BELIEVE IT

Never one to give a musician credit just because he "played with Miles", I have to admit, however, that it's clear from this album that Tony Williams has got some chops. Most of these are great songs to either nod your head to absent-mindedly or listen intensely to what Williams, and sometimes Holdsworth, are doing.

This feels very minimalist to me, as it is clearly the Tony Williams show, featuring Holdsworth on cue for solos and rhythm, with the keys and bass often relegated to simple chugging along, if even playing at all. Fortunately, that's OK, because it helps Believe It to stand somewhat uniquely among the riff-assaults of much fusion at the time. It's tough to do minimalism while still rocking and keeping things interesting (thus ruling out punk, if that's what you were thinking!)

My favorites are Snake Oil, Fred and Mr. Spock, although the whole album fits the chill-yet-with-a-bite classification. Snake Oil is a great strutter, with a simple yet catchy bass intro, and toe-tapping melody (though it certainly gets repetitive after a while). Mr. Spock is probably my favorite, as it really pushes the tempo and has a great attitude to it--not to mention the highlight toward the end where Williams takes the solo with Holdsworth on rhythm. Great stuff!

I'm not as high on this as some due to the lack of virtuosic playing (sans Williams) and absence of creative songwriting in most places. Nothing about this album screams fantastic, but it's quite good, and a bonus is that not just proggers will likely dig it. Just a solid lineup of fusion rock songs, played very well, with a few truly memorable tunes thrown in there.