BELIEVE IT

The best thing about late drummer Tony Williams' fifth record - sixth if his first solo release 'Lifetime' from 1964 is counted - is Tony Williams, and all the reasons for Miles Davis' praise of him are obvious on 'Believe It'. The material is inconsistent at times and often lacks the progressive and compositional spark that, by 1975, was rather important in jazz rock. Nor did it pack the emotional wallop or groundbreaking free spirit of his 'Emergency!' set. But it contains quality performances, nice energy and gives a good name to the much-bemoaned funkier side of Fusion. Tony Newton's low-riding enveloped bass beat starts 'Snake Oil' joined by a cool triplet from Allan Holdsworth and jammed with monster fills from Williams. But tracks such as 'Fred', though more than competent, seem stale and strangely tame. Keyboardist Alan Pasqua penned 'Proto-Cosmos' and the band smokes here, showing a wide range of modern jazz skills, one of the more vibrant moments. 'Red Alert' is quite decent traditional jazz-rock with some uninhibited guitar, drowsy 'Wildlife', and Holdsworth's Trekkie fanboyism shows on 'Mr. Spock', a good if forgettable piece. Somewhat lackluster, still four great players doing what they do best. Two bonus tracks included on the re-release.