AUTOMATIC FINE TUNING

AUTOMATIC FINE TUNING were a four piece band from the UK releasing this one album back in 1976. A dual guitar led quartet and many mention WISHBONE ASH although this record only has vocals on the short closer. The album is dominated by the massive "The Great Panjandrum Wheel" at over 30 minutes but thankfully divided into two fairly even parts with a short track in between because that's 30 minutes of what I would call one dimensional music where the guitars are just relentless.

My favourite spin of this album was the first one but I tired of this quickly. Now if the guitar was my favourite instrument we'd be talking a different rating but even still I just find that 30 minutes of music to be a composition that is far from adventerous or interesting to my ears. Just my humble opinion and I do prefer "Argus" to this one by a fair amount. The ratings for this one are all over the place for good reason.

A.F.T are a four piece band from Reading England led by guitar players Paul MacDonnell and Robert Cross, this self titled album is their only one released in 1976. I really wanted to like this album since it seems to be right up my alley but I just can't get into this at all. I bought the album years ago and played it quite a lot since then but unfortunately it doesn't click, so I'm officialy done with the album now. The concept of it is simple, a dual guitar attack accompanied by bass and drums no keys involved, very much inspired by bands like Wishbone Ash and Rush, even early Iron Maiden comes to mind in a few places. Apart from being inspired by heavy hard rock and progressive rock bands there's also some classical influences for a good measure. Unfortunately the band's strength turns out to be their weakness, while trying to produce an all instrumental album leaning heavily on guitar interplay, it's eventually all you get and that's not enough. Don't get me wrong these guys are pretty tight and definitely know how to play, I see a lot of positive reviews for it but sadly there isn't anything memorable throughout the album to make you wanna come back, this non stop jaming is very tiring and exhuasting.

The album is mostly instrumental, there are 2 short tracks one with vocals and 2 long pieces, but it doesn't really matter where you put your finger on the album it always sounds like your in the same place. The sound is very good and supposed to be a heaven for all you 70's guitar aficionados, both Cross and MaCdonnell's sound is strong and crunchy, and with all those blazing solos I should have been dancing like a madman. There are a few problems with the album, the first being there's not much of songwriting here, yes they came up with a few riffs, ideas or leads and of course some of it is good but it's not enough to my ears, they pretty much grind their ass off with solos. The second problem is related to the first, it's the relentless same kind of sound that just doesn't let go, after a while your dying for a break but it never happens. The third problem and the most important one and I may be hunted down by fans of the band for this but I gotta say that although these guys can certainly play I'm missing something that's called soul and feeling, it's just too technical for me. Their fast paced dual guitars is their strength but they certainly overplay it. I don't want to sound so negative because this album has its qualities and of course may appeal to fans of the genre, it even starts out nicely with a few cool ideas weaved together but unfortunately the whole thing just goes over my head without leaving anything memorable, not even a second of it. While there are a few good moments they are overshadowed by the rest of the album. 2.5 stars.

Hailing from Reading, Berkshire, Automatic Fine Tuning was a innovative British band whose sole release is their mostly instrumental 1976 album A.F.T., whose centerpiece was conceived as a rock guitar symphony. As such, the music is very influenced by baroque and classical music. Automatic Fine Tuning was made up of guitarists Paul A. MacDonnell and Robert Cross, bassist Trevor Darks and drummer Dave Ball. The album is comprised of four tracks: two lengthy (14+ minutes) instrumentals, a shorter instrumental and a another short track with vocals.

The two longest tracks are actually two parts of the same 30 min composition, The Great Panjandrum Wheel. It's is described by bassist and co-writer Trevor Darks as 'a quasi classical 2 movement symphony with none of the cliches that marred rock-classical hybrid music like Deep Purple" and I have to agree that as much as I enjoy Jon Lord's bold 1969 effort, the rock band and orchestra sections were too disparate.

The Great Panjandrum Wheel, Pt. One, starts with an unaccompanied bass riff, with the two lead guitars joining in, followed by the drums, the music gradually building in intensity. The guitarists take over after the first minute and from then on they keep unleashing a plethora of carefully rehearsed licks, hooks, riffs, arpeggios and solos played through a variety of effect pedals that ensure the piece maintains the listener's interest. Meanwhile the rhythm section pulls its weight and does an admirable job playing through the various sections and timing changes.

Gladioli is a short, lively instrumental with an infectious refrain. It is apparently named after a genus of flowering plants, also known as sword lilies.

The Great Panjandrum Wheel, Pt. Two keeps up the relentless dual guitar attack of Part One, maintaining the same level of quality throughout its length. One of my favorite sections is between the the 7 minute and 8 minute marks: first, one of the guitars starts making a violin sound and the other sounds like a cello then both guitars start playing great violin-like passages.

Queen of the Night is the only track with vocals on the entire album, presumably included at the record company request for more commercial material. It has a blues-rock flavor and the subject matter is the narrator's efforts to pick up the titular woman. Drummer Dave Ball is the singer. A guitar is used to make a credible impression of a harmonica.

Some interesting things about the band and the album: -The band originally founded in Reading in 1973 and called Glyder. -According to Robert Cross' daughter, the band couldn't decide on a new name after getting a record contract until someone said "call it any f***ing thing", which is the source of the acronym AFT, expanded later to Automatic Fine Tuning. -The band played at Reading Festival 1976 as Automatic Fine Tuning, among bands such as Gong, Jon Hiseman's Colosseum, Manfred Mann, Camel, Rory Gallagher, the Enid, Brand X, AC/DC, Ted Nugent, Black Oak Arkansas, Osibisa. -Paul MacDonnell and Robert Cross were the first to use an early guitar synthesizer made by Stramp. It seems to be the Syncharger II 4000, as it was the only known synth made by Stramp, a German company that focused on guitar and bass amplifiers. -The album was recorded live in the studio. As impressive a feat this is, what makes it even more astounding is that none of the music was written down, but played entirely from memory with no improvisation. -Paul MacDonnell played some of his parts with a violin bow on a Gibson SG he cut the sides off to make it bat-shaped and facilitate playing. He also used a homemade version of the Leslie rotating speaker on the album.

Go give credit where it is due, I learned nearly all the information about the band up to this point from the Automatic Fine Tuning appreciation thread on the Prog Archives forum. Special thanks to Atavachron and b_olariu (who petitioned for the band's inclusion and wrote the band bio), wilbur_44 (who started the thread that eventually saw the band inducted into the PA database), clarkpegasus4001 (who kept the thread alive and conducted interviews with former members) and above all to Trevor Darks and Paul MacDonnell, who wrote the bulk of this wonderful album and dropped in the thread to graciously answer questions.

The band's composition of use of two lead guitarists naturally invites comparisons to Wishbone Ash. Trevor Darks' introductory bass solo even reminds me of Martin Turner's bass playing at the start of Vas Dis. However, Automatic Fine Tuning have established a sound all of their own that is chiefly influenced by baroque music, while Whishbone Ash have a much more blues-based sound. An interesting parallel to Wishbone Ash is that in a band with two lead guitarists, it was the bassist who composed much of the material (Martin Turner wrote the bulk of Argus). All tracks except for Gladoli, which was written by guitarist Bob Cross, are composed by bassist Trevor Darks and guitarist Paul MacDonnell.

The Great Panjandrum Wheel, Pt. One has the following subsections listed, but without running times: Wolverine (Part 1), Horizons, Wolverine (part 2), Maneater. Similarly, The Great Panjandrum Wheel, Pt. Two is broken up into Panjandrum, Epic, Terminal C, City Business, Dragon Fly.

The two epic tracks are named after The Great Panjandrum, a experimental weapon in the form of a explosive drum connected at each end to a large wheel with rockets placed along the rim for propulsion. It was devised by the British military in World War II to penetrate beach defenses, but due to its unreliable trajectory and tendency to fall over on its side, The Great Panjandrum never saw combat action. I find the title appropriate in the sense that both tracks keep rolling from one firework section to another.

The term Great Panjandrum, which is now used to refer to a self-important person, was originally made up by British dramatist Samuel Foote in 1775 as part of a passage of nonsense improvised to challenge actor Charles Macklin's assertion that he could memorize any passage after reading it but once.

Note: this album is currently available on Amazon for only $1.99 in MP3 format. Should you get it? If you are at all interested in what excellently written and played instrumental heavy prog with Baroque influences sounds like, absolutely you should!

Automatic Fine Tuning's career was short, but they managed to left a document of high-octane instrumental guitar Rock.These Englishmen reputedly came from Reading and were led by the duo of Paul MacDonnell and Robert Cross on guitars with Trevor Darks handling the bass and Dave Ball being responsible for the drumming and the scarce vocals.They recorded their only album ''A.F.T.'' for Charisma in 1976, the sessions took place at La Maison Rouge Mobile in Ridge Farm, Surrey.

The sound of the band is all over the place, borrowing the twin guitar lines of WISHBONE ASH and taking them to the next level, throwing complex twists ala KING CRIMSON, some Heavy Rock pounds in the vein of T2, more melodic parts along the lines of CAMEL, extended Fusion instrumental mannerisms and even some sort of Classical orientations, which was the trademark of the band.Even more impressive they did it by producing two 15-min. long instrumentals without falling in cliche soloing or excessive jams.It appears that one of the electric guitars has somewhat taken the role of keyboards in the album, the sharp and furious lead parts are complemented by lovely Classical-styled soloing.Very strange, but this works pretty well for most of the album's length, which has a nice flow and an unmet spark.Extremely accomplished musicians and composers at the very end, the bass work is great and the drumming is even greater, almost flawless.The long tracks are of course the peak of the album, lots of nice leads and rhythms, melodic and almost dramatic-sounding solos and plenty of well-placed breaks.The farewell ''Queen of the night'' is the only track to feature some vocals and apparently moving into a more straightforward Rock vein.Credits should also go to Americans Loyd Grossman and Neal Grossman (the album's producers) for the excellent work on the album as well.

The band propably dissapeared after the release of the album and only Trevor Darks has been spotted a couple of years later as a member of Gilli Smith's Mother Gong combo.

Guitar-fronted, mostly instrumental Prog Rock with fiery soloing, challenging moves and even some fascinating melodies.To be discovered, one of the best 70's outputs within the simplistic formation of guitar/bass/drums...3.5 stars.

Make no mistake about it, people. This is pretty much the definition of a guitar-oriented album. If you're the sort of person who dismisses Steve Vai or Al Di Meola and their ilk on the basis that they utilize too much technicality and not enough "soul", then you'll probably not like this album very much. To anyone else, it's a very good and rather impressive piece of early neo-classical rock music.

Definitely for fans of the electric guitar, there's similarly not much here in the way of expansive sound, remaining strictly a four-piece instrumental experience throughout the album, save for the poppier closing track Queen Of The Night. Despite this, those more accustomed to a wider range of tones and timbres, myself included, can find a lot to enjoy here. The interplay between the two guitars is top notch, alternating between a wide range of harmonies, rhythmic juxtapositions, tonal changes and shifts in key and tempo. The bass guitar subtly accentuates this and helps to move the pieces along without letting the music grow stale on one riff or progression for too long.

There's a wide range of emotions explored. At times there are soaring leads and drums pounding heavily, at times things are soft and subtle, nearly lacking the rhythm section entirely, at times there are extensive buildups, and at times there are even slightly avant- style riffs, particularly in later parts of The Great Panjandrum Wheel Pt. Two.

The first three tracks are entirely a neo-classical jam with skilled guitarists flexing over top of a sturdy rhythm section. The fourth and final track, Queen Of The Night, is much different than these, undoubtedly recorded in the hopes of being released as a single to try to garner a little popularity for the band. While it's not entirely progressive and nothing like the other material on the album, it's a very nice little tune, with a catchy but original chorus and some more rock-oriented twin-guitar leads throughout. It does show the versatility of these guitarists, and it's a shame this group never released more albums, as I'm sure their sound could have grown extensively with more studio time and perhaps some better producing and higher budget.

The album is nothing revolutionary in and of itself, but at the time I'm sure it was quite the eye-opener to anyone brave enough to gamble on a copy of it. It's fun and exhibits some talented guitar play. I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for a nice old diamond-in-the- rough to add to their discoveries.

Classic Rock + 70's Era Prog + Jams = Awesome

While this entire disc only comprises 4 songs (two of which are about 14-15 mintues long), it feels a lot longer. And while there is no song structures, per se, it just seems to feel constructed, ordered, planned. Many guitar solos featured throughout this disc start mainly to feel like a free-flowing improvisation, but once you get into the two-part "Great Panjandrum Wheel", it's too long complex to feel like improv.

That's sort of the majesty about this disc. It still feels like good ol' fashioned classic rock from the mid 70's, yet it's complex, long and sort of sophisticated enough to plant a firm foot in the realm of prog rock. It's an interesting disc that sort of plays to both tastes, which is perfect for me because I'm a fan of both genres. Prog rock fans can enjoy the long songs and the semi- complex nature of it, classic rock fans can enjoy it because it is a pure translation of that 70's hard rock sound in prog form and jam band fans can love it because, well, it is essentially a 39 minute long jam disc.

Which is fine for me.

I guess this album is one of those who polarise the opinions on PA and among music lovers in general. It has got five stars and now; my two stars. Please let me explain....

This music reminds me a lot about the musical approach The Shadows had to their music. They too were pretty Paganini influenced. The result was some albums that is worthy of an inclusion of that band in PA. I am not that brave to suggest them though. Wrestling with polar bears, yes. Suggesting the inclusion of The Shadows in PA, no.

Automatic Fine Tuning was a British band who released only this album. I have already mentioned The Shadows. I detect a lot of influences from them on this album. The guitar picking, some of the songs......... what do you think, Sir Hank Marvin ? Automatic Fine Tuning is off course alot heavier and more Paganini worshipping than The Shadows. Their music is very much what we twenty years later (mid '90s) started to label neo-classic music. Yngwie Malmsteen was the big exponent of that music. Automatic Fine Tuning is the forefathers of his music and the neo-classic movement (if there was/is any).

Automatic Fine Tuning has some good songs. The problem is their saturation of guitars where a Hammond organ would had been a far better solution. I get the feeling that the whole Automatic Fine Tuning concept is to replace the Moog and Hammonds with guitars. A good idea. But in this case; it does not work. The songs would had been good with the use of keys. They are not good with guitars and vocals. There is not much vocals here so the guitars must take the blame here. The guitar playing is not that impressive either.

What we are left with is some good ideas, pretty badly executed. This is not for me, I am afraid.

2 stars

NEENER-NEENER-NEE! 3.5

Sometimes, one wonders why one writes reviews. In the case of Automatic Fine Tuning's essentially eponymous (and sole) album, I feel as though this was a challenge from my reviewer brethren. After all, how could I, the Whistler, NOT Ian Anderson, someone NOT known for his brevity, possibly write a whole review about this album? It's short; it's not even forty minutes long. It's very samey; these guys really milk the ole "heavy pork" style. And, it all sounds the same...

Well, I've got a good start. After all, I just burned up a paragraph talking about myself. But, on to the music. Automatic Fine Tuning was basically four dudes who utterly ripped off Iron Maiden a few years before that band's invention, so that takes guts. I know it all sounds the same, but if you like that whole "undying riff-fest" thing, then do I have a treasure from the vault for you...

Starting off on an un-ambitious foot, the band kicks into gear with "The Great Panjandrum Wheel, Part One." It's largely what it sounds like...if the name conjures up about fifteen minutes of instrumental classical/medieval riffage. Don't get me wrong though, these lads know their stuff. The rhythm section is very professional, but your attention will doubtlessly be won by the twin guitar attacks. It's the guitars that lead the track, constantly changing the speed and the riffing so that you never get bored.

Call me crazy, but my favorite bit of noise on this thing is "Gladioli." It's slightly shorter than "Panjandrum," about ten minutes shorter in fact. But the speedy lil' Mozart inspired (?) riffage is just so darn CUTE that I can't help but commend it. Humor is something that the classical/medieval metal genre is often lacking, purposeful humor at least, but "Gladioli" delivers.

But when that old familiar riff starts up again, you know that you're in for "The Great Panjandrum Wheel, Part 2." Is it more of the same? You betcha, right down to the time. Is it just as good? Uh-huh. In fact, it's better, quite a bit better, because it's even more varied, with guitar tones poppin' outta all angles, and the bass and drummer get to make use of the faster tempos to show off a bit more.

After the rushing climax of "Panjandrum 2," it's odd that we turn in a totally different direction to finish this puppy off. "Queen of the Night" is a much more bluesy number, with the guitar tone sounding almost like a harmonica this time around. And it has LYRICS! SUNG lyrics no less. Fancy that. Unfortunately, they turn out to be a cross between fairly pedestrian Gothic imagery, and some more pedestrian...barroom imagery? Family these guys are not.

And that's about it. The riffs are good, if never terribly memorable. No, this is not music for humming along. It doesn't create any particular feelings, or cast any specific mood. It doesn't show off shocking skill of guitar, bass and drums. It's just...an art metal groove, seemingly designed for the pretentious headbanger in all of us.

So where does that leave us? With a very interesting band. It's easy to see why these boys never hit it big time; they might be Iron Maiden dreams with High Tide technology, but they lack the latter's atmospheric impact and the former's songwriting. Still, I imagine that's why the band collapsed: one foot in the seventies and one in the eighties realms of metal does not a stable lineup make (and don't forget a quick glance to the sixties! There's a definite psycho influence to this affair).

But, any fan of guitar based heavy rock is going to find this thing interesting. The twin guitarists, Paul MacDonnell and Robert Cross, are both quite skilled six stingers, and the variety of pedals and devices they use ensure that their instruments are able to ape harmonicas and church organs very nicely (for the best example, pay close attention to "Panjandrum 2;" I swear to God that thing sounds like a violin at one point!).

Naturally, their sound is going to make one draw a lot of associations: everyone from Brian May to Martin Barre to Tony Hill to Steve Hackett to Robert Fripp to...I dunno, Django Reinhardt and Keith Emerson and your uncle Leo. Even if it's not very memorable, it is by no means unpleasant, and anyone who is a fan of loud, structured jamming with a proggy bent will find something to love. In fact, it IS a pity that the band did not survive. Another album perhaps, and their nascent songwriting genius might have been unlocked, or at least we could have gotten a live album out. Considering the period, and what kind of a band this must have been, a live document would have been invaluable.

Found this LP in a record store,4 bucks,couple of weeks ago.Read about A.F.T. on this site,never heard of them before,I was also atracted by Charisma label,one of the best in prog circles.Music have pretty raw fell,like it was recorded live in studio in just one take,basicaly one 40 plus minutes jam.Unlike other reviewers,I don't see much metal here,save for the gothic feel due to classical lines,which they are base of this unusual record.Smokin' guitars are highlihted by fiery drumming,but record lacks clearer bass lines,they're just somehow lost in the mix.Still,very enjoyable piece of mid 70's fusion,kinda reminds me of High Tide.3 1/2 stars.

Criminaly underrated band and album in my opinion, delivering some of the most stunning heavy prog albums of the decade. The album was released in summer of 1976 and was not a comercial succes, not by far, because the band tried and succeded to gather all the neo-classical and barock arrangements with heavy prog elements in one single unit - Automatic Fine Tuning - the response from the media and public was minor, so they disbanded soon after and they gone almost unnoticed by many prog conoseurs and heavy prog lovers - the mid to late '70's prog was no longer something to talk about . The album was way ahead of his time delivering some superb guitar chops made by Paul A. MacDonnell and Robert Cross very very intristing for that time, very strong harmonics and smooth arrangements on 6 and 12 strings, aswell as the guitar duel between them leaves no comments, excellent. The rytmic section was provided by Dave Ball on drums who also done the vocal parts on Queen of the night and Trevor Darks on bass. The album sounds close to what Yngwie Malmsteen or Joey Taffola done, but they've done it ten years after AFT, that means AFT influenced some musicians from later decades. Great barock hevy prog album with smooth harmonics, great musicianship. AFT has 4 pieces , one of them is divided in two - The Great Panjandrum Wheel part 1&2, more than 30minutes of real feast for all listners, the cherry on the cake here, the rest are aslo very strong. This album sounds so original that even after 30 years is still present and is a real pleasure to listen to, one of my fav albums ever. Recommended to everyone intrested in discovering heavy prog of the highest calibre with a vintage sound. This band was a big discovery for me and has a special place in my collection, very funy and intristing art cover too. 5 stars for sure for this treasure of the '70's