HEMISPHERES

While I prefer the Live in Bremen double album from 1972, this live recording certainly is attractive because it's the original lineup. This album features live recordings from March 1970 and February 1971 both in Europe. Things started to really happen for this band in 1970 as a result of playing often at Ronnie Scott's. John Peel invited the band to play at his highly influential Top Gear show and as a result they were nominated as Britain's entry at the prestigious Montreaux Jazz Festival where they were judged top band.That prize led them to being invited to the even more prestigious Newport Jazz Festival that summer. Quite a year indeed. The music here is taken from their first three classic albums. Playing it loud is a must in my opinion to catch the nuances and intricate sounds.

"Cosa Nostra" is kind of odd as it sounds like everyone is doing his own thing (haha). Highlights for me are first of all "Elastic Rock" which is one of their best compositions.Then "Twisted Track" which was a Spedding tune he had already recorded with a different band. Guitar and laid back horns early. I like the edge that comes in later.

"1916" is classic ! So melancholic early before veering off into another direction. "Song For The Bearded Lady" features horns galore then it kicks in around 2 minutes. Nice. "Tangent" is excellent. Some spacey sounds on this one before it turns intense 6 minutes in. "Snakehip's Dream" is another killer track.

This is the kind of music that carries me away. Some good pictures in the liner notes as well of the band as they travelled to these different venues.