ELECTROMAGNETS — Electromagnets (review)

ELECTROMAGNETS — Electromagnets album cover

Album · 1975 · Jazz Related Rock

4.5/5 · 2024-10-11
FunkFreak75

DREGS / Weather Report- (and NOVA) -like jazz-rock from Austin, TX. Very nice, crystalline sound engineering.

1. "Hawaiian Punch" (6:00) the Bill Connors/Al Di Meola-like lead guitarist (Eric Johnson) is the lead instrument pretty much throughout this song despite its tight and very expressive and competent musicianship from all four of the band members. The heavily-syncopated final 90 seconds is quite revealing and supportive of this claim. (8.875/10)

2. "Motion" (4:45) a much more smooth palette and more contemplative ECM/Narada Walden-like song construct with lots of lovely space and no hurry to finish or move anywhere quickly--and yet this is by no means a slow sleeper: there are dynamic flourishes and sudden and surprising contributions flitting in and out of the ethereal weave throughout the nearly five minutes of this--and axe-master Eric Johnson is nowhere near the dominatrix that he was in that opening song; no, this is a song of shared feeling and inspired spontaneity--and very interesting! (9/10)

3. "Dry Ice" (5:05) this one has a heavier, much more JEFF BECK-like palette and feel with drummer Bill Maddox being given full exposure for the first two minutes before Steve Barber's clavinet, Kyle Brock's bass, and Eric's guitar become more domineering. Great jazz fusion of the highest caliber--in line with Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Return To Forever, Jan Hammer, and even Frank Zappa (and preceding Jeff Beck's landmark Blow by Blow album by a few months). (9.5/10)

4. Blackhole" (6:51) a very powerful and emotional song of the Mahavishnu style with very noteworthy-yet-cohesive performances from each of the individual musicians. RTF were rarely this united and interconnected (and Mahavishnu Orchestra never)! Again, the sound engineering is absolutely stunning as every instrument, every sound nuance is so crystal clear! I don't see how J-R Fusion ever got any better than this song! And why isn't Eric Johnson mentioned in every sentence with Al Di Meola, Bill Connors, and John McLaughlin?!!! (15/15)

5. "Salem" (4:30) slowing it down a bit and even taking on a little mediæval/folkish palette despite Eric Johnson's continued bold electric lead guitar, the band takes an unexpected twist with the central presence of vocal (whose John Wetton similarities give the music a more KING CRIMSON sound and feel). The drumming is so tight and precise! And Eric's solos are every bit as sharp and concise as Al Di's or Jan Akkerman's. There is also what sounds like a bowed instrument in this song--perhaps an electric violin--but it is not among the song credits which makes me think it could be either Eric Johnson's guitar or Kyle Brock's bass. (8.875/10)

6. "Minus Mufflers" (7:36) a more syncopated song structure gives this quite the Herbie Hancock/Miles Davis feel. Plus there is the presence of Tomás Ramirez' saxophone from the start. Quite the funky keyboard and bass work though Eric's lead guitar is still very fast and furious--reminding me quite a bit of Corrado Restuci's work on the NOVA albums as well as some Larry Coryell. Interesting! (13.5/15)

7. "Novia Scotia" (3:38) an evenly-paced, smooth-flowing construct that reminds me of several non-American bands of the era, like Focus and Allan Holdsworth. The staggered play of the four instrumentalists in the third minute is quite extraordinary and noteworthy--and then the band goes soft and smooth again. That back-and-forth shift of dynamics is quite reminiscent of Al Di Meola's future work as a solo artist. Seriously good! (9/10)

8. "Crusades" (8:01) Another song whose unusual form and structure lead me to compare it to Al Di Meola, Return To Forever, and Focus. Very cerebral and concentrated into the loosely-connected individual performances--much like NOVA and WEATHER REPORT were fond of doing. By the congealment of the middle of the song everybody is aligned in order to support the pyrotechnical exploits of guitarist Eric Johnson on his multiple tracks of axe play. Then, with about three minutes to go, the music shifts rather radically toward a cruising groove in order to support a frenetic solo by keyboard wiz Steve Barber. Despite Steve's wonderful display of skill and creativity, one cannot help but be distracted by the rhythm and lead flourishes of Eric's flashy guitar: he just has that Johnny Mac/Al Di "it factor." Weird mishmash of a song that is essential for its soloists and suite-like organization of multiple musical styles. (13.333/15)

Total Time: 46:26

There is such a "later" (i.e. late 1970s early 1980s) quality to both the sound production and scope-creep of smooth jazz palettes in this music--sounds that really didn't exist back in 1973-4 even in the ECM or early Weather Report days. Were they really this much of

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of highly-developed and creatively-constructed jazz-rock fusion from four top caliber musicians.