FunkFreak75 The first release of Larry's material as a solo artist/bandleader. The album puts on display not only his roots, but some of his dreams for where he'd like to try to take music. It also lets people know that here we have a very talented musician/guitarist.

1. Herman Wright (3:21) blues rock built around a "House of the Rising Sun"-like style but with more Terry Kath-like vocals and a track (L) devoted entirely to Larry's fuzzed-up guitar and another (R) that appears in the last minute without the fuzz effect. Not a great song but interesting from an historical perspective. (8.6667/10)

2. "Sunday Telephone" (2:28) a Hendrix-like sound palette with lots of wah-wah lead guitar over which Larry sings with a Gregg Allman-like "Midnight Rider" voice. Not bad! (8.875/10)

3. "Two Minute Classical" (2:08) a full-band instrumental that sounds like a kind of a blend of The Who and The Beatles worked off a mathematical arrangement. Nice guitar performances on multiple tracks. (4.625/5)

4." Love Child Is Coming Home" (2:30) here Larry seems to be trying out Bob Dylan. (4.375/5)

5. "Lady Coryell" (6:31) a full band instrumental psychedelic trip into Larry's sex life: a musical expression of a love making episode with his wife. Did Larry help birth "Southern Rock"? Again, lots of tracks devoted to various guitar styles and sounds here--including one that sounds very much like a sitar (!?) (8.875/10)

6. "The Dream Thing" (2:35) this one sounds like an excursion into the history of the electric guitar with Larry using some genius chord progressions in his three tracks of guitar over drums and bass. I like this one very much: you can really feel Larry's genius for guitar jazz. (9.125/10)

7. "Treats Style" (5:42) like being in the bar for a blues-jazz performance--all instrumental, walking bass line, single line of guitar play. Very nice--and nicely recorded and mixed. When he ramps up both his intensity and clarity/precision at the end of the third minute it's almost as if another guitarist has stepped on stage for a solo turn. (The voices in the background throughout make me think of Buddy Guy.) (9/10)

8. "You Don't Know What Love Is" (2:35) acoustic guitar supporting Larry's plaintive lead--sounding here a bit like Chet Atkins (from a mastery of the melody play--excepting the fact that Chet would play both parts on one guitar, in one track, in one take.) Well done. And pretty! (9/10)

9. "Stiff Neck" (7:12) jazzy R&B drums from Elvin Jones with a jazz- and rock-directed electric guitar playing solo over the top. Elvin is so precise--despite being so syncopated--that his playing sounds as if it were digitally looped. Larry's free-form play, relying on his sound effects as much as his playing dexterity, in the sixth and seventh lends itself toward a psychedelic categorization bordering on that which would become called "heavy metal." (13.25/15)

10. "Cleo's Mood" (4:24) a blues rocker with a great blues "hook" and multiple layers of guitars wailing away over the bass and hand drums. Like a room of hungry cats all impatiently decrying the tardiness of their meal. (8.875/10)

Total Time 39:26

B/four stars; an excellent and very solid display of early, or proto-jazz-rock fusion from one of J-R F's earliest and future stars.

FunkFreak75 One of the most prolific bandleaders in the Jazz-Rock idiom is back with his second studio album expression through his Eleventh House medium. Mainstays include keyboard wizard Mike Mandel, drummer Alphonse Mouzon; the newcomers include bassist John Lee and trumpeter Mike Lawrence--both of whom give the performances of their lives--as well as guest musician (and song contributor) Steve Khan.

1. "Level One" (3:21) a Mike Mandel and Steve Khan composition that opens the album with something quite powerful--not unlike the impact of a Mahavishnu Orchestra song. Great hook, great play from all the musicians. Awesome start to the album! (9.5/10)

2. "The Other Side" (4:35) what play from the rhythm section of Alphonse Mouzon and John Lee! Wow! John is really on fire with that bass! I think the playing of this rhythm section that pushes trumpeter Mike Lawrence to such heights. The use of effects like reverb and wah-wah on Mike's trumpet is very cool. Larry is great "sneaking in" among Mike and the rhythmatists until his solo in the fourth minute. Man! Is he hot! One of my favorite Larry Coryell solos ever, to be sure! There is NO flaw with this amazing song! (Thank you, Michael Lawrence!) (10/10)

3. "Diedra" (3:56) toning it down with a saccharine tune that still manages to convey some jazz and funk despite some smooth melodies and easy-going spaciousness. This song is just so well put together: everybody performing like absolute masters of their instruments, the song (composed by Mike Mandel) founded on a simple BOB JAMES-like formula but embellished subtly as only true professionals could do. (9/10)

4. "Some Greasy Stuff" (3:30) an Alphonse Mouzon compostion that sounds like a submission for a either television show theme song or a Disco cover for a Soul Train dance tune. It's good: the performances are all top notch and seem genuinely inspired; it's just that the song is a little . . . basic. (8.75/10)

5. "Nyctaphobia" (4:03) Oh! Now we're trying some Billy Cobham-level funk furioso! The horns (which I assume owes some credit to keyboard maestro Mike Mandel) are epic! And then the music and musicians just keep driving the music into faster and more furious heights until finally settling into a race across the desert. This Alphonse Mouzon composition is so much superior to the previous one. It reminds me of some of the dramatic music from the first three Chicago albums. (9.3333/10)

6. "Suite" (5:32) (9.25/10): - a) "Entrance" - the first of Side Two's five Larry Coryell compositions is running on high octane, multiple engines. I am super impressed with the piano-centricity of the song and the massively dense wall of sound of this Latin-sounding tune. - b) "Repose" - the slow down is unexpected, sparsely populated (despite the oceanic fretless bass), taking a bit to set up for the trumpet melody setting with all of the subtle contributions of the other band members. - c) "Exit" - the finale starts out like a Mexican fiesta party before settling into a Latin-jazz-rock motif to finish. I'm not quite sure what Larry was setting out to do with this "suite" but it is definitely of the highest caliber in terms of composition and performance.

7. "Eyes of Love" (2:35) an acoustic guitar solo piece. Larry can play some Americana! (and play it complexly, as is his nature). It's not "The Clap" or "Mood for a Day" but it's good. (9/10)

8. "Struttin' with Sunshine" (3:20) Larry launches the band into a rock song only throwing in a couple nearly-undetectable twists and stumbles (to make it not be in the 4/4 time it feels like it's in?) The music played by the rhythm section is a bit boring (though they manage to spice it up subtly) but the guitar, trumpet, and keys on top manage to keep it interesting/entertaining. Larry is just so talented! He jus t lets his skills work on such a subtle level! (You have to be really listening to really fully appreciate his genius). (8.875/10)

9. "That's the Joint" (4:03) a John Lee composition, unfortunately, has the stiff, one- or two-dimensional restrictiveness of his compositional style. Still the rest of the band do their best to make it interesting. (8.75/10)

Total Time 34:55

This album starts out so fast, so hard, with such complexity, displaying such high levels of individual and whole band skill, that it's hard to get a breath in until Side Two. Even "Dierdre" has amazing things happening in it in almost every second of its four minutes. It's not until the album's last two songs that things begin to wane--as if the well is about to run dry; the candle is reaching the end of its wick. Icarus has gotten too close to the sun. This is yet another Larry Coryell album that I have to admit I came into with fairly low expectations but then get absolutely blown away: on so many levels! John Lee! Mike Lawrence! Mike Mandel! Steve Khan! Alphonse Mouzon (drumming, not necessarily composition). And the band leader's generosity in making sure that everyone feels encouraged to feel the freedom to FULLY express themselves!

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of high-caliber Jazz-Rock Fusion. If the entire album were as dynamic and impressive as the five best songs this would be one of the best J-R Fuse albums ever made!

FunkFreak75 For some reason the timeline of Larry Coryell album releases (and recording dates) is jumbled due to his prodigious production output (three albums in 1975, three albums in 1976, two in 1977, four in 1978, two in 1979, and two in 1981).

1. "Kowloon Jag" (5:48) opening with some raw, distorted electric guitar chord play Larry is giving the listener notice with this composition of his that this album is going to be a heavy and aggressive collection of songs similar to those presented to the world with CHICAGO's first three albums back in 1969, 1970 and 1971. The song unfolds with a syncopated jazz-rock motif with Eleventh House's usual full soundscape and an almost Al Di Meola machine gun approach to note and melody delivery from Larry. The psychedelic effects used on several of the instruments are disorienting for their scratchy, heavily distorted quality. John Lee is given quite a space to deliver a bass solo in the fullness of the fifth minute before a bass chords ushers the band to spit out a very tightly played motif of chord play to bring the song to its close. (9/10)

2. "Titus" (5:29) an interesting composition coming from rhythm guitarist Danny Toan, whose only work before this was with Larry Young's Fuel. That's a lot of confidence Larry's instilling in this youngster. What we have here is a quickly established motif that sounds as if it comes straight from James Brown's band, the JBs, horns and all. John Lee and Gerry Brown give the song a bit of a Disco feel from the bottom end, the guitarists adding to this effect, while the R&B horns spice it up like an AVERAGE WHITE BAND song. At the same time Larry grabs the lead with his loud, distorted and compressed bluesy guitar, only spelled by a brief solo from Dave Sanborn's alto sax in the fourth minute. The song kind of drags along repetitiously ad nauseum, even as Larry solos. It's just that (8.75/10)

3. "Pyramids" (5:21) some ISLEY BROTHERS/early KOOL AND THE GANG funk smooths out into some near-Disco stuff on this Mike Mandel composition. At 0:52 it then veers down a different road: somewhere in between the two. Lots of funk (even hand claps and slap-and-plucked bass!) and beneath Larry's bluesy guitar soloing. I'm a bit disappointed as I await some of his runs but only get blues scales and deeply bent notes in an almost BB King sound and style. (8.6667/10)

4. "Rodrigo Reflections" (4:39) solo acoustic guitar on this Coryell composition that sounds more like a cross between Al Di Meola, Shakti John McLaughlin, and Gene Autry. Until the fourth minute, I don't hear much that even remotely reminds me of the guitar music of Joachin Rodrigo. The horse-effect percussion spanning the length of the entire song is rather cheesy. (8.875/10) 5. "Yin-Yang" (4:42) a Lee & Brown composition, it has the mathematically rigid (and soulless) formulaic structure that is, unfortunately, often endemic to John & Gerry's songs but it is, thankfully, livened up quite substantially by the horns section, bass and rhythm guitar play, as well as Larry's electric guitar flashes. (8.75/10) 6. "Woman of Truth and Future" (6:06) though this Mike Mandel song starts out as a very pleasant and laid back spacious electric piano-led tune, it becomes a rather hypnotizing-borderline-obnoxiouss song as its second half is built over a whole-band two-bar riff that is repeated, without break, over the course of the song's final three minutes. It barely works without driving the listener crazy because it is such an unusual chord progression and melody line, but, at the same time, it is so mesmerizing that I often find myself totally tuning out the lead instruments on the top as I try to follow and figure out the odd melody path start to finish, over and over--and this is quite a feat due to the incredibly unusual "cat squealing" sounds being played over the top by Mike's synthesizer for part of that time. Unfortunately, Larry's guitar soloing in the final minute just finds itself buried in the carousel music of the rest of the band. At the same time, I rather like this song: as much if not more than any other on this album. (9/10)

7. "Ain't This" (5:02) thick, chunky rolling bass from composer John Lee is sandwiched between multiple funky keys and rhythm guitar tracks before being covered by the horn section and Larry's loud guitar. Of all the sounds Larry's used on the album up to this point, this is my favorite: it's quite raunchy but clear, like something between Jeff Beck, Ernie Isley, Hiram Bullock, and Dickie Betts & Duane Allman. Those "in-between" tracks from clavinet, electric piano, and very active and "talkative" rhythm guitar are quite amusing--make me want to come back to listen again. The horns are sharp and well-arranged, John's bass solid and tethering throughout, and Larry's guitar is some of the most enjoyable (for me) on the album. A very well developed and realized song. (9.25/10)

8. "Aspects" (4:24) back to a kind of early Kool & The Gang R&B (think "Hollywood Swingin'"). At the one minute mark everyone kind of shifts into Drive but then they hit thick highway traffic and have to make accommodations. I like the funk-R&Bness of this syncopated section. But traffic clears and smooths out and the band starts cruisin' down the highway giving Randy Brecker, Larry (using a Jan Akkerman-like guitar voice), and Mike Mandel plenty of excuses to shout out their enthusiasm for the speed and open top convertible. Definitely a top three song. (9.33333/10)

Total Time 41:31

A lot of the music on this album took many listens in order to capture all of the layers of sophistication being conveyed--an occupation that I very much enjoyed (despite the fact that R&B funk is not as much my jam as much as Jazz-funk is). Though this album may not be quite as enjoyable as its predecessor, it may offer a more mature and fully-developed selection of songs to the listener than Level One.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of very tight, fully-formed R&B Funky Jazz-Rock Fusion.

FunkFreak75 With 1969's Spaces (released, mysteriously, some 19 months after it was recorded), it felt as if guitarist Larry Coryell might have been a little reluctant to jump fully on board the Power Rock infusion of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement, but then I'm sure he could see the commercial, critical, and financial success his band mates from that album were having: John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miroslav Vitous with Weather Report, and Chick Corea with his Return To Forever project. Tapping into some of his more adventurous New York City-based friends this was what he came up with. Released in February of 1974.

1. "Birdfingers" (3:07) Alphonse Mouzon gets us started, showing off a little of his skills before the song's swirling melody lines are launched by Larry Coryell and Randy Brecker and, later, Mike Mandel. Man! These guys are all moving!--especially the afore-mentioned trio. Great opener putting it all out there! (9.75/10)

2. "The Funky Waltz" (5:10) using a "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"-like bass and cymbal foundation the synth, trumpet and electric guitar lines established over the top are nice though the weird "fireworks"-like synth flares are pretty annoying. Larry's mute/wah-affected solos in the second and third minutes have the sound that is similar to that of the pedal steel that I hear from Steely Dan guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on Can't Buy a Thrill or the horns from the Pretzel Logic album. (8.66667/10)

3. "Low-Lee-Tah" (4:17) opening with a reverbed guitar arpeggio display similar to something we all heard on the Mahavishnu albums. The rest of the band slowly joins in, not yet shifting the tempo into anything above first gear but maintaining a great atmosphere of potential energy. Randy Brecker takes the first solo. I wish they had mixed him better: more a part of the song instead of feeling outside of the others. Larry takes the next solo using lots of bending of notes on the fretboards like John McLaughlin does with his special scooped frets for his Indian music. Pretty cool but not perfect. (9/10)

4. "Adam Smasher" (4:30) A bit of a Steely Dan sound to this one with the funk bass and drums and clavinet. Mike Mandel's Fender Rhodes takes the first solo sounding like the next Bob James generation of the Herbie/Chick sound. Randy's solo is interesting for his virtuosic use of the muting device. Larry's solo is next: he's using a wah-pedal/device that gives another shape and sound to his dextrous guitar play. (It almost sounds like the talkbox tube made famous by Peter Frampton.) (8.875/10)

5. "Joy Ride" (6:08) more laid back music that allows more space for the musicians to be heard and appreciated. During the first two minutes as the band establishes the foundations and framework of the song, Larry's guitar playing sounds almost like he's playing an acoustic: so smooth and fluid. Later he gets more aggressive and fiery in his particular way. The keys are particularly noticeable throughout, feeling something between Herbie Hancock and Bob James. I like the picking up of the pace in the fifth minute for the duelling between Larry and the wah-effected ARP and trumpet. Overall, another song that is perhaps a little too simple in its basic construct: like having white bread when you want wheat or rye. (8.75/10)

6. "Yin" (6:03) more power jazz-rock fusion that seems to be trying to sound like Billy-Cobham led Mahavishnu music. I like Larry's abrasive rhythm guitar while supporting Randy Brecker's great first solo. His solo in the third minute over the high-speed rhythm track below is awesome--as is the hard-driving work of bassist Danny Trifan and drummer Mouzon. Perhaps the best song on the album. Randy, Alphonse, and Danny are extraordinary. (9.75/10)

7. "Theme for a Dream" (3:26) slow and dreamy with a bit of a feel of an interlude song from a Broadway musical. The kind of musical landscape that spawned the Easy Listening and Smooth Jazz genres of music. Larry's muted and effected guitar sounds a lot like the virtuosic background guitar play of Steely Dan's great guitarists like Larry Carlton, Jay Graydon, Dean Parks, Hugh McCracken, and Lee Ritenour. It's pretty! (8.875/10)

8. "Gratitude 'A So Low'" (3:21) a solo electric guitar song from Larry. Not very melodic nor even super impressive! (8.666667/10)

9. "Ism - Ejercicio" (3:59) trying to be heavy and ominous, it's just not working: neither the chord progression, low end, or pacing. The bass-and-drum race of the second minute is an odd and not altogether engaging motif, nor is the next heavy, plodding Mahavishnu-like blues-rock motif over which Randy's muting play solo ensues. Then there is the YES-like motif in the final minute in which Alphonse's drumming sounds out of sync with the others. (8.6666667/10)

10. "Right On Y'All" (4:21) a fairly together fast-driving song with more sounds and stylings that remind me of Steely Dan as well as some annoying cowbell, guitar play, and synth noises. (8.75/10)

Total Time 44:22

All of Larry's bandmates are quite competent with drummer Alphonse Mouzon receiving a lot of attention for his dynamic work, but, for me, it is trumpeter Randy Brecker who keeps stealing my attention away from the others--even from Larry himself. I agree with other reviewers that the songwriting on this album seemed to take a back seat to A) fitting into the genre and B) showing off the skills of the individual musicians.

For as talented and skilled as Larry Coryell was, he must have had a stubborn streak running deep inside cuz the dude never quite fit in--never became as famous, always stuck to a very eccentric agenda and style of music--even his guitar sound remained "stuck" inside some kind of dirty, raunchy, macho that sounded as if he had to make more noise than everyone else. Maybe he had some kind of inferiority complex that he was compensating for. Maybe it's because he had to wear glasses. Or because he was from Seattle. But he had cool hair! My point is: the dude never really moved to the front of the class and I think this had a lot to do with his stubbornly eccentric choices: he wanted to be different and he was; it was just not the kind of 'different' that propels one to the top of the charts or in front of sold-out arena-size audiences.

B+/4.5 stars; there are some great, top tier J-R Fuse tunes and performances here--some real highs--but there are also a few duds, making this album as a whole the kind of middle of the road.

FunkFreak75 An album with a most impressive list of collaborators!

Line-up / Musicians: - Larry Coryell / guitar, all instruments (4) With: - Mike Lawrence / trumpet (1,3) - Mike Mandel / electric piano & synth (1,3) - Danny Trifan / bass (1,3) - Alphonse Mouzon / percussion (1,3) - John McLaughlin / guitar solo (2,5) - Chick Corea / electric piano (2) - Miroslav Vitous / double bass (2,5) - Billy Cobham / drums (2,5)

1. "Cover Girl" (5:38) Larry and company with new and more electronic effects. (8.75/10)

2. "Tyrone" (11:38) impressive performances from a lineup of Jazz-Rock Fusion's All-Time Greats (John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Billy Cobham, Miroslav Vitous, and of course, the Godfather of Fusion himself) on a song that never really invites the listener in. Eleven-and-a-half minutes is a long time to be sitting on the outside looking in, listening and waiting, hoping to get the magic ticket into the inneren Sanktum. But, for me, at least, it never comes. (17.5/20)

3. "Rocks" (4:48) the most melodic and yet most traditionally-jazz start to any song on the album, but then it takes off and speeds down the autobahn at breakneck speeds with all the abandon of a top-notch jazz-rock band that is intent on impressing. Nice funk coming from Mike Mandel's Fender Rhodes and some awesome semi-muted trumpet from Mike Lawrence. I really like this Randy Brecker composition. (So, where was Randy when his song was being recorded?) (9/10)

4. "The Eyes of Love" (3:21) an acoustic guitar piece that includes multiple tracks all performed by Larry. Nice even if it is a little more on the Hendrix & Bayou bluesy side for my likes. (8.875/10)

5. "Planet End" (8:45) back to the same combo of all-stars from the album's second song, "Tyrone," including Billy Cobham, Miroslav Vitous, and John McLaughlin. Since Larry and Miroslav get the initial leads we get to hear the wonderfully-creative chord-play of the Mahavishnu in the role of accompanist. As always, I find myself far more intrigued by John's "rhythm" guitar work than anyone else trying to solo or drive the song from the rhythm section. As a matter fact, there is a frame in the fourth minute where it feels as if drummer Billy Cobham actually loses his connection with the rest of the players! (Maybe he dropped a stick, cuz right after he gets back up to speed and really shows some amazing chops!) (17.5/20)

Total Time 34:10

To my ears and brain, this album feels like the dumping ground for a lot of "extras"--songs that failed to make other albums and were here collected, dusted off, merged onto one tape, and published. Nice performances by some very skilled and proficient jazz-rock fusion all stars but, ultimately, lacking any music or melodic in-roads for the Whereas the previous Larry Coryell album that I reviewed was one of my favorite and most enjoyable listening experiences in a long time, this album has set me back once again in my journey to love and enjoy the music and guitar playing of Larry Coryell, this album experience was more akin to those I've had in response to listening to Bitches Brew, Emergency!, or even the first Mwandishi album--too founded in the (still) foreign language that was 1960s Hard Bob jazz.

B/four stars; a solid display of jazz-heavy Jazz-Rock Fusion that sounds as if it comes from the earlier days of the movement rather than a true 1975 album would/should be; an album that is as dense and inaccessible to the ignorant outsider as any Hard Bop 60s album.

Slartibartfast As Larry moves into his 60's, he hasn't lost his touch. I was actually expecting a more comprehensive look back on his music. Considering the amount of music Coryell has created, that's really an impossibility. What you get is a resurrection of his early electric period in the '70's primarily. Turns out that for what I have from that period, I'm getting a lot of stuff I haven't heard. Those who have followed his career know that he went through a long acoustical guitar period and currently plays more straightforward jazz rather than jazz rock/fusion. If he's going to start moving back to that kind of music, you can count me in.

What's nice about this set of music is it really doesn't sound dated. It's rather fresh. Although I must admit I am hearing some of it for the first time.

One complaint though, the musician's credits aren't in the box or booklet except for three of the guests. I know the white haired guy playing guitar is Larry. The bass player was really impressive. And I did get that Larry's son Julian was the primary second guitarist.

Anyway, seeing Larry play live electric on DVD is great. It's been years since I last saw him live and in person, but never on electric, if memory serves. Also a great way to get to know this important musician. You get two DVDs which include rehearsal footage and interviews.