TRAIN

When it comes to fusion, you can't get much more obscure than this German outfit. Not to be confused with the 1990s/2000s outfit with the same name, this band released Coo-Coo Out in 1977 towards the end of the glory days of fusion. It's a relaxed brand of fusion, but not Fuzak. It's goes all over the place instead of "play as fast as we can" template that fusion is frequently criticized for. Return to Forever, a relaxed version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Passport, and Soft Machine (post-Robert Wyatt) are a few references, guitar playing a bit in the McLaughlin vein, although the acoustic guitar playing is more like McLaughlin's acoustic playing. Instead of going the Jan Hammer route in the synth department, the band goes for a more relaxed, spacy approach on the synths, which I really like. The funky moments get me thinking of Lenny White's Venusian Summer, but then again, much more relaxed than that album. Despite being recorded and released in 1977, the music alternates between mid '70s and early '70s fusion, the more dreamy parts having a bit of a Canterbury feel to it has a more early '70s feel, but the more traditional fusion parts in the RTF or perhaps Mahavishnu Orchestra vein (but not hyper paced) is more in tuned with 1975 than '77. Instruments include guitars, bass, drums, synths, sax, and flute. It's great stuff that really took me by surprise. It's too bad it was never reissued, so the only way you get to hear this on solid format is the LP, and it's not easy to find. Still very much worth having for all fusion fans!