WORTH A LISTEN
Rating: 
There can never be too many recordings from the early 70s featuring keyboardist Jan Hammer. At the time, Hammer was simply on fire. On John Abercrombie’s Timeless, he’s featured on organ, synthesizer and piano. Too bad he had to be playing with guitarist John Abercrombie. I’m sorry, but no way is Abercrombie qualified to trade fours with Hammer. Abercrombie’s intonation is sloppy as heck. He misses the notes he’s aiming for half of the time. His note choices aren’t very interesting. He can’t even stay in rhythm.
Check out the fierce and uptempo Lungs. Abercrombie’s solos are embarassing. He’s the weakest link on his own date. He should be relegated to playing color, like he is on Dave Liebman’s Lookout Farm.
On the other hand, Jack DeJohnette is one of the great drummers, which helps to give Timeless some badly needed drive and swing.
Why on earth did Abercrombie want Jan Hammer to play on this date? Didn’t Abercrombie realize that Hammer’s hair-trigger accuracy would make Abercrombie look like a fool? Apparently not.
Thanks to Hammer and DeJohnette, Timeless has a pretty nifty sound. Listen to Hammer’s gorgeous acoustic piano on Ralph’s Piano Waltz. Too bad so much of Timeless is dominated by wanky guitar solos.
If you want to hear Hammer better showcased in a trio setting, check out Elvin Jones’ On The Mountain, which is absolutely killer.
For Jan Hammer fanatics, Timeless is worth owning. For everyone else, don’t bother.
If you found this post helpful, share it by clicking on one of these icons!
Related posts:
- The New Standard - Herbie Hancock
- Power To The People - Joe Henderson
- Straight Life - Freddie Hubbard
- The Lost Trident Sessions - Mahavishnu Orchestra
- Tales Of The Hudson - Michael Brecker
Comments
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under 1970s, Fusion, Reviews, Worth A Listen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Oooh, scathing review of Abercrombie’s performance of Lungs! I’ll listen more critically next time, I guess I’m just so washed away by the sound, which you know is very easy with Lungs, I’m not thinking about particulars. Ralph’s Piano Waltz is *gorgeous*, better suited to Abercrombie’s style than Lungs. For the longest time it was the only piece on the album that I would listen to. It took me a while to get into the Hammer sound. I used to feel that the pace of Lungs was too rushed, but I “get it” now, and the transition between the first and second parts is absolutely dreamy. I’m going to find the other version of Lungs you referenced in a different thread, with Elvin Jones and Gene Perla. I’ve had limited exposure to Jones, primarily through A Love Supreme. It’s hard for me to imagine him doing Lungs, and I’m absolutely enamored with de Johnette’s performance of it, but I have faith that Jones won’t be disappointing.