W.W.W.

Using the same line-up as their eponymous sophomore album, this weird but prophetically- named album W.W.W. is the very proud follow-up taking the same kind of psychey-jazz brass-rock and perfecting (if that was possible) it to reach a sort of perfection that is rather hard to achieve in this controversial style. With another weak artwork and a bizarre name, this album had better have good tracks on it.

Obviously BRI was having time to tour England (this is sufficiently rare to mention as England was a bit of a impenetrable or closed market, due to strong musician union and enforced quotas) and they wrote this excellent track about their hotel in Croydon after a gig in Fairfield Hall (where Genesis and Caravan were regulars) where Menzer's flute resembles that of Traffic's Chris Wood. Some of the other sonic similarities that can be heard are reminiscent of the excellent German group Out Of Focus. The title track starts out dreamily as an oriental-desert psyched-out trip: you could almost see the early 70's hippies crossing Iran on their way to Kathmandu in their Combi VW while listening to this. Close to the best German groups such as Embryo, this track is a pure delight. With almost no transition we veer into Kaskelain (these guys were most likely smoking some dynamite stuff), which is definitely more dynamic and brilliantly played and ends up in motif that is exactly the one that the next track uses to pick up the pieces. Karsemore (give me their dealer's name, I must taste the stuff ;-), this tracks starts almost basic but soon veers into a demented jazz-psyched out rock. Cool stuff and BRI is on top of their game in this lengthy three-piece suite (mmmmmmmhhh!!!.. Not even going to touch that one ;-). After another stand out track Oblong Serenade is a phenomenal succession of blistering solos over a great rhythm and a fitting outro for the album.

Traffic, Out Of Focus, Colosseum. Does it not make your mouth salivate better than a naked Mcpherson? Run for it guys!!! After their next album Miley Smiley, a live-in-the- studio album recorded in 8 hours, Karsten Vogel will leave the band to form one of the best Danish band Secret Oyster (after a track on their second eponymous album) and will enjoy a long solo career as a jazz muso.

W.W.W. is the third studio album from Danish progressive jazz/ rock band Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe. I´m a big fan of the debut album called M144 from the band while the selftitled second album went too far into jazz territory for my taste. It´s still a good album though. With W.W.W. Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe returns to the more psychadelic leanings of the debut while still maintaining their jazzy edge.

The change in style compared to the predecessor is very obvious when listening to the first couple of songs on W.W.W. Karsten Vogel plays the organ instead of his characteristic sax on both the opener Second Floor, Croydon, the second song W.W.W. and the third song Avez-Vous Kaskelainen while Kim Menzer plays the flute rather than his usual sax. This change in intrumentation really gives those songs a different sound to the normally very sax dominated Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe we´re used to. The sax does return later on the album but never in the jazzy way it´s used on the predecessor. There are vocals on Second Floor, Croydon, All About All and Oblong Serenade while the rest of the songs are instrumental. My favorites here are Second Floor, Croydon and Oblong Serenade with it´s characteristic trombone theme. The only song I don´t enjoy much is the psychadelic organ dominated title track. It´s way too long and really isn´t very interesting.

The musicianship is excellent. On W.W.W. we really get to hear every facette of Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe´s sound from jazz/ Rock to psychadelic rock to more progressive moments like the ending of Second Floor, Croydon. The interplay between these musicians is magical IMO.

The production is really good and pleasant. Very organic just like the sound on the first two albums.

W.W.W. is a really good album and even though it´s not as challenging as it´s predecessor or as groundbreaking as the debut from Burnin´ Red Ivanhoe it´s a pretty unique album from the band. I´ll rate W.W.W. 3 BIG stars.

I've enjoyed each of BURNIN RED IVANHOE's first three albums fairly equally. I'll be the first to admit that when some of these guys went off to form SECRET OYSTER it was the right move. I'm just a huge fan of that band.

"Second Floor, Croydon" is laid back with vocals. It does kick in before 1 1/2 minutes. Flute before 4 minutes. Drums and organ lead after 7 minutes. I much prefer the second half of this song. "W.W.W." opens with not much going on until we get some haunting sounds that come and go after 1 1/2 minutes. The organ and drums start to come and go as well with no real melody. Interesting tune to say the least. "Avez-Vous Kaskelainen ?" starts to build with drums and organ. Great sound after 1 1/2 minutes.

"Kaske-Vous Karsemose" is my favourite track. Again the drums and organ lead. Sax 3 minutes in. The drumming is excellent. Two incredible songs in a row. "All About All" opens with strummed guitar and drums. This is catchy with vocals. Silly lyrics and horns too. A fun tune. "Oblong Serenade" is another song that can't be taken too seriously with the horns and theatrical vocals. I like the guitar late. "Cucumber- Porcupine" has this catchy beat with horns. Vocals before 2 minutes.

Of their first three albums this might be my favourite, but they're all good. 3.5 stars.

More psychedelia with more effected sound production and some jazz and proggy tendencies.

1. "The W.W.W. Suite": - i. "Second Floor, Croydon" (8:37) Ole sings in a John Lennon-effected voice over some John Lennon-like music to open this one before the spacious pause in the beginning of the second minute which ends with the band launching into a Brit-Rock sounding pseudo-R&B theme. Sounds like BR Ivanhoe's version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." The sound engineering is different from their previous album: more effects used on the bass and vocals with warmer treatments given to the organ, drums, and flutes--and with everybody brought more forward in the mix, making it much more intimate, as if the listener is inside the instrumentalists' circle on stage instead of 20 feet away. The organ, drums, and guitar playing are rather primitive while the vocalist and seem more adventurous. Nice sound but a little too primitive to garner high marks. (17/20)

- ii. "W.W.W." (6:07) droning amplifier feedback sound opens this one, holding for quite a while as organ, bass, cymbals, and violin gradually add their subtle experimentations and interjections. This loose weave of cacophonous tuning and warmup jamming continues well into the second half of the song until some peaceful flute- and whale-like violin notes seemingly soothe and calm the rest of the band members. Very interesting and, I have to admit, somehow enjoyable--not unlike a POPOL VUH listening experience. (8.75/10)

- iii. "Avez-Vous Kaskelainen" (4:47) the band here slowly congeals into a "Driver's Seat"-like organ-driven groove within which wah-wah-ed violin and electric guitar flit and float. Like an experimental DOORS jam that never made it to album. (8.75/10)

- iv. "Kaske-Vous Karse Mose" (3:49) Karsten Vogel's soprano sax gets to lead this with some nearly free-jazz playing, but not before his organ and Kim Menzer's flute set up a hypnotic, nearly-Krautrock foundation. Also featuring multi- tracking! (8.875/10)

5. "All About All" (4:08) strummed John Lennon-like acoustic guitar opens this one before the band jumps into a BADFINGER-like pop song about the band's history: musically and geopolitically. Fun and funny with some nice soprano sax playing throughout. (8.875/10)

6. "Oblong Serenade" (6:25) another Beatles imitation, this one from the Fab Four's psychedelic peak years. Pounded piano, trombone, and multiple track dedication to loose drunken-fun vocals gives it a lot of Magical Mystery Tour feel-- as does the kazoo-like soprano sax play in the third minute. At 3:47 Jess Stæhr and Bo Thrige Anderson double the pace, providing the impetus to the rest of the soloists to up their energy levels--which Karsten Vogel, Ole Flick, and even a weak Kim Menzer do nicely on. their sax, electric guitar, and trombone, respectively. (8.875/10)

7. "Cucumber-Porcupine" (5:21) bass, bass drum, guitar, and alto sax all chime in on punctually playing a "Stand By Me"-like progression of riffs before flute, sax, and group choir vocals peel off to make their own melody lines. Drummer Bo Thrige Anderson eventually smooths out his rhythmic support into more of a rock style, but the bass and electric guitar continue to chug through the song's original staccato progression till the very end. The happy song seems to want to end the album with a feeling of laid-back cohesion and commisseration--as if we're all in this together and it's gonna be all right. Nice. (8.875/10)

Total Time 39:14

While I like the new, richer sound palette and experimental moods of the band being expressed on this album, I do not think it to contain many memorable songs: so many feel unfinished, as if the band were using these studio sessions to become more proficient with the new (and old) sounds of their instruments, work out new ideas and skills, as well as try to figure out how the individual band members can better serve the needs of the collective. Once again, I cannot in good faith consider this album a shining example of Jazz-Rock Fusion music; there is more of a jazz-like experimentalism being expressed here, but there is really very little jazz. More R&B than jazz.

B-/four stars; a likable collection of songs in which a band is doing a lot of experimentation. But the question must be asked: How much of it is for themselves and their own growth and entertainment and how much for their audience?