FunkFreak75 An album offering quite a diverse palette of what Jazz-Rock Fusion was offering at the time of its making, the truly surprising element of these songs is how well they were composed and how amazingly well each song's multitude of tracks were recorded and mixed (not to mention performed).

A1. "Chicken-Fried Steak" (4:33) credited to New York City homeboys Doug Rauch and Doug Rodrigues, this is tight and funky music but not really great prog or jazz-rock. (8.75/10)

A2. "Away Go Troubles (Down The Drain)" (3:21) another song Lenny credits to the two NYC Dougs (and himself), this one is more sophisticated funk: there are several highly-demanding tracks woven together here in absolute vacuum-sealed tightness. The bass play alone seems near impossible! (8.875/10)

"The Venusian Summer Suite: - A3. Part 1. "Sirenes" (4:28) lots of ethereal/heavenly synth and fluegelhorn play from keyboard triumvirate of Patrick Gleeson (Mwandishi synth master), Pete(r) Robinson (the same dude from QUARTERMASS, Swedish band ABLUTION, and BRAND X), and trumpeter Tom Harrell (the song's orchestrator). It's long and kind of dull but very space-cinematic and probably experimental song for 1975--kind of similar to the work Klaus Schulze was doing at the same time. A Lenny White composition! (8.75/10)

- A4. Part 2. "Venusian Summer" (6:38) the suite kicks into full form with a very engaging/infectious DEODATO-kind of cinematic funkness. The synth players (Gleeson and Robinson), clavinet (Robinson) and rhythm guitarists (uncredited), and, later, Hubert Laws' flute, David Sancious' MiniMoog, and Onaje Allan Gumbs' piano soloists are so locked in it's crazy! But it's free-flowing Doug Rauch that really drives this bus! (9.5/10)

B1. "Prelude To Rainbow Delta" (1:10) Patrick Gleeson doing some synthesizer magic as an intro-prelude to the next song (which it bleeds into). (4.5/5)

B2. "Mating Drive" (7:40) between the "support" work of organist Larry Young, clavinet player Onaje Allan Gumbs, and hyper-speed bass player Doug Rauch this Lenny White composition would suffice as an incredible song but then put over the top one of the greatest electric guitar performances of all-time from a relative newcomer in one Raymond Gomez (with a very strong Doug Rodrigues in close support/assistance) and this one qualifies as one of those Golden Tickets into Prog's Hall of Valhalla. And that's not even mentioning the dreamy final 90-seconds beneath which Lenny gets to really show off his chops (for once). Amazing amazing song! One of my favorite songs of all-time! Such creative vision! (16/15)

B3. "Prince Of The Sea" (11:37) a great song (and Lenny White composition) over which two of jazz-rock fusion's greatest/most influential guitarists go head to head. Opened slowly, almost like a pastoral float down a lazy, gentle stream, is the distant plaintive calls of a bird over some piano and flugelhorn work. The acoustic piano beneath it all is quite lovely. In the second half of the fourth minute one of the electric guitar gods (Larry Coryell) shows up to give his demo of his powers. Onaje Allan Gumbs' shows up with piano, electric piano and organ ofr a bit as some really fine rhythm guitar (DiMeola) seethes in the background. At the seven-minute mark he is finally let loose--and man does he let you know who the new kid on the block is! All other pretenders are now demoted to demi-god status! Organ notes the transition to the axe-to-axe cmbat at 9:00, with Larry in the Right channell and Al in the Left. Lenny and Doug Rauch are, all this time, observing from their sentinel posts, but even their own performances can't help but ramp up from the carry-over effect from the raging warriors. A minute later the two guitar gods agree to team up and, for a brief 40 seconds they are united, but then their independent energies can't help but take them into soaring heights before crashing down into the sea Definitely one of the fiercest one-on-one guitar battles you'll ever hear--and a great, great moment in the history of prog rock and jazz-rock fusion. (20/20)

I cannot fathom how anyone hearing this album could not be blown away by the musicianship here. Doug Rauch on bass, Lenny White on drums, along with a veritable who's who of jazz fusion all-stars guesting throughout, all playing as if their life depended on it. The song "Mating Drive" alone has got to be one of the greatest achievements in music performance with peak Lenny, Doug, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Doug Rodrigues, organist extraordinaire Larry Young, and the most under-recognized super guitarist of all-time, Ray Gomez, shredding the vinyl grooves with nothing but fire and brimstone! This album has it all: cinematic themes, four-keyboard electronica, funky fun, frenetic screams, players taxing their fingers and brains at break-neck speeds (check out Larry Coryell trying to keep up with Al Di Meola on "Prince of the Sea"). Another of my "closet favorites" from the 70s, this one has stood the test of time and remains one of my go-to albums for joy and exuberance. If you've never heard it, don't miss out! Venusian Summer has got some of the most amazing moments of virtuosity, passion, and beauty ever put to vinyl!

As a post script I have to add, again, for the sake of attracting attention, the number of INCREDIBLE individual performances here are so high caliber, so stunning, that this alone should make this a must listen--an album for study. As I said in my opening statement, I cannot fathom how anyone hearing this album--really listening with their fully-present self--could not be blown away by the musicianship here. There are very few albums that I've heard in my lifetime that achieve this level and number of "WOW! What the f¥¢∑ did I just hear?" responses. Plus, this may be the recorded peak of supernova bass player Doug Rauch's career! That alone, makes this a "can't be missed" listen.

A/five stars; a high-flyin' masterpiece of jazz-rock infused progressive rock music (this despite the funk of the first two songs). Definitely one of my Top 10 Favorite Jazz-Rock Fusion Albums of the "Classic Era."

Miler72 This album did nothing but just totally blow me away! Lenny White had already played for Miles Davis on his classic Bitches Brew, and then later on Return to Forever starting with Hymn of the Seventy Galaxy and ending with Romantic Warrior. Venusian Summer was obviously recorded while he was still with RTF, but here he doesn't have a regular band, he has varying guests appear on each cut, including Larry Young (who played with John McLaughlin on Devotion, as well as Love, Devotion, Surrender with McLaughlin and Carlos Santana, as well as tons albums under his own name), David Sancious, Ray Gomez, Doug Rauch (who played on Santana's Caravanserai and Welcome, as well as Love, Devotion, Surrender), Patrick Gleeson (Herbie Hancock's Crossings and Sextant, Julian Priester's Love Love), Peter Robinson (Quatermass, Sun Treader, Brand X), Al DiMeola (RTF), Larry Coryell and others.

The first two songs, "Chicken Fried Steak" and "Away Goes Trouble Down the Drain" (the latter an obvious reference to Roto Rooter, a major plumbing service here in America for you non-American readers, that's been their slogan for as long as I can remember) are just simply amazing funky songs, but I really love how Lenny White diverts from the funk template and gets more experimental. The title track, for example, is a two part piece that starts off rather spacy and eerie, but the second part gets more into fusion territory, a bit like Mahavishnu Orchestra or Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy-era RTF. "Prelude to the Rainbow Delta" is another short spacy ambient piece that leads to "Mating Drive". Here it still starts spacy and calm, with some faint eerie Mellotron choirs, but then the music really goes into such overdrive it even makes Mahavishnu Orchestra look like slouches (which is something you'd never say especially with the original lineup). "Prince of the Sea" is a bit more calm, but not in the spacy ambient territory. Here you get plenty of dueling guitar from Al DiMeola and Larry Coryell.

I almost forgot to mention the cover. This reminds me of how an H.R. Giger painting would look like if there was color and all the nightmare, alien and death imagery removed (no skulls, skeletons, or creatures from the movie Alien or looks like it should belong said movie franchise). It's because the lady's face reminded me of a Giger paint.

Anyways, Venusian Summer is nothing short of amazing! Many fusion albums seem to stick to one thing throughout and can get a bit monotonous, but here Lenny White really spices it up by exploring different ideas throughout the album, from funk, to full-on Mahavishnu Orchestra-like guitar-driven fusion to spacy ambient parts. I really can't find much fault in this album. It's not mentioned the same way as say, the first two or three Mahavishnu Orchestra album (with the original lineup) or Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior, but this album really deserves to be in your collection!

js I didn’t know what to expect when I saw that Lenny White had recorded a CD of Earth Wind and Fire tunes. Certainly the complex jazzy pop of EW&F could lend itself to all manner of exotic arrangements and tone colors, but White and his crew decided not to go that direction and instead used the EW&F melodies as simple lead tunes for some modern post bop jamming ala a live club type scenario. In fact, on many of these tunes its hard to tell they are playing EW&F at all, they could just as well be jamming out on any tune from the fake book. The two ballads, “After the Love is Gone” and “Spirit”, as well as “Fantasy” are probably the ones that stay recognizable from start to finish, but that’s not to say that freeing things up on the other tunes is a bad thing at all. Although my hopes and expectations had leaned towards wanting to hear some creative arrangements, going the simple route and treating this like a bar gig may have been the best way to avoid excessive pretensions.

All that nitpicking aside, the playing on here is great. For being an early 21st century post bop record, this one has a lot of life and energy, there is no pastel-by-the-numbers clichés. On every track the band digs in hard and reaches for their best, pushing each other along. Lenny is not the most subtle drummer in the world, but he still has plenty of drive and is apt to reach into his old rockin/fusion thunder approach when the band gets worked up. Lots of great talent on here, but possibly the star of the show is guitarist Bireli Lagrene, an interesting choice for this project as he is usually known for his Django tributes.

Sean Trane After the stunning but slightly-derivative Venusian Summer debut album, Lenny comes back with a second effort in the summer of 76, but Big City won’t be released until the following year, and will get a much more urban artwork. With an equally impressive guest list (Herbie, Hammer, Goodman, Auger, Vitous, Schon, Gleeson, Maupin and more, one could have hoped for an equally successful album, but alas no such luck, as BC is definitely more of a later-70’s product than an earlier70’s album. Of course, you’ll still find Lenny both on drums, but also often on keyboards as well.

Opening on the fairly interesting funky title track, where the Power Tower horns and Brian’s Expressed Oblivion shared the spotlight, the album sinks rather low with the syrupy Sweet Dreamer crooning ballad, where only Herbie saves the day with his solo separate the dull and boring Tillery-sung verses. Two short “interludes” follow, the first being a funky piece, while the second (Nocturne) is a sleep-inducing orchestral piece, but both serve as an intro to the ultra-funky instrumental Rapid Transit (slightly reminiscent of Mahavishnu), where Gleeson’s weird electronic wizardry on the ARP underline Herbie’s rapid-fire Rhodes, before another interlude (Ritmo Loco) sees Lenny go at it alone, but only half-successfully.

The flipside opens on the slow-starting Dreams Come, but Gomez and Schon’s “lectric guits” fire it up nicely. The almost 10-mins ambitious 3-part suite Enchanted Pool opens in Maidens with Goodman’s romantic violin and Hammer’s piano, before segueing into the much better Bathe and then sliding into the excellent Ritual finale (despite a lengthy fade-out), thus making the piece the album’s highlight, worthy of his debut album. The closing live-recorded (and dedicated to Miles) Until We Meet Again sees Auger’s Hammond meet Schon’s blistering guitar doubled on the right by Gomez’s for an excellent extravaganza.

While BC has certainly some excellent moments, it certainly doesn’t match VS’ but it easily surpasses what he’ll do next, either in solo or with RTF. But the highlights on the present make BC an album that’s definitely still worth an attentive ear.

Sean Trane A surprising third/fourth solo album from the RTF drummer, not least because it is very comics-related, with its gatefold star-ship Kaluta-drawn artwork and the Don Mizell (see Don Byrd and soul-jazz connection) Star Wars-like sci-fi concept explained inside the album. It is a little fastidious to dissert of the general storyline, especially that the album is mainly instrumental (only Remembering is sung), and to be frank, it’s very secondary to the music on the album, itself book-ended by the Astral Pirate Themes. Unlike in his previous albums, there is no major guest star or collabs (at least non I’m aware of), if you’ll except for Patrick Gleeson synth programming. Line-up-wise, we’re dealing with a constant windless quartet or quintet throughout the album, so the album is definitely in the later-70’s fusion realm than in the earlier 70’s JR domain.

Generally speaking the music is strongly later-70’s JR/F-oriented with strong rock and funk roots (it is co-produced by Al Kooper), although there are the odd moments where they get a tad pompous and veer semi-classical. While the music seems collectively-penned by the musicians, apparently Mizell would’ve also contributed (my guess is the lyrics of the lone sung-track) as well. Musically, we’re very much more in the rock-derived JR/F (ala early Journey) than we are in the jazz-derived fusion, partly due to the riffy guitars that abound throughout the album. Difficult to pinpoint a single track as some kind of climax or highlight, because the album’s content is fairly homogenised, and only the sung track (inferior to the rest of the album IMHO) sticks out from the mass, even if the three title themes pieces are a little special, especially the tremendous closing theme, very reminiscent of Journey’s debut album. A good album, but certainly not worth writing home about in emergency.