JEAN-LUC PONTY — Cosmic Messenger (review)

JEAN-LUC PONTY — Cosmic Messenger album cover

Album · 1977 · Fusion

4.5/5 · 2024-08-23
FunkFreak75

I am fortunate to have seen J-LP a few times in concert in my lifetime--and this tour was the first of them. The concert's opening is forever etched in my mind as one of the most amazing concert memories of my life. Opening with the album's title song, Jean-Luc proceeds to strike such unearthly sounds--more like screams--from his electric violin that people on the floor were literally covering their ears, turning this way and that with panicked expressions on their faces, trying to figure out where this never-before-experienced sound was coming from. It was incredible.

Line-up / Musicians: - Jean-Luc Ponty / acoustic & electric violins (4- & 5-string), organ, synthesizer, Orchestron, producer With: - Joaquin Lievano / electric & acoustic guitars - Peter Maunu / electric & acoustic guitars, guitar synthesizer - Allan Zavod / acoustic & electric pianos, organ, synthesizers - Ralphe Armstrong / fretted & fretless basses - Casey Scheuerell / drums, percussion 1. "Cosmic Messenger" (4:38) will always be my favorite Jean-Luc song because of the-above-noted amazing concert reproduction. The rhythm section is so tight here--too bad most Americans have never heard of these individual musicians cuz they're great. (10/10)

2. "Art of Happiness" (4:33) great bass and guitar play on this pretty-one dimensional song. (8.75/10)

3. "Don't Let the World Pass You By" (6:23) great synth start with guitars fading into the weave. Drums and bass elbow their way in before lead electric guitar and bass double up to bring in the melody line over a 90-second arc. The band then shifts gears and direction into a very tight hard-drivin' groove within which Alllan Zavod gets the first solo--about a minute's worth of synth magic before he (or Jean-Luc) switches to another synth for yet another minute of great stuff. Then, at 4:10, Jean-Luc is allowed to finally step in with his electric violin. He is so good: taking Zavod's stuff and putting it to shame! An Allan Holdsworth-sounding electric guitar gets a chance at 5:20 with Zavod competing with him just beneath. Great song. Everybody chugging along on full cylinders. (9.5/10)

4. "I Only Feel Good With You" (3:05) a stunningly beautiful song (as Jean-Luc was able to do more than any other J-R Fuse artist), synths and keys over gently-supporting rhythm play from Armstrong and Scheuerell and the rhythm guitarists. (9.75/10)

5. "Puppets' Dance" (3:40) never a favorite as Jean-Luc allows his band to take the Funk Road. Ralphe is good here, but the cowbell is too much. Guitars and violin weave together at first but then back off for Ralphe to show off a bit before returning for a recapitulation of their weave before backing down for Jean-Luc to soar away on his e-violin. (8.66667/10)

6. "Fake Paradise" (5:41) the opening 20-second weave sets up a great foundation for the guitarists and violin to have their time in the sun. Ralphe Armstrong is great. At 1:10 everybody remains steadfast over a suddenly shifting rhythm track. Interesting! Then the band returns to the first weave for a synthesizer to take the first solo. Same rhythmic shift at 2:37 (must be intended as the "chorus") but this is when one of the electric guitarists is given the nod. At 3:55 everybody goes back to motif #1 for Jean-Luc's turn. (8.875/10)

7. "Ethereal Mood" (4:03) another one of Jean-Luc's hauntingly majestic beauties. Keys, guitar, bass, congas, second acoustic guitar, strumming, and then soaring electric violin à la the title song. At 1:34 Jean-Luc recommences his melodic solo but then, at 1:55, there is a wonderful short-shift of guitar strumming before everybody returns to the normal for some loose atmospheric violin play. The dramatic "short-shift" occurs two more times, at 2:49 to 2:57 and 3:08 to 3:18, to great effect as Jean-Luc continues to let us think he's fading off into the cosmos. Great song. (9.75/10)

8."Egocentric Molecules" (5:44) a high-speed classic--Casey Scheuerell's best--with one of the electric guitarists stepping up to take the first solo. After a reset bridge at the end of the second minute Ralphe Armstrong ably steps up to the fore giving us an electric bass solo for the ages. Wow! 3:10 reset. Now it's Jean-Luc's turn. Can/Will he be able to top Ralphe's amazing solo? I don't think so but he comes close, he just doesn't match Ralphe's two-note-at-a-time play. At the end of the fifth minute Ralphe's given room to go again, but he holds back due to the horn-like synth at play in the lower end. Incredible tune! Makes one realize how we've been holding our breathes for the past six minutes! (9.75/10)

Total Time 37:47

P.S. Has anyone ever considered all of the guys Jean-Luc has stood toe-to-toe with? Stephane Grappelli, Frank Zappa, George Duke, John McLaughlin, Narada Michael Walden, Jan Hammer, Alan Holdsworth, Daryl Stuermer, Peter Maunu, Joaquin Lievano, Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke, Ralphe Armstrong, Randy Jackson, Rayford Griffin, Monty Alexander, Patrice Rushen and many more. He must be quite respected on his instrument in order to attract this kind of company.

A/five stars; a masterpiece of fully-electrified, amazingly engaging, Jazz-Rock Fusion--definitely a Top 5 Album from the "Second Wave" of prog's "Classic Era."