SOLID

As Mandrill moved from the early 70s to the middle of the decade, their lengthy 'jazz odysseys' were being shortened a bit, but on Solid, Mandrill still presents a few lengthy compositions as well as their usual vast smorgasbord of styles including funk, Latin jazz, African soundtracks, 70s brass-rock, psychedelia and jazzy orchestrated soul music. Just as classic progressive rock bands began to decline in the mid-70s, a new generation of progressive funk and RnB bands such as Funkadelic and Earth Wind & Fire were having a revitalizing effect on Mandrill and many others as well. Some other bands you might hear influencing this album include Santana, War, Isaac Hayes, Chicago's 1st album and mid-70s Frank Zappa.

This really isn't 'prog-rock' per se, but I know a lot of you who get into 'proggy' funk and RnB, plus a big dose of proto-world beat jazzy fusion African rock could dig this really fun and never boring album that features one of the very best and most versatile bands ever. In an ongoing testament to their love of music and creativity in general, Mandrill continues to record and tour to this day.