LARRY CORYELL & ALPHONSE MOUZON: BACK TOGETHER AGAIN

Coryell is back on his electric gibson and chewing on the bit to rock it out with his former bandmate/drummer Alphonse Mouzon. Although flawed in some ways this album has been hailed by many as one of the outstanding fusion recordings of the `70s. It`s a wonder that it sat in the vaults of Atlantic Records for almost three decades before being rescued and re-issued on CD by Wounded Bird Records in 2002.

From time to time this album has been critisized primarily due to Mouzon`s desire to get down and be funky. However this is more than adaquetely compensated for by his powerhouse drumming and Coryell`s frequent wailing guitar breaks. After all, it isn`t a reincarnation of The Eleventh House but rather a collaborative effort which was billed as the Coryell/Mouzon Band at the time. Even so, the title track which also features Mouzon on vocals along with a girl chorus, is so ridiculously funked out that one gets the impression that niether Coryell or Mouzon were taking themselves seriously on this one. Mouzon also provides some more quirky vocals on "Reconciliation" and "Get On Up" both of which have a harder edge and cross over back & forth between hard rock and funk.

The essence of the album is Coryell`s overwheming electric soloing which make him sound more like a rock musician , and the other two players who are not just along for the ride here either. Guitarist Philip Catherine, who was fresh out of a short stint with Focus, adds some artsy insight into the project on tracks such as "Transvested Express" and "Beneath The Earth". His effect on the creative end of Coryell`s playing is obvious and some of the flavour from their Twin House guitar duos is echoed here as well with the inclusion of acoustic guitars. Eleventh House alumni John Lee`s fine tuned bass work couldn`t be more suitable for this fusion & roll outing and his sliding bass lines which give way to Coryell`s pyrotechnical guitar soloing on "Rock n`Roll Lovers" give it a wonderful sort of heaviness. It was also the only Coryell piece which recieved some airplay on FM radio for a brief period in the late `70s.

One of Coryell`s more conventional records which will have more appeal to those not into the guitarists more ecclectic explorations. This recording is more along the lines of the brand of fusion Jeff Beck was producing during the `70s and the music here is a lot more fun loving and less technical than a lot of contemporary `70s fusion. A must for fans of fusion of this era despite the fact it is compromised with Mouzon`s preoccupation with jiving it out here and there.