HIDEAWAY

Virtuoso Bassist Stanley Clarke has been around for a long time, and he's one of the most admired and skilled musicians (of the Bass world) I've heard (along with Jeff Berlin, Les Claypool, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Percy Jones, Jannik Top.......) but unfortunately I'm not the biggest 'Fusion' fan - Jazz-Rock yes, Fusion, not so much. 'Hideaway' sees Clarke well into the 80's - neatly cropped mop and a Country-Road jumper with the sleeves scrunched up to his elbows, the music is as neatly manicured as he is. The overall sound of the album is one that's so polished it almost sounds inhuman - don't get me wrong, the playing is superb, his supporting cast of musicians is great, ranging from the likes of drummers Rayford Griffin and Stewart Copeland, to members of his old 'Schooldays' project. Most of the keyboards are played by Alan Pasqua and can sound quite lush. The songs range from easy listening instrumentals, of which a cover version of Stevie Wonder's 'Overjoyed' is quite superb, very mellow, yet I'd swear that the strings of Stanley's bass were molten by the time he finished his blistering solo part. In fact, most of the non-vocal tunes are smooth and laid-back 'fuzak' which are perfectly executed, but those which contain vocals (courtesy of soul oriented singers Angela Bofill, Bernard Jackson and Larry Graham) I find too commercial and 'pedestrian' for my liking. This one goes down as an 80's Jazz-Pop album with some pleasing-to-the-ear instrumentals. 3 stars.