VISITOR

A rather "understated" album quite a bit of the time but man this one has my attention throughout. A four piece out of Denmark we basically get everyone from SECRET OYSTER but the bass player. Kenneth Knudsen on electric piano mostly(yay), Ole Streenberg on drums and Claus Bohling on guitar. The bass player had a Free Jazz background and would go on to play with TAYLOR'S FREE UNIVERSE. The guy is so impressive with that electric double bass especially. There is tambura on that second track. This album was recorded in 1973, the band being in the studio during the months of February, July and November but not released until 1975 after SECRET OYSTER released "Sea Son" in 1974 and a soundtrack in 1975.

How about that opener "Se Det" with the bass and electric piano that echoes. Sparse is the word. Cymbals at 1 1/2 minutes then beats as the tempo picks up and the electric piano solos over top. Nice. The electric piano is most upfront before 4 minutes. That is a top three along with the title track. Fast paced drumming to start and crazy bass before the guitar starts to make some noise, electric piano too. Not very melodic this one. The closer is my final top three called "Which Witch" and the longest at almost 9 minutes. It kicks in right away with electric piano, drums, bass and guitar. And the guitar is lighting it up. Some wah-wah too. The guitar leads the way here big time as the electric piano plays second fiddle. Bohling is on fire after 7 minutes then it settles as the electric piano leads.

I'm surprised at how many sparse tracks there are but I like them because of the instruments involved. Mind you a song like "Morning" is like getting up as it starts like the opener very sparse and slow but it picks up around 5 minutes in, then what a sound a minute later with that electric piano! Yes we've woken up. Tambura to end it. "Esrom" is an under 2 minute bass solo. "Don't Know" is the first uptempo tune from the get go. The guitar again is a light show but we get a calm with bass only at 3 minutes before it kicks back in. "Tied Waves" is the slowest of them all as the title suggests but it builds.

Such a strong album for me especially being such a big fan of SECRET OYSTER. I'm almost mesmerized by the space we are afforded by several of these songs. But again it's that "sound". All four guys can do no wrong. Closer to 4.5 stars.

Danish band with 4/5ths of the membership of SECRET OYSTER. This is their second and final studio album.

1. "Se Det" (5:15) a song that opens as a kind of dreamy bass and Fender Rhodes duet with both musicians wandering rather aimlessly around their instruments for 90 seconds before settling into a pattern that the drummer and guitarist can join. Then it's keyboardist Kenneth Knudsen leading the way with his electric piano while the bass and drums gather momentum from beneath. The foundational pattern (especially the repeated bass riff) gets rather monotonous and, eventually, annoying. I wish Peter Friis Nielsen would change it up or at least embellish--at least a little bit! Ends with a Eumir Deodato-like dreamy chord overlay. (8.75/10)

2. "Morning" (8:13) thoughtful bass play over an open space which is soon permeated by equally gentle, almost wind- chime-sounding electric piano play. Bassist Peter Friis Neilsen sounds very much like Eberhard Weber: mysteriously floating over his long-neck fretboard, producing notes that seem to say so much more than that of a single pitch. Around the four-minute mark drummer Ole Streenberg's contributions (on mostly cymbals) begin to become more noticeable--as do those of Kenneth Knudsen's electric piano, with the keyboard eventually, slowly, supplanting the bass as the lead instrument. A not-unpleasant song that sounds nearer to free jazz but also has some of the palette of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi-era music. (13.25/15)

3. "Esrom" (1:47) Peter Friis Nielsen's solo bass sounding like any bass solo ever despite his use of near-Eberhard Weber effects. Cool when it gets doubled up near the end. (4.375/5)

4. "Don't Know" (5:10) high-speed Jazz-Rock of the Mahavishnu/RTF nature with sound quality that reminds me more of CERVELLO's Melos: the effects used to process the lead guitar are already dated while the rhythmatists beneath the soloing electric guitar (including a track dedicated to wah-wahed rhythm guitar) have a bare Mwandishi-like sonic field. Nice discipline and skills on display. The foundational groove gets a little monotonous after ? a minute or two--more like numbing. (8.875/10)

5. "Visitor" (3:23) more skills exhibitionism from the bass and drum players while Kenneth Knudsen wanders around his treated (wah-wah) Fender Rhodes and guitarist Claus Bøhling occupies the spotlight up top. Again Claus is using that odd combination of effects on his axe making him sound similar to some of Larry Coryell's sound incarnations. (8.75/10)

6. "Tied Waves" (5:24) gentle waves of sustained electric piano chords and fills spaciously (and melodically) open this one sounding like a pensive Herbie Hancock while Ole and Claus feel their way around from beneath (the latter sounding a bit like Eberhard Weber). There's actually something profoundly engaging about this--especially in the combination and interplay of the aqueous sounds coming from Peter's bass and Kenneth's keyboard. For some reason I have to give this unusual song a top three song commendation. (9/10)

7. "Sagittarius" (1:10) bumpin' electric piano over fully-formed "Latin" rhythm track. I respect Peter, Ole, and Kenneth for their attempt at infiltrating Chick Corea territory. (4.375/5)

8. "Which Witch" (8:48) opening with some angsty aggression, this one kind of awkwardly straddles a pseudo-funky rock style that sounds like some of the fusionary experiments of early Larry Coryell. The guitar is once again in the lead position while everybody else (including a track of wah-wah rhythm guitar) tries to keep the train running a top speed (without derailing). Definitely representative of an earlier, more formative stage of Jazz-Rock Fusion (like three or four years earlier). It's pretty good if you like to hear long soloing by a single instrument over some disciplined and nicely coordinated rhythmatists working hard beneath. In the final minute the straight-running train is given the signal to slow down, something the band does in an interesting, very cool way. (17.75/20)

Total time 39:10

Interestingly, there are several songs in which I can barely notice the presence of a guitar, which makes me wonder if this was really a trio with only occasional sessions using the credited guitarist.

B/four stars; an excellent display of creative, textural early-Seventies Jazz-Rock Fusion from some pretty talented and disciplined musicians.