1. "Homunculus" (6:09) despite the solid bass play holding this one all together, there is a loose, free-jazz feel to the rest of the performances--and some weird effects being imposed upon the overall sound. Still, the skill levels of all of the individuals are fully on display and still impressive. (8.875/10)

2. "Cross-collateral" (13:38) now three songs in--and this one a long one (of epic length) I can only deduce that band leader Klaus Doldinger (and/or his collaborators) was either spread too thin (very busy) or out of fresh ideas because the music on this album so far has been quite lackluster: lacking both the creativity and complexity that the previous album had overflowing to the brim. The lack of inspired or fully-formed compositional ideas are effecting the energy and interest levels of the rest of the band, resulting in lackadaisical performances--which is sad cuz we know these guys can play! There is absolutely nothing in this song, anywhere, that would ever lead me to want to return to it for repeated listens! It's just a first-take free-for-all from the band's first practice session. Plus, where is Klaus? Where are the saxes? (25/30)

3. "Jadoo" (3:03) something with a more structure but no really interesting quirky ideas or great melodies. (At least the saxes are back--though some are a little-too-heavily-processed.) The drumming is the best element of this one. (8.75/10)

4. "Will-O'the-Wisp" (6:15) even trying to go back to some funk doesn't work: it's just too rudimentary; there's nothing new/fresh or creative here, just by-the-numbers playing. The sound palette is right, just totally uninspired performances. (8.75/10)

5. "Albatros song" (5:18) a one-minute all-keyboard intro leads into some light textural music full of synth strings and, eventually, Klaus's singular saxophone putting forth something that sounds very much like the smooth jazz coming out of the BOB JAMES production labs. (8.6667/10)

6. "Damals" (4:38) acoustic guitar and sparse (keyboard) bass and drum play supporting a plaintive (single) sax solo by Klaus. Nice but clearly representing the new Smooth Jazz form of expression. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 39:01

C+/three stars; a fair representation of the direction Jazz-Rock Fusion was moving by the end of 1975.

The core is finally solidified with drummer extraordinaire Curt Cress joining Klaus and uber-talented bass (and guitar!) player Wolfgang Schmid--a partnership that would result in five outstanding albums before Wolfgang would decide to move on. Here British keyboard player Frank Roberts serves as Klaus' ivory tickler. (Frank would provide some awesome skilled jazz-rock piano to such bands as Isotope, Joy, Real Thing, Jabula, Hugh Hopper, Atté, Gary Wingo, and Robert Wyatt over the course of the next 25 years.)

1. "Abracadabra" (7:20) dynamic, fast & furious music with so much going on from each of the wonderful musicians--and such amazing (as usual) sound engineering! Seriously: How is it that Klaus was so far ahead of the rest of the world in terms of sound engineering??? (14/15) 2. "The connexion" (5:33) slow, spacious, rather awkward plodding for the first two minutes. I get it: this is an approach that many of the early pioneers of J-R Fuse used in their early explorations of the landscape (Miles, Herbie, Wayne & Joe, in particular)--and Klaus and company do it well--with noteworthy skill and competence (especially Kurt), but it feels more like music made more to impress and test, not so much for listening enjoyment. (8.875/10)

3. "Yellow dream" (4:20) a song that shows the band trying to crosses over more into the realms of proggy and even heavy rock music. Interesting but feels a bit forced--especially the heavy rock "choruses." (8.75/10)

4. "Proclamation" (2:39) another tune that feels more like the band's attempt to join the NEKTAR/SYNERGY/FOCUS side of progressive rock music. (8.875/10) 5. "Hand made" (9:26) is that the noise of a real live crowd? Does that mean the song was taken from a recording of one of the band's live performances? Regardless, this starts out with a very first incarnation Mahavishnu Orchestra palette and style but then smooths out into something more akin to Todd Rundgren 's Utopia or Grand Funk Railroad (the good stuff of both). It's a jam song in which organ, multiple (or chorused) tracks of saxes, and electric guitar play over the baseline electric bass and Fender Rhodes and synths. I know I've made songs over which "live" crowd noises have been tracked in--which then allowed for multi-tracking each musician's layers of contributions. Is this what's going on here? The music is solid but nothing very innovative or memorable. (17.5/20) 6. "Puzzle" (4:07) Euro-funk with clavinet, funky bass, syncopated drums, high-chord rhythm guitar accents, and screaming sax accent hits provide the foundation of this awkward attempt at funk-jazz. Nobody on board here really excels to achieve top tier funk, but it is a valiant attempt (and not totally unsuccessful) attempt across the board. (8.875/10)

7. "The quiet man" (4:43) nicely done explorations of soothing, dream-like soundscapes from bass, delicate cymbal play, gentle electric piano, and smooth saxes--but it's not smooth jazz! It's more like dreamy prog-jazz. I like it! (8.875/10)

Total Time: 38:08

B+/four stars; an excellent expression of prog- and rock-infused Jazz-Rock Fusion.

Continuing to reinforce new patterns, Brian and the Express use only Oblivion Express original compositions to populate this entire album. (Many thanks to newcomer Alex Ligertwood, formerly of the Jeff Beck Group.)

A1. "Truth (7:46) an Alex Ligertwood original, there is a pretty awesome organ, guitar, and bass sequence that hooks the listener in for the verses. Nice work with the b vox as the song develops and deepens. (8.875/10)

A2. "Don't Look Away (6:01) a Ligertwood, Mullen, and Dean composition that starts out sounding very much like something from the 60s jazz pop--exploring some "hooks" that might make listeners get locked in. Unfortunately, the rather loose and blues-Southern-rocky vocal detracts and sidetracks from the goal or objective. (8.75/10)

A3. "Somebody Help Us (6:29) an uptempo cruise-mobile with some awesome rhythm guitar play. Sounds like all that will come out on STEVE MILLER BAND's great 1976 album, Fly Like an Eagle. Nice song with nice performances that all work well together despite sounding like the sound engineers are stuck in the 1960s. (9/10)

B1. "Freedom Jazz Dance (5:25) written by Brian, Alex, and Eddie Harris slows it down, even roots it in some soulful funk-R&B (Jim Mullen's guitar play sounding like B.B. King!) I like the shifts and twists and turns it takes--even stylistically--though the vocal sounds so much like Jeff Beck Group's Bobby Tench (Alex's successor in that band). Great bass play from Barry Dean. Fun Keith Emerson-like organ play from Brian. (9/10)

B2. "Just You, Just Me (6:15) a favorite of mine, this is all Brian. I like Alex's less aggressive vocal approach and the band's concentration on the Jazz-Rock Fusion side of their musical expression. Great bass play, awesome electric piano, and solid time-keeping from Robbie MacIntosh. (9.25/10)

B3. "Second Wind (6:39) another Brian Auger exclusive, it opens with awesome interplay between Jim's guitar and Barry's bass over some straight time-keeping from Robbie and some supportive organ chord play from Brian. (It sounds a lot, to my ears, like the concurrent work of The Soft Machine.) (8.875/10)

Total Time 32:06

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of bluesy rock that has enough J-R F elements to be included therein.

Recorded In 1979 at Soundmixers, New York City / Power Station / A&R Studios / Mediasound, this is an album that I'd never heard before setting it up for my listens for this review. I'm sorry I hadn't (I'd burned out a bit on BJ by the time this one came out).

A1. "Rush Hour" (6:39) some nice performances gathered together over a bit of a monotonous foundation--one that rarely steps out of that slightly-cheesy, slightly discofied motif. (8.75/10) A2. "Blue Lick" (5:31) opening with some ominous-sounding bass and keyboard lines, I found myself thinking of Herbie Hancock's Thrust album, it evolves into a series of similar chord structures, never really settling into a defined motif, until the two minute mark Bob's Fender Rhodes upper-octave melody making lassoes everybody into a lighter-than-expected slightly-syncopated funk-lite tune--one that continues to defy stylistic and melodic familiarity. (8.75/10)

A3. "Look-Alike" (5:30) a fairly typical BJ song: lazily upbeat and innocuous like a purposeless walk down a city street on a sunny summer afternoon. The dreaded sound of Dave Sanborn's saxophone makes a brief early appearance and then in the lead position at 0:55 for less than 20 seconds but then gets paired up with trumpets and flute for a couple of interesting bridges before the strings-rich and bass-popping main motif returns for some BJ Fender Rhodes. The song goes a little too smooth at the end of the third minute--opening the door for a return of the dreaded Sanborn sax. There are elements of this cute, quirky song that I really like and others (you get the trend) that I don't. (I've never been much of a sax fan--and the sound that the likes of Dave Sanborn, Najee, and Kenny G used in the late 70s and early 80s is a big reason for this.) (8.875/10)

B1. "Big Stone City" (5:42) sounds like the intro to a Philly-Motown/Spinners Soul hit; disco lite with a little funk works into some aggressive Hiram Bullock electric guitar as Neil Jason's funky slap bass works hard to deliver the funk (he's okay). Accents and punctuation marks from the Horn Section bridge two motifs while Bob and Michael Brecker's sax take turns with rather brief solos. Bob's piano takes the longest solo starting at the four-minute mark before horn play interrupts, but then he's back sounding like an old classic jazz player (with the best sound rendering of a piano that I've ever heard from Bob and his engineering crew.) Nice, professional, but nothing really special here in terms of melody or innovation (other than that great piano sound). (8.75/10)

B2. "Friends" (4:41) acoustic guitars and fretless bass support the singing voice of Neil Jason taking on a soul-TOTO like piece. Neil Jason manages to funk up his bass rather nicely. Smooth AMBROSIA and HALL & OATES also come to mind while listening to this song (riffs and melodies actually lifted straight from all of the afore-mentioned artists). It's nice, well-rendered, but I resent a little the blatant "borrowing" of melodic and stylistic elements like this. (8.75/10)

B3. "Fly Away" (6:44) a jazzy chord progression and "saw bells" crash opens this familiar song. I'm sure that I've heard this song on the radio or elsewhere (many times). Well constructed and sounding fairly original as well as full of memorable melodic hooks I have to give this one high marks. One of Bob's top ten in terms of ear candy memorability. (9.5/10)

Total Time: 35:04

As much as I am constantly saddened by the Smooth Jazz trend that sucked jazz artists away from the funky and adventurous music of 1975-76's peak years of Jazz-Rock Fusion (with, I'm sure, considerable pressure from their record labels), I must here acknowledge the continuous trend of maturity and sophistication I've seen in Bob James' work since his debut album. And he does get some great, really high-quality performances out of his studio musicians.

B/four stars; an excellent contribution to the better side of the Smooth Jazz lexicon.

Recorded in the summer of 1979 at Mediasound, Sound Palace, and SoundMixers, in New York City, and released by Tappan Zee in October. I purchased this one in the week it was released and remember liking it very much. (I was really into Earl Klugh's solo material from this time.) Alternating songs with compositions from both Bob and Earl, we get three compositions each.

A1. "Kari" (6:26) Earl's first contribution, compositionally, and it kind of falls flat. (8.75/10)

A2. "The Afterglow" (6:30) Bob's first song offering and it's a beauty--especially when Earl's in the lead position. (9/10)

A3. "Love Lips" (6:33) this has the classic Earl Klugh stamp of originality on it--and he crushes it while everyone else pretty much supports. Bob's pretty good on his Fender Rhodes--and Gary King is great on his electric bass. (9/10)

B1. "Mallorca" (4:46) an unusually sophisticated BJ piece that offers displays of jazz virtuosity on several instruments (piano, guitar, and double bass by Ron Carter). I really like this one despite my fixation on Ron Carter's genius. (8.875/10)

B2. "I'll Never See You Smile Again" (5:25) Earl's last song contribution reveals something quite pacifying. The somewhat unusual/atypical Fender Rhodes play on this is offset by some brilliant bass play by Gary King. Despite it lacking any melodic hooks, I really like and admire the performances on this one. (8.875/10)

B3. "Winding River" (5:22) piano opens this one, Bob's final composition of the album. The interplay of Ron Carter's double bass is wonderful--masterful--and then Earl and the rest of the ensemble join in. A few surprise flourishes around the one-minute mark let us know that this song might not turn out to be exactly what we're expecting--and this bears out to be true as Harvey Mason's drumming becomes more and more nuanced and dynamic while still hiding (somewhat) beneath the piano, guitar, and bass. This may sound as if I'm describing old-fashioned jazz, but it's not: it's still anchored very much in Earl Klugh's musiquarium. (8.875/10)

Total Time 34:38

88.96 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent jazz-leaning display of mature and interestingly-sophisticated Smooth Jazz.