js "Imaginary Voyage" is just one of thousands of funk and progressive rock influenced jazz fusion records that came out in the mid-70s. The songs on this album are good and the musicians are excellent, but give it a spin and boredom is likely to set in before the album is finished. One of the first problems with this record is that it came out in 1976 instead of the earlier part of that decade. If this record had come out before '74 the music would have been fresh and innovative and it would have shown in the musician's playing. Instead, by '76 these guys had already been playing this style, or similar styles, in various bands for more than half a decade. The fact that these guys are on familiar territory shows in the spotless but risk-free solos.

Another problem with this record is the production. For some reason, as the decade wore on, producers felt a need to make jazz fusion into some sort of modern muzak, or fuzak as it has often been referred to. The compression on here is so tight that all the highs and lows in the volume have been taken out leaving a bland sameness. The equalization also aims for that washed-out middle ground. It's a shame because any attempt at high energy playing just doesn't come across on the speakers.

There are two songs on here that deserve special mention, one bad and the other good. "New Country" is the bad, it consists of a pounding disco beat topped with hoe-down fiddle music, need I say more. The good is "Imaginary Voyage" part II which is one of those mysterious Scriabin-like chord progressions that used to be popular with John McLaughlin and people who worked with him in the early 70s. This is a style of jazz-fusion that unfortunately has faded over the years.

This isn't a bad record, but it could have been a lot better if the producers hadn't tried to so hard to squelch everything, and if the musicians would have been willing to take a few risks.

FunkFreak75 The first album into my Jean-Luc Ponty collection and still a favorite.

1. "New Country" (3:07) what a way to show off the collective skills of the new crew! Daryl Stuerner impresses from the get-go! (9.5/10)

2. "The Gardens Of Babylon" (5:06) on of the 1970s most beautiful jazz-rock instrumentals--a harbinger of the Smooth Jazz and Adult Contemporary Music that would become so radio popular in the late 70s and 1980s. (10/10)

3. "Wandering On The Milky Way" (Violin Solo) (1:50) a precursor to my favorite J-L Ponty song of all-time, "Cosmic Messenger," as well as to the "George Romero" solo on 1984's Individual Choice. (4.375/5)

4. "Once Upon A Dream" (4:08) very pleasant and engaging/melodic jazz-rock. Some great bass and keyboard play from Tom Fowler and Allan Zavod, respectively. (9/10)

5. "Tarantula" (4:04) more on the rock side of things, not the Tango I was expecting. A little too static and repetitive in the support of J-L's violin work. (8.666667/10)

6. "Imaginary Voyage" : - a. Part I (2:22) a play on RTF and Mahavishnu (4.425/5) - b. Part II (4:05) a more laid back, slow cruisin' song--quite typical of one to two songs per album over the next ten years for Jean-Luc. Nice spaciousness given Allan Zavod for his solo in the second half.(8.75/10) - c. Part III (5:28) a song with a little more evenly-parsed musical expression: everybody is on high-gear throughout and the solos all excel. (9/10) - d. Part IV (8:00) the catchiest part of the suite and, therefore, the highlight. Great solo from Daryl, great bass work from Tom Fowler, and, of course, Jean-Luc. (14/15)

Total Time 38:10

My introduction to the world of Jean-Luc Ponty, I am still a huge fan of the opening two songs, "New Country" and "Gardens of Babylon"--the latter being one of the most gorgeous and emotional songs from the classic era of progressive rock and a progenitor of the Smooth Jazz movement while the former represents pure fun and unadulterated joy. The side-long "Imaginary Voyage" suite on Side Two was always a bit inaccessible to me until I recognized the tremendous similarities to the music of one of my favorite 1970s prog albums, 1974's Todd Rundgren's Utopia, as well as a melodiousness similar to the same period's work of WEATHER REPORT. The album as whole offers great contributions from all of Jean-Luc's session men--especially keyboardist Allan Zavod, fledgling guitarist Daryl Stuermer, bassist Tom Fowler and drummer Mark Craney (who would go on to serve Jean-Luc, Niteflyte, PhD., Jethro Tull, Dana, Headpins, Tommy Bolin, and Gino Vanelli each on multiple over the next three decades and for whom Imaginary Voyage represents the 22-year old's first studio album). Then there is Jean-Luc himself: Really, folks, has there ever been anyone with a more beautiful, creative, and dynamic contribution to the place of violin in rock music much less jazz, jazz fusion, and progressive rock? I would argue that there is not.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion and one of my all-time favorite Jean-Luc Ponty albums.

Sean Trane As with most of Ponty’s solo album (in the second part of the 70’s anyway), we are always dealing with a relatively soft jazz-rock , not far from ECM jazz but also not that far away from elevator music if the artiste is not careful with his musical intentions.

Apart from the highly problematic opener (meaning I hate it ;-) which is a disco-like jig, the album, this album is a typical Ponty album of the second half of the 70’s and has the same flaws as those: generally a directionless instrumental jam-like (although staying very concise) atmosphere but with some of the era’s synthesizers (which have aged much worse than their previous generations) and a sense of too little ideas stretched out too long creating a sense of déjà-vu. From the first side of the vinyl, I will single out Babylon and Milky Way as highlights, but none of the tracks (bar the opener) are anything else but good.

The second side is taken up by a frankly too-long 20-min title track with the better moments being the closing ones. The problem is that with this instrumental JR/F is that you are never really sure on which track you are unless you have played them albums countless times. Unfortunately for Jean-Luc, I get tired of the album quicker then I stop counting.

Certainly not his best album, but you could get into this one as well, as most of his albums from that period resemble each other. Nothing groundbreaking or essential, but pleasant if a little pointless; Désolé Jean-Luc, on en a un, on les a tous!