THE AURA WILL PREVAIL

George Duke has softened somewhat on this poetically titled album. Synth textures are used more frequently than the previously electric piano soloing. Also the use of Moog is apparent when listening to the first track - and quite successful. Actually, the myriad of keyboards make the album sonically more diverse. The second track "For Love (I Come Your Friend)" starts as an upbeat R&B number but thankfully soon turns into a funk extravaganza and fusion workout with bass/synth/drums. The only full fusion standout is "Floop de Loop", somewhat poorly developed but exploring great clavinet and Moog soloing, muscular bass playing and elastic drums. The high fusion quality stays with a bit more laid-back Latin instrumental "Malibu". "Fools" will disappoint many orthodox fusion fans and is the first really stripped down commercial number with quite sparse synths. Let's highlight the improving Duke vocal and emotional power. The Zappa co-penned "Echidna's Arf" starts on a furious note running 100 km per hour before calming down to a quite long synth texture experimentation.

Even though this album contains 2 R&B numbers, it is first and foremost a fusion record.