THE FOLLOWING MORNING

My first exposure to the liquid bass sound of European jazz great Eberhard Weber. Side One of this album has been a mainstay fixture in my life since 1979, harboring two absolutely perfect songs, rendering its whole as that incredibly rare phenomenon: a perfect side.

1. "T. On A White Horse" (10:52) (20/20)

2. "Moana I" (10:10) (20/20)

3. "The Following Morning" (12:04) far more spacious and less melodic and less flowing that the previous two rather lush and sweeping song. The piano and double bass are more bare and authentic sounding--more jazzy--and less processed and engineered--the very thing that makes the album's sound feel like proggy fusion. I have, however, grown to like this one. Rated down for so much "empty" space. (21.875/25)

4. "Moana II" (7:42) this one is just a weird variation of the other Moana--with Rainer doing things that make him sound bored and Eberhard sounding as if he's just trying anything that comes to mind--like the first practice session out which "Moana I" came. Kind of unprofessional sounding filler. (12.25/15)

Total time 40:48

The arrival of this music--including Side One, a "perfect" side (an all-too-rare feat)--caused a profound awakening, such a dramatic transformation in my listening adventures and tastes, that I will forever be indebted to Eberhard and Rainer. Side Two is, unfortunately, far below the level of breathtaking beauty and much more experimental with 'soundscapes' than Side Two. Otherwise, this would be one of my favorite albums of all-time.

Wait a minute! It still is! I just turn it off after "Moana I"!

NO DRUMS! What a joy! What a revelation: that music doesn't have to have a 'beat'--or that it doesn't have to be provided by a standard drum kit. Hail to Brian Eno for turning off the drums! Hail Peter Gabriel and his WOMAD! Hail to Bill Bruford and his Simmons electronic drum kit! Hail to Zakir Hussein and his non-Western percussion! Hail to Mickey Hart and his ethnic musicology! Hail to Glen Velez and his hand drums!

If you want a trip to some of the most beautiful, peaceful inner mindscapes you could ever imagine, program "T. on a White Horse" and "Moana I" to play and repeat, over and over and over. I call this blissful place heaven!

I also love the orchestral support throughout the first two songs (something sadly lacking on Side Two's offerings). I'm really having trouble giving this album less than five stars, for it is such an unusual music listening experience, yet, the third and fourth songs, as mentioned, are far less appealing and engaging than the transportive first two. "T. on a White Horse" and "Moana I" are, IMHO, an essential experience of the mastery of truly 'progressive' music. This will be one of those rare times when the pieces of an album will earn the album a high rating despite the true 'adjusted rating' of the whole.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of pristine jazz-rock fusion. For me, The Following Morning represents the absolute peak of the wonderful Weber-Brüninghaus-ECM relationship.