BRUFORD: GRADUALLY GOING TORNADO

This, musically, is another fine album by Bill Bruford's fusion band (the first studio recording with John Clark instead of Allan Holdsworth on guitar), but I kind of wish they had left the vocals off of this one. As usual on a Bruford album, the compositions are intense and complex, the performances are fantastic, rooted by Bruford's amazing drumming and bassist Jeff Berlin's always intense bass lines. But the vocal melodies come across as something of an afterthought, wandering aimlessly around the instrumentation. And the vocal production to me sounds a bit off, as Jeff Berlin's voice seems a bit thin for the material he is singing.

But, all-in-all, not a bad listen.