SIMON PHILLIPS

But...

There have been so many great outputs of fusion for decades. So to make an impact, the record should be different, and push the boundaries. At least, that is how I see it. Especially considering I'm writing this in the context of a prog site. And here, Simon Phillips doesn't stand out. It is an excellent fusion record. But there's no reason to listen to this when you're already having a collection of great records in this genre and you are looking for something new and exciting.

This is why I rate this 2 stars. Not because it is bad. It absolutely isn't. But IMHO it doesn't bring enough to excite me as a prog fan. And the ratings are as they are to shed a light on music for a prog fan.

It would be unnecessary to highlight the interpretations of the musicians who are all phenomenal here - without falling into a gratuitous virtuosity that is very fashionable these days - and who integrate and converse in the best way that the genre (Jazz) has accustomed us to. Undoubtedly the best of a rather mediocre year -so far- for what some call Prog Music.

* With regard to 'tone' I mean the character of the album, which in this case is between extrovert and nostalgic, or at least that's how I perceive it.

Simon Phillips' Protocol series is some of the best jazz fusion you will find anywhere, so don't miss out. He collaborates with stellar players and the tunes are exciting and memorable. Especially on this outing, it's very difficult to pick a favourite track, as they are all amazing - there's no filler here.

This is the first time where saxophone has a lot of prominence, as Simon's ensembles are usually guitar led, but Alex Sill on guitar is definitely no slouch! This album is a heady mix of fusion flavours and Simon's playing is just what each track needs - in a drummer-led band, you might expect that there would be drum solos everywhere, but the playing here serves the music. Simon is such an experienced musician and has played with the best; he's clearly got nothing to prove technique-wise and so his parts are always appropriate and they propel the music along beautifully.

If you are a fusion fan, you won't find a better album than this - it's top class playing and enjoyment.

Not surprisingly we get a couple of TOTO members helping out on bass and percussion. The latter played in an American band called NEW SUN. Shiela E. adds timbales on here and there are 9 musicians involved in total in the making of this record. I feel that this is a 3.5 star album but am rounding up because I so enjoy listening to Simon's drumming and the bass which sounds amazing and there are 3 bass players on here. The issues for me are the smooth sax, in fact I saw a smooth Jazz tag on this one from another site. I can get past it because there is so much that I like about this album but yeah 3.5 stars is right for me.

Top two would include the title track with Shiela E. opening with the timbales along with percussion for a cool sounding start. It ends this way too on this 9 minute opener. I like how the keyboardist creates atmosphere on here. Guitar is lighting it up after 4 1/2 minutes. Soprano sax is often the lead instrument here. I think "Isis" is my favourite though. The guitar, sax and atmosphere and it's a relaxed tune at over 8 minutes in length but it works for me. Again the bass and drums sound so good on this album along with the overall sound quality. "Biplane To Bermuda" is pretty cool at over 9 minutes with all the beats along with the bass. This is an album on the border but I'm welcoming it to my Jazz related section, congrats! Haha.

He made "Another Lifetime" in 1997 in comeback fashion, as he had been recovering from an illness or back problems, no longer able to travel with TOTO (the band with which most people may most associate him). There is a LOT to like on this album aside from his phenomenal drumming throughout: guitars are handled by Ray Russell and the great Andy Timmons, Jeff Babko is on keyboards, and another icon Anthony Jackson plays bass. There is also a fair amount of saxophone, courtesy of a Wendell Brooks. Despite his immense talent, Phillips doesn't take any 2-minute drum solos here - he just shines with some extraordinary fills throughout.

And I love the SOUND on this record; in pursuit of a warmer and more natural sounding record, he decided to record 48 track analog/non dolby. (That's above my paygrade, but believe me, it WORKS!) Really nice balance and clarity on the whole record.

Nine longish tracks adorn this album, pretty much between 6 and 8 minutes each. Nice tempo and mood changes between the songs. The first track, Jungleyes, sets the pace for the album with great guitar and driving bass. My favorites are probably Kumi Na Moja (at 8:10, the longest track), and ESP with it's deep growly bass undertone and the cool overall melodic line. But they are ALL good! I'll make this one stand out from the others and go 4-1/2 stars.

So Simon Phillips is a bona fide "prog" artist. And Protocol was his first album. For this project, he's joined by... nobody. Protocol is 27 minutes of very good drumming with sequenced accompaniment. On half of the tunes here, Phillips also plays an electric guitar melody on a synthesizer (via samples). Spoiler alert, it doesn't sound like Jeff Beck, but the first time I heard the album I just assumed he was jamming with some pals from the studio and never gave any thought to the idea that there might not have been a dedicated guitarist.

Overall, the first half of Protocol is relaxed, late-1980s jazz/fusion, kind of the same feel as Grover Washington Jr., Lee Ritenour or Larry Carlton in places, but more electronic, and with the focus on the drumming, not guitar or sax. I'm also reminded in places of late-1990s instrumental AOR à la Eric Johnson or Joe Satriani, although again, I'm talking about the atmosphere. However, the opener, "Streetwise," begins with a rhythmic sample that could have brought the song in the very different direction of Herbie Hancock's Future Shock. "Streetwise" is probably the catchiest tune here, although the chorus melody on the second cut, "Red Rocks," has a nice, jazzy, unexpected chord change.

But compositionally, a sameness settles in even before "Red Rocks" ends. Listening to the following songs ("Protocol" and "Slofunk"), I get the sense that the primary reason the record company released Protocol as a mini-album was that there just wasn't another ten or fifteen minutes of ideas, at least at the moment. The fifth and final conventional song, "V8," is a bit more energetic, and here the drumming is more complex.

The original issue of Protocol ends with "Wall St.," a four-minute drum solo recorded live in 1988, although on the reissue it's labeled "Wall St. part 1" and accompanied by parts 2 and 3, extending the piece to thirteen minutes of pretty amazing musicianship. It bears a little resemblance to Neil Peart's solo on All the World's a Stage. Since the tom-toms are the only tuned percussion Phillips uses, it's remarkable that "Wall St." Doesn't get boring much sooner. I'm someone who can appreciate "The Drum Also Waltzes," but I have my limit when it come to drum solos, and it's way before thirteen minutes!

If anyone needed proof in 1988, twelve years after 801 Live, of the talents of Simon Phillips as a consummate musician - - not just a as timekeeper - - Protocol was it. But as a late-1980s work of rock-based fusion, Protocol doesn't represent progress beyond late-1970s rock-based fusion like Romantic Warrior or Feels Good to Me. Given Phillips's influences, such progress might've been expected. But evidently Protocol was more of a drumming showcase than of jazz composition. In later years, Phillips would recruit musicians to take the Protocol concept in much more artistic directions.

P.S.: The reissue of Protocol also includes alternate mixes of "Streetwise" and "Protocol."

What differs to the aforementioned acts is the somewhat nonchalant atmosphere they are creating more often, I'd say. What I mean, it seems to me a tad more controlled, not that wild and unrestrained as particularly known from the 1970's. Though virtuoso and entertaining all the way through without a doubt. Obviously born out of Simon's uncounted experiences Passage To Agra is carried by a fantastic rhythm featuring some exotic flair. Greg Howe's guitar playing frequently reminds me of Alan Holdsworth. The following Solitaire shines with a funky groove and stunning keyboard attendance. Superb album. At least jazz fusion aficionados shouldn't miss that.