Believe It! - Tony Williams Lifetime

Mar

22

Believe It! - Tony Williams Lifetime

≡ Category: 1970s, Essential, Fusion, Jazz Funk, Jazz Rock, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING

Rating:

I know that there are four musicians listed as playing on Believe It!, but really, it’s a two man show. There’s Tony Williams, who has all but abandoned his beloved ride cymbal and the polyrhythmic subtleties of the Miles Davis years and just bashes away on the drums (pure testosterone minus the stupidity, if you can imagine such a thing). Then there’s Allan Holdsworth, with his emotionally charged, revved up guitar solos, the brute force of rock somehow channeled through Coltrane’s sheets of sound concept.

The bassist (Tony Newton) and keyboardist (Alan Pasqua) wisely do their best to get out of the way.

The relative abilities of Pasqua and Holdsworth are highlighted on Fred, when Pasqua takes his first solo on the vamp, a goofy sounding minor 7th tonic chord to another minor 7th a whole note below and back again. Pasqua solo is clumsy and hesitant and makes songwriter Holdsworth look incompetent. Then Holdsworth takes over the reins. That same vamp now seems brilliant as Holdsworth finds ways to weave melodies and suggest harmonies that aren’t really there at all. Tony Williams follows Holdsworth with every twist and turn, intensifying the drama. It’s spellbinding stuff.

The whole album is this way, ending on a bang with the tribute cut Mr. Spock. Fittingly, Holdsworth and Williams trade places to close out the tune, Holdsworth banging out power chords as a rhythmic anchor for Williams to hang his solo on. Williams bashes away on his drum kit as the track fades out, the imaginary Mr. Spock wishing us peace and prosperity as he disappears beyond the horizon.