POP WORKSHOP

1. "Prehistoric Bird" (5:20) a Wlodek Gulgowski composition (which was also used on the next project Wlodek participated in, MICHAL URBANIAK's Fusion III). It's a great composition rendered here pretty well but the version on Michal's album is better (thanks in no small way to the vocal inputs of the one and only Urszula Dudziak). (9/10) 2. "Song of the Pterodactyl" (6:52) a Zbigniew Namyslowksi composition that has some nice/interesting chord and melodic progressions within/over which some odd synth, strings (guitar and electrified cello?), and get to insert their personal interpretations befitting the song's title (and theme). I very much like Tony's driving play in the third minute but then he feels as if he goes off topic--loses his interest or concentration--in the fourth and has trouble staying engaged thereafter (lending credibility to my theory that his drum parts were added later--played and recorded as he reacted in real time to the music on all of the other pre-recorded tracks). That's definitely an electrified cello (sounding like a Chinese erhu or the Japanese shamishen) in the seventh and eighth minutes. A weird song in which new, funk- and synth-developed sounds are attempted to be channeled as animal sounds. (13.125/15)

3. "High Priest" (5:39) a Wlodek Gulgowski composition that is very dynamic, very demanding, very impressive, and exceedingly-well performed. (9.3333/10)

4. "Dillema" (6:59) a Zbigniew Namyslowksi composition that contains a great bass performance from Mads Winding to go along with some amazing support from Wlodek's Fender Rhodes electric piano beneath . There's a smoothness to this one that predicts the Smooth Jazz and Yacht Rock stuff about to start coming out in the second half of the 70s. But, here it works fine. A few interesting (odd) sound engineering choices within the song (which, for me, indicate a rushed production process) but otherwise it's a pretty good song. (13.25/15)

5. "Watussi Dance" (4:46) a Wlodek Gulgowski composition opens with some unusually-effected clavinet and wah-wah rhythm guitar before funky bass and drums punctuates the rhtyhms from below. Zbigniew's heavily-effected sax takes the initial lead, giving the groove a little HEADHUNTERS/RUFUS/BILL COSBY sound and feel. A very pleasant and, yes, danceable modern funk tune. (9.125/10) 6. "Mammoth" (5:31) a Wlodek Gulgowski composition with a dreamy, gentle feel for the flute lead that sounds like it's derived or inspired by classical pieces. The soaring, flitting background flute "birds" are a neat effect, but then a shuffle at the end of the second minute ushers in a plodding low-end melodic theme that is obviously supposed to represent some behemothic creature (the mammoth). Janne Schaffer uses the entrance and demonic presence of this theme to start shredding on his guitar sounding as if a hunter/predator bird was trying to terrorize the lumbering quadruped. (This kind of reminds me of what Blue Öyster Cult was trying to do with "Godzilla" and Bondage Fruit with "T-Rex.") Janne is sure having fun tearing up the atmosphere around the poor pachyderm. (I just wish I liked his shredding style. It's kind of like Larry Coryell in that some of his sound and style choices for his guitar soloing are just too abrasive for me.) (8.875/10)

7. "Ozzy Bear" (5:49) a Zbigniew Namyslowksi composition that is rare for the lack of Zbigniew's sax (which shows absolutely no sign until 1:50). I guess it's his flute that presents the first melodies in tandem with Janne's guitar. Great engineering mix of the bass, Fender Rhodes and drum lines. (Here, for the first time, Tony's drums feels like he's actually with the band, not just punched in later.) Nice Fender Rhodes solo follows Zbigniew's solo then we return to the flute-and-guitar led motif that opened the song for the final minute. (8.875/10)

8. "Kuyaviak Goes Funky" (7:15) a Zbigniew Namyslowksi composition that was also covered for Wlodek Gulgowksi's next project, MICHAL URBANIAK's Fusion III. Heavily-muted and -effected sax and guitar precede some spacious keyboard and synth solo efforts. The sound palette throughout this song is just weird: everybody's instrument is being run through some kind of weird funk-(farm animal)-oriented/imitative series of effects and treatments and the song's (minimal and loose) repetitive and rather tedious foundation just serves to support the solos of the odd animals over the top. No thanks, not for me! (13/15)

Total Time: 49:11

Thank goodness for the fact of Janne Schaffer outgrowing his obsession with that awful heavy-distortion sound he used on the band's previous album. I do, however, fell as if the engineering and production are not quite as "spherically" perfect as it was on the previous year's release, Vol 1. For the most part Tony's drums feel distant, separate, as if he was recorded while playing along with the rest of the band's previously-recorded tracks (perhaps he was, in fact, recruited to replace a predecessor whose previously-recorded performance[s] was deemed less-than- satisfactory). At the same time, his extraordinary talents seem rather wasted (underutilized) on this album. Still, this is peak era Jazz-Rock Fusion of a very high quality, if a little more rag-tagged, rushed, or unpolished feeling.

B/four stars; an excellent if quirky collection of songs that attempt to use onomatopoeic sounds to create anthropomorphic sounds as if they're representing the animal world.

1. "Point Of Junction" (7:24) sounds very much like something from the experimental side of the Funk/R&B world with the weird percussion noises, wah-wah-ed lead saxophone, bouncy Fender Rhodes and great wah-wah-ed rhythm guitar of the great Janne Schaffer. At 1:55 the band stops, and then takes a turn down a cruisin' speed lane of Cobham-Hancock-like funk. Awesome groove! Everybody in the band is suddenly alive and cookin' leading to some great jazz-rock Fusion: great performances from Zbigniew Namysłowski on his now-untreated sax, bassist Stefan Brolund who is all over his bass, drummer Ola Brunkert who is playing his heart out just tot keep up, and of course, Janne. Wlodek's Fender Rhodes work is awesome--especially as aided by the crazy rhythm guitar accents behind him-- and the melodies are great. Too bad they decided to fade out instead of letting us hear the whole jam cuz it was awesome! (14.75/15)

2. "Hanging Loose" (5:28) opens like a blues-rock exploration of some old jazz theme and yet the sound palette and styling used to do so is so influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra's (and, to a lesser degree, Weather report's) vigorous approach to stamping the low-end with syncopated power-thrums. The guitar skill of Janne Schaffer is never in question, like Larry Coryell: I'm just not always a fan of his choice of guitar tones and effects. Otherwise, this is a fine experiment in Mahavishnu-ism. (8.75/10)

3. "Perforated Mind" (3:57) Tony Williams/Mahavishnu-like rock-infused Jazz-Rock Fusion in which Pop lets Janne Schaffer loose. The wah-wah pedal, unfortunately, for me, diminishes this Mahavishnu-level solo whereas Wlodek, Stefan, and Ola's high-speed play are every bit up to the comparisons. (9/10)

4. "Sentience" (5:54) opening with some solo Fender Rhodes play that sounds, honestly, like some of the tinkering that Fred Rogers and Johnny Costa used to use as background music on their show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. But then, at 1:24 Janne Schaffer and the crew burst in with a "Rock Around the Clock" like sound and motif over which Zbigniew Namysłowski's bluesy sax and Wlodek's now-dirty Fender Rhodes take turns soloing. In the middle of the fourth minute Zbigniew returns for his second solo, this time with a cleaned-up sound. He's really attuned to the groove the band is playing. Really good! At the mid-poinft of the fifth minute Zbigniew leads the band through a final couple of rounds with a more whole-band version of the repeating theme but then he and Wlodek turn "dirty" again for the loose finish. Nice creation, boys! (9/10)

5. "Equinox" (5:20) a syncopated motif that sounds like something Larry Coryell or Herbie and his Head Hunters might create (but this is 1973!) Great main motif with its syncopated groove carving an odd wormhole into the listeners brain; these guys were so far ahead of their time! (9.5/10)

6. "The Last Pharoah" (5:24) a very pleasant and melodic mood piece that Zbigniew Namysłowski wrote, this could serve as a bedtime lullaby or a John Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders song--or all of the above. Great, spacious, yet modern jazz-rock instrumental sounds and engineering mix backs Zbigniew's beautifully-toned, hypnotic sax throughout the first four minutes, then Wlodek gets a turn over the enticing bass play of Stefan Brolund before Zbigniew rejoins for the finish. I hate to like saxophone songs! (9.333/10)

7. "Equivalent In Nature" (4:52) here Zbigniew picks up a flute to play along with a creatively-composed, impeccably- performed, and beautifully-rendered Jazz-Rock Fusion song. Mega kudos to Zbigniew and the band as well as to the engineers in the box. (9.25/10)

8. "Perfect Touchdown" (3:33) this one sounds like a clip of some of the better or more-interesting stuff from a longer (practice/warm-up) jam. Impressive playing from the percussionists as well as Janne, Zbigniew, and Wlodek but not really a very complete, polished, or charming song. (For "charm" one must properly warm up and let down the listener--like sex's foreplay and afterglow hugging.) (8.75/10)

Total Time 41:52

This album does something that very few Jazz-Rock Fusion albums in 1973 were doing well: serving up original and creative song compositions through the recipe of GREAT three-dimensional sound engineering and production. I find myself absolutely astounded time after time at the "modern" spherical feel and imagery of these amazingly-well recorded and creatively-effected instrumental sounds. I need mention once how well bassist Stefan Brolund and drummer Ola Brunkert account for themselves throughout this album (and how well their sounds were recorded and mixed).

A/five stars; other than Janne Schaffer's caustic guitar sound, this is a masterpiece of stunning performances of masterful compositions and boundary-pushing sound engineering.