PURE MUSIC

Ennea did not repeat the commercial success of the band's debut album, due to the lack of a top 40 hit, which made Bill Chase make a few new changes is the lineup and sound department. The new additions included most notably Jim Peterik on vocals, who will be later known for his work with Survivor and their '80s hit Eye of the Tiger. But the new vocalist proved to have surprisingly little work on this album since almost 80% of Pure Music consists of just that!

Sound-wise the music had moved away from the typical early '70s U.S. big band sound and was now, for most part, pure Jazz Rock/Fusion material that most fans of the genre connect to the late '70s albums where this music was arguably at its peak. Of course Chase had not yet entirely lost their commercial aspirations and the album does feature two shorter performances where Run Back To Mama is quite a fun little track while Love Is On The Way is not so much due to its pretty obvious direction and laughable lyrics.

All of the four instrumentals on Pure Music are credited to Bill Chase which was the first time since the debut album opener Open Up Wide that he would solely be credited for the material. These compositions are easily the best moments in the band's discography with tight experimental Jazz Rock/Fusion performances that show how much the Chase had matured over the course of the previous two years. I like how Bill Chase finally went on to try the 7+ minute format that really seemed to fit the band's sound. Both Twinkles and Close Up Tight are excellent compositions well worth your attention. The former is easily this album's highlight that shows solo trumpet work from Bill Chase that definitely puts him among the best brass instrumentalists of our time.

Pure Music marks a career highlight for Chase which unfortunately would be the last one of its kind. The tragic plane crash on the way to a scheduled gig at the Jackson County Fair took the lives of Bill Chase, keyboardist Wally Yohn, drummer Walter Clark and guitarist John Emma marking the end of Chase. This event becomes even more heartbreaking when realizing that this was only the early days of Jazz Rock/Fusion and who knows what gems Chase could have offered the genre if only the band would continue on the same course towards the end of the '70s. This is definitely my favorite Chase-album and another excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

***** star songs: Twinkles (7:15)

**** star songs: Weird Song #1 (5:40) Run Back To Mama (3:14) Bochawa (5:52) Close Up Tight (7:35)

*** star songs: Love Is On The Way (3:31)