BRUFORD: FEELS GOOD TO ME

Bill Bruford must be the luckiest person in the history of progressive rock! I just don't believe that skill and talent can account for all the collaborations that he had the opportunity to participate in over the years. First it was Yes, then King Crimson, followed by a tour with Genesis in 1976. After working with three of the progressive rock giants one might consider oneself worthy of a retirement. But not Bill Bruford, instead he pushed on making history as we all know it!

One would assume that the sound of a Bill Bruford solo album would settle somewhere within the familiar realm of prog, but Bruford had yet another ace up his sleeve. He began by recruiting some of the finest talent of the Canterbury Scene. Having both Dave Stewart (Egg, Hatfield and the North, National Health) and Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, Gong) in the band did higher the ante on the final result. So did Feels Good To Me match up to the individual talents of the members involved? A straight answer would be both yes and no. Sorry, but I assure you that this is the shortest version of the answers that I can offer.

First of all it's important to note that the music here is pure Jazz Rock/Fusion which I've personally never been a huge fan of. Although the individual performances are top notch I never could put them all together into a team effort. Bruford and Stewart put a solid foundation for each of these performances but everything else that is added doesn't always hit a home run with me. The most prominent example of this is Annette Peacock and her very eccentric vocal style. Her performance should definitely be labeled as acquired taste since I personally don't fancy it. I'm also not a fan of Allan Holdsworth's work which is quite weird since I do enjoy most of the people whom he had inspired over the years.

With all the criticism in mind Feels Good To Me still somehow managed to withstand the test of time in my collection. The album gets a revisit from time to time which implies that this release is after all an important addition to prog rock music collection. Or as I usually say:

"Dude, it has Beelzebub on it!"

***** star songs: Beelzebub (3:22) Either End Of August (5:24)

**** star songs: Back To The Beginning (7:25) Seems Like A Lifetime Ago (Pt. 2) (4:29) Sample And Hold (5:12) Feels Good To Me (3:53) If You Can't Stand The Heat... (3:26) Springtine In Siberia (2:44) Adios A La Pasada (Goodbye To The Past) (8:41)

*** star songs: Seems Like A Lifetime Ago (Pt. 1) (2:31)