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Jonas Hellborg - e CD (album) cover

E

Jonas Hellborg

Jazz Rock/Fusion


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Atavachron
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Jonas Hellborg is a renowned fusion king who's been making records for years with some of the best players, a real working musician. On this, one of his many solo/collaborative efforts, he teams with crackerjacks (and fellow Swedes) Jens and Anders Johansson on organ and drums. The result is a pumping, energy-filled collection of what I would call hard funk-rock. If I didn't just lose you, then maybe you'll enjoy this excellent session that holds more proggish moments than it seems on first listen. 'Vilnius' is an ELP-like chunk of organ prog, 'Kenneth' and 'Moving' are two great fusion jams and Marx and Lenin's 'Sovjet' is a short but sweet tribute. The clean production doesn't hurt either. Recommended to those who have as much interest in rhythm as they do form or melody.
Report this review (#94185)
Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006 | Review Permalink
Dick Heath
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Jazz-Rock Specialist
4 stars One of my favourite jazz rock fusion albums of the 90's - but then Jonas Hellborg features on several of my favourites - and the music here is nowadays more likely to be labelled metal fusion. As such the Hammond-lead trio may be heard as a precursor to Niacin, whilst heralding the resurgence of Hammond jazz in the mid 90's This too should be seen as one of 3 or 4 albums Jonas and the Johansson brothers worked from the late 80's to early 90's experimenting and pushing the boundaries of jazz rock, especially toward the Johansson's favoured metal. In particular, the same line-up plus vocalist Gary Cooper (an 80's regular with Hellborg) should heard and compared as the one-off band the Shining Path, on (what I hear as) the companion album 'No Other World'.

The first three tracks of 'e' (in probability named after the recreational drug) especially are fast and heavy, and as suggested by David going for the speed rhythmic aspects with this fusion more than the melody. But as such this is music I can listen to time after time - it also makes for wide awake music while driving. I wonder too, how much the complex bass patterns Hellborg thunders out were absorbed by Jens Johnasson and similar can be heard subsequently coming from his bass pedals (e.g. on 'Heavy Machinery' or 'Fission')? Having mentioned the first three tracks (BTW is that recording of a dog or some electronic trickery at the end of Dog-Bar-B-Q), the whole of album is a pleasure. I don't feel there is a duff track on the record

My inclination with having and continually playing this album for well over decade, believing it marked the 90's resurgence re-popularising Hammond jazz and fusion, a precursor for the likes of Niacin, I give this 4.5 - NOTE: Hellborg's original mix of 'Octave of the Holy Innocents' is a 5 star and my jazz fusion album of the 90's.

Report this review (#169537)
Posted Friday, May 2, 2008 | Review Permalink
Kazuhiro
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars The work of Jonas Hellborg that got into the news between fans of Jazz-Rock in the latter the 80's is sent aiming at the world with a lot of numbers. It is guessed that the career of the music of Jonas Hellborg started by the work announced from the label voluntarily made in the early the 80's.

His performance got into the news in Montreux Jazz festival in 1981. And, man who had participated in the reorganization of the Mahavishnu orchestra in about 1984 informed the world of the name with the marvelous technology and the sense. And, competing with various musicians is accomplished.

He accomplishes competing with a familiar, deep musicians such as the CMP label since DUO with John Maclaughlin. And, competing with Shawn Lane is accomplished at this time. The idea after those hybridizations are done repeatedly to the digestion of the genre of various Music listened to before when this album is compared with a past work might appear in the work at this time. His idea and technology as "Bass guitar" player advance greatly.

Famous time might be a work of competing with Yngwie Malmsteen from the album of Silver Mountain for the existence of the Johansson brother known well as this general at that time, eminence in the world. Johhansson brother's acknowledgment level has risen because it rides on the wave with the power of HR/HM in the 80's. However, the brother has them grope for the directionality of music after it shifts to the band of Dio and convert. The Johhansson brother meets Jonas Hellborg at this time.

As for the performance done with this album, the tune in hard Trio is carried out through the whole volume. Musical instruments of the melody keep and the taste of no three going out people keeps previous harmony in all respects. The technology and ensemble of three people might be almost perfect. The quality is not dropped to the last minute though the composition of a hard tune continues. It is likely to be able to think about "Heavy Machinary" of this album and Johansson brother + Allan Holdsworth as a pair if it dares to say. It is a work with which the tension overflows exactly.

Report this review (#236374)
Posted Tuesday, September 1, 2009 | Review Permalink

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