTS surround. So glad that Bill Bruford encouraged a 2017 re-engineering of some representative jazz rock from forty years ago. Seems Like a Lifetime Ago! Indeed!