KLAUS DOLDINGER/PASSPORT — Hand Made (review)

KLAUS DOLDINGER/PASSPORT — Hand Made album cover

Album · 1973 · Fusion

4/5 · 2025-02-26
FunkFreak75

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.