GO: GO TOO

This is a very eclectic fusion-disco-pop-electronic record. The 2 first tracks of side 1 consist in the following sequence: a spacy & cosmic arrangement by Klaus Schulze, followed by a moog solo a la Chick Corea, followed by a jazzy disco song with sexy female vocals, full of nervous symphonic arrangements in the background, then followed by a visceral electric guitar solo by Al Di Meola (Seen You Before)! The mediocre next pop song "Madness", characterized by hysterical female lead vocals, remind the bland solo career of George Duke, especially his "Reach for it" album. The side one concludes with "Mysteries of love", a melancholic & sentimental track reminding the Alan Parson's Project assisted by a background orchestra: the electric guitar solo is particularly VERY good!

The side 2 begins with "Wheels of Fortune", another prog related catchy disco pop song filled with sexy female lead & backing vocals and background orchestral arrangements. The tender & graceful and pleasant "Beauty", the second track, is a bit similar to "Mysteries of Love": Alan Parson's stuff seems again a source of inspiration here: Al DiMeola plays a gracious Spanish guitar solo; it ends with whale sounds-like and church bells. Klaus Schulze comes back for the intro of "You and Me" with a melodramatic & futuristic keyboards arrangement; it does not last for a long time since another rhythmic poppy song a la Patrick Moraz full of sexy female vocals takes place. The last track, "Ecliptic", is a mysterious floating electronic track reminding a bit the Tangerine Dream's intro of the track "Remote viewing" of the Exit album.

Rating: 3.5 stars

2.5 stars really!!

Last instalment of the Go "project" and from far the most unrepresentative of the concept, just take a look at the lake artwork and compare it with the preceding Go projects. Of course by 77, Go had had many coming and going, but Shrieve and Schulze are still there as his (obviously) Stomu. While it's reputed to have some disco-funky feel (and rightly so), the album is not completely devoid of prog merits, but you'll have to search for the few moments.

Starting with the instrumental bruitage intro (Prelude), you jump in the funky dung of Seen You Before, where you'd swear you were on a Parliaments album, but the ending with those string arrangements is rather good and make a solid link to the much better Madness where the solos are soaring over a solid down-to-earth groove induced by the solid rhythm section. Although the following Mysteries Of Love is a tear-jerker (hate those), one cannot say that it is not well arranged and produced. ADM playing a quiet solo (I'll be damned, didn't think he was up to it) and the vocal duet between Roden & Linda Lewis works well and maybe the strings are a bit over-powering, but it's hard to dislike this kind of track.

On the flipside, Wheels Of Fortune starts on a much faster note, but it sounds just like Mysteries (same duet & strings formula) and is no less successful. Most of the tracks remaining are similar-sounding, with this funky & strings, seemingly out of Motown, the exception being the closing Ecliptic, which closes the album much the way Prelude had opened it, atmospherically.

Although a far cry from his earlier experimental albums, Yamash'ta proves that he's an eclectic artiste, unclassifiable. If I can draw a parallel and compare red Buddha to Tubular Bells, Go Too would be Oldfield's Crises album. You'd better start elsewhere if you're to find any interest (as a proghead) into his works.

NO, this is not a continuation of the previous Go recorded just an year before. Although many of the same stellar musicians are here (no, Steve Winwood is not), this is really different. Actually this is a disco-funk- pop-fusion record. Some synthesizers here and ther, like in the last track, give it a ´avant garde´ touch, but it is minimal. The record is not bad, once you recover from the initial shock. The first three tracks are the weakest. Madness and Seen You Before have some really bad female vocals that ruins any chance to enjoy the instrumental parts. Things get better from track four onwards. Mysteries of Love is a beautiful ballad, while Wheels Of Fortune has a great steel drums solo. Beauty is another wonderful love song where Al dimeola does a fine acoustic guitar solo. You and Me is a average disco song.

If you like the genre, you´ll probably enjoy. The musicanship is flawless, I must admit. It´s a pity that the first 3 tracks spoil the overall effect.

Review Nº 70

As I wrote before, when I reviewed the two previous albums of The Go Project, the first time I heard to talk about this musical project was in a broadcasting station in my country, following the release of their first album. I became very impressed with it, and soon as I could I bought the three albums. Unfortunately, I only could purchase "Go" some years ago, "Go Live From Paris" to a couple of years and "GoToo" was only purchased very recently.

The Go Project was born in very strange and troubled times to the progressive rock music. As many of we know, the years in late of the 70's were years of deep changes in the progressive rock world. These were the years of the revolution made by the punk movement. The punk explosion was reminding to everyone of the visceral thrill of the first principles of rock. So, projects such as Stomu Yamashta's "Go" were somehow unthinkably and weren't a commonplace in those times. Jazz meets the avant-garde at the disco? This was a very strange thing, indeed.

Anyway, Yamashta, scion of the Japan National Symphonic Orchestra, had built up a sufficient and very solid reputation as percussionist, composer and bandleader in 1976 and he was able to call upon the services of a hand full of great musicians such as Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Michael Shrieve and Klaus Schulze, forming The Go Project, one of the unlikelier super groups of the era.

The line up on the second studio album of this musical project is also very extensive, as happened with their first studio album, and was formed by some the musicians who had already participated on their debut studio album of the musical project, which are Stomu Yamash'ta (synthesizers, piano, tympani and percussion), Michael Shrieve (drums), Klaus Schulze (synthesizers), Al Di Meola (lead guitar) and Brother James (percussion). However, there were many other musicians who also collaborated in this second studio album. So we have Doni Harvey (vocals and guitar), Jess Roden (lead vocals), Paul Jackson (bass), Linda Lewis (lead vocals), J. Peter Robinson (keyboards) and The Martin Ford Orchestra. All the music was written by Yamash'ta and all the lyrics by Michael Quartermain. Paul Buckmaster once more made all the orchestral arrangements.

"Go Too" is the third and the last album of the Stomu Yamash'ta's Go project and was released in 1977. I must say that it isn't properly the continuation of their first album "Go". All the main musicians of their project are here, but unfortunately it lacks to it Winwood and his unmistakable voice. I don't know the reason why he doesn't participated on this second studio album. It was by his own free will or because he wasn't invited by Yamash'ta, who wanted to make something different on this album. Anyway, the lack of his presence is very noted, and whatever the reason, this album is much weaker than the previous one. However, it doesn't mean that we are in presence of a bad album. On the contrary, "Go Too" is really a good album, despite being clearly a very eclectic album, but is probably too much influenced by many and diverse musical styles such as rock, jazz, funk, electronic, pop, disco and new age.

Often considered the poor relation to the first "Go" album, the album is a totally different proposal to its illustrious predecessor. Possibly because of the time in which it was released and due the involvement of Linda Lewis, the album has received many put downs and the worst of all is that it was considered an album of electronic disco music. This is so far from the truth and is certainly a slanderous thing. It's true that gone is the fusion, gone are the solos, gone are the signature licks of the musicians and that "Go Too" saw also the Winwood's departure. But we can say that he saw the arrival of the criminally overlooked ex Alan Bown vocalist Jess Roden and the ironically unsung Linda Lewis, utilising all five octaves of her extraordinary range to stratospheric effect on madness. In truth, the album is a bizarre but generally pleasing combination of contrasting elements, ranging from the plangent balladry of "Mysteries Of Love" to the oblique Zappa harmonies and logic defying Di Meola guitar solo which fuel "Seen You Before".

Conclusion: As I said previously, when I reviewed "Go" and "Go Live From Paris", The Go Project is, in my humble opinion and unfortunately, an underrated project with very few reviews and rates on this site. Obviously, "Go Too" isn't an essential album in any progressive rock musical collection, but I sincerely think that it deserves really more than 2 stars. It represents the end of one of the strongest musical cooperation of the 70's. "Go Too" is a fine addition to the previous two albums by the ensemble and although not as interesting, progressively speaking, as the first studio album, it's still a release that offers a lot of enjoyment with great performances and, for the romantics amongst you, two excellent ballads. Still, if you are a progressive fan and a beginner with this musical project, you must start with their live album "Go Live From Paris", which is their hidden masterpiece, and avoid "Go Too", as a first listen.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)