STANLEY CLARKE

This is the first time I ever owned a solo album by Stanley Clarke and I choose a great one too! Some people refer this as his debut, forgetting about Children of Forever on Polydor (obvious reference to Return to Forever in the title) where he was billed as Stan Clarke. I guess I shied away from his solo work fearing inappropriate soulful ballads in between mindblowing fusion instrumentals. Not here. Here he gets former RTF guitarist Bill Connors, former Miles Davis and Lifetime drummer Tony Williams, and former Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist Jan Hammer, plus the occasional horns and strings. Not too surprising, the music has that RTF and Mahavishnu feel throughout. While it's clear that Stanley's bass takes center stage, none of the other three guys were any slouches. "Vulcan Princess" (I imagine that title a Star Trek reference) has that funky bass playing and I can't help but be reminded of Lenny White's funkier moments of Venusian Summer which was released a year later on the same label. "Yesterday Princess" is the only vocal cut, and luckily Stanley avoids those soul cliches which is a big plus. "Lopsy Lu" and "Power" tends more towards jamming in that Mahavishnu and RTF vein. "Spanish Phases for Strings & Bass" is basically a showpiece for Stanley's stand-up bass playing, with strings occasionally popping up. "Life Suite" is a killer closing piece with some wonderful inventive drumming from Tony Williams and great Moog soloing from Jan Hammer. Great stuff that's well worth hearing.