BRUFORD: GRADUALLY GOING TORNADO

Word on the street is that compared to the other two studio albums by this group, Bill Bruford's drumming on this LP is uncharacteristically straightforward. It's also been said that Jeff Berlin's singing is pedestrian. I can confirm that both of these are true, and that as a result, Gradually Going Tornado is quite different from Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind. Combine all of this with the loss of guitar virtuoso Allan Holdsworth, and it's probably a surprise that this album is the best of the three produced by this group.

I think the key to the success of Gradually Going Tornado are the ensemble arrangements, led by Dave Stewart's often eccentric keyboard parts and Jeff Berlin's manic basslines. As others have pointed out, Bruford's drumming is closer to traditional rock than to the inventive, oddly-accented playing he delivered on Fragile or Earthworks. The result, while still arguably classifiable as 'Jazz-rock/Fusion,' is less improvisational, and maybe more symphonic, than the group's other two studio efforts. Somehow, the generally unremarkable vocals don't detract from the proceedings, as they might have on a jazzier album. (Since I mention the other instrumentalists here, I'll add that Holdsworth's replacement on guitar, John Clark, is quite up to the task.)

The highlights are the vocal tracks 'Age of Information,' 'Plans for J.D,' and 'Gothic 17,' and Berlin's instrumental 'Joe Frazier.'