ORGANIK

Well it's difficult to set this recent album (dated March 2005) against the previous music background of Niacin: I remember their first debut work, where the style was compared to a kind of "typical fusion genre", combined with the music of E.L.P.; but for example in their following albums you could find echoes of Brand X and Weather Report, mixed with a style of their own, which is strange!!However, coming to "Organik", this is the return of Billy Sheehan with his three-piece band , supported by John Novello at the Hammond and the Piano, and Dennis Chambers on drums, as usual...Billy is the real superstar here, as its music touch (reminding us of the rhytmical section carried out by Weather Report) is characterized by one of the best music patterns ever composed !!The track entitled " Barbarian @ The Gate" is the typical example of his virtuosity, being well represented by his stunning pattern, every four notes per beat,being also enriched with his powerful riff!!Instead the piano solo performed by Mr Novello within the second track "Nemesis" is combined into the whole organ performance, in the middle-stream. Naturally it's stunning from the artistic point of view, being almost equal to the invention by Sheehan at the bass line inside "Blisterine",which is varied by means of sporadic " fill in" and- at the end -it's the most "accessible" sample of such "Billy Sheehan's grandeur"!!

Talking about "King Kong", the recording uses an "hall or room" effect, which is very interesting and unusual too, regarding of the fusion music genre; but the most complex track is performed in the midlle of the album and it's entitled "Hair Of The Dog":for me it's so busy- in their research of new and "diverse" harmonic solutions- so that it could represent their best effort within "Organik", even though for instance the tune "No Shame" is much better produced from the point of view of its mixing and the quality sound as well...then I like to remark the importance of "Repeat Offender", the second bonus track, characterized by the "expanding" mood created by the bass guitar, which sometimes dissolves,considering also its unforgettable intro, creating a certain "suspence".But coming back to the other remarkable tracks, such as "Stumble On The Truth", " Clean House" (the first bous track) and "Club Soda", you can listen to a great keyboard oriented Trio, with their occasionally played slap bass tunes, busy and "circular" harmonic lines, well aligned with the rest of the album... at the end "Organik" is worth checking out at least, despite of being closer to such jazz fusion genre, more than any other progressive fusion style; but it's a question of tastes,obviously: anyhow, for a little while forget the label "Prog" and be happy!!