BRUFORD: GRADUALLY GOING TORNADO

Bill Bruford

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.52 | 137 ratings

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SouthSideoftheSky
Special Collaborator
Symphonic Team

Bruford's end

This album appeared just one year after the well-regarded One Of A Kind, but it is nonetheless quite different in style compared to that album. While One Of A Kind was an all-instrumental album (with the exception of the annoying spoken word passage on Fainting In Coils), Gradually Going Tornado features lead vocals by bassist Jeff Berlin on several tracks. Berlin also wrote one of the album's tracks on his own and co-wrote another. The style of many songs could perhaps be called progressive Jazz-Pop and several tracks remind me of Gentle Giant circa The Missing Piece to Civilian. Another comparison could perhaps be Steve Hackett solo around Cured and Highly Strung.

Guitarist Allan Holdsworth is no longer involved here, but he has been replaced by a student of his called John Clark apparantly on Holdsworth's recommendation. Clark has learned well from the master as he does indeed sound just like Holdsworth. Dave Stewart remains behind the keyboards and the most noteworthy thing about this album for me is the ten minute plus closing track Land's End penned by Stewart. This is an altogether more symphonic piece which makes it stand out from the other tracks.

Overall, I enjoy this album less than One Of A Kind but more than the debut Feels Good To Me. This was to be the end of Bruford as a band as Bill went on to other projects after this recording including further work with King Crimson and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (in which he brought Jeff Berlin with him) and Yes' Union.

Gradually Going Tornado is worth having but hardly an essential album.

SouthSideoftheSky | 3/5 | 2015-4-24

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