OVER THE TOP

In the late Seventies I was very much into jazzrock sounding music, like JL Ponty, Al DiMeola, Jeff Beck and Colosseum II. So it was no surprise that I stumbled upon the late drummerCozy Powell, on this first solo LP many contributions are by musicians that have played with the aforementioned bands.

The instrumental album On Over The Top we can enjoy a super powerhouse rhythm-section featuring Cozy Powell and ex-Cream bass player Jack Bruce, what a powerful and dynamic sound, especially on Theme I and El Sid! The keyboard sound is also very exciting (delivered by Max Middleton and Don Airey), from mellow Fender Rhodes electric piano and sparkling Grand piano to lots of flashy Minimoog flights, symptuous classical orchestrations and UK-like synthesizer sounds (due to the use of the mighty Yamaha CS-80). Some songs sound similar to Colosseum II because of the interplay between their ex-members Don Airey and Gary Moore. It's 'blues time' in The Loner (dedicated to Jeff Beck) with moving work on guitar and piano and a pitchbend-driven Minimoog solo in the end. But the most interesting (and most progressive) composition is the titletrack: it opens with a swinging rhythm rhythm, then varied and exciting work on keyboards and halfway Cozy starts a drum solo, soon accompanied by bombastic classical orchestrations (lots of woodwinds and brass) on the Yamaha and Moog synthesizer, the build-up and grand finale is great.

Therefore I will remember Cozy Powell as the composer of this awesome composition, mighty close to the level of the unsurpassed Classic Prog (of the Seventies)!