LARRY YOUNG — Larry Young's Fuel (review)

LARRY YOUNG — Larry Young's Fuel album cover Album · 1975 · Funk Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
js
Of the three strange solo albums that Larry Young put out in the 70s, Fuel is probably the least successful. It's not a terrible album, but not great either. There are two cuts that feature Larry's always unique take on the fusion of the day, one cut that is an outstanding minimalist polyrhythmic electro-funk pressure cooker and four funk/jazz numbers that feature vocalist Laura Logan. It's the four vocal numbers that drag the album down. Laura is a good vocalist in a nasal NYC jazz style sort of way, but when you combine that style of singing with the band's hyper jazz/funk grooves, the result makes the band sound like a happy hour combo in anywhere downtown mid-1970's USA. These songs aren't particularly bad, we just want better from Larry Young. The final cut on the album finally pushes things too far when Larry adds his 'vocals' that sound like a cross between Count Chocula and Fred Schneider of the B-52s. His bizarre urban beatnik lyrics are funny the first time you hear them, but don't hold up to repeat listens at all. As usual with Young during this period, his semi-kitsch fusion numbers, as well as almost the whole rest of the album, feature very raw and upfront unfiltered analog synthesizers. Larry was very unique in this respect in that his synthesizers still sounded like 60s synth novelty records well into the 70s. I could see this album as an acid jazz DJ's dream mystery disc with it's wealth of bizarre instrumentals and weird obscure hyper funk. I like this album, but I like almost anything by Larry Young. His personal and almost naïve take on any genre is always refreshing and curiously fascinating even when the results are uneven as they are on this album.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Symphonic Blues No. 6 Third Stream
CORKY SIEGEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recut Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop
SKALPEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Yuval Cohen Quartet : Winter Poems Post-Fusion Contemporary
YUVAL COHEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Just Nu Jazz
JIM HART
Buy this album from MMA partners
Skrifum Post-Fusion Contemporary
JON BALKE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

SOLSTICE album release • Duo Russo - Holst
PAOLO RUSSO
js· 113 minutes ago
Akiko Yano & Hiromi - Kawarushi (Official Audio)
HIROMI
js· 1 day ago
All I Want For Christmas Is You
DAVID HAZELTINE
js· 1 day ago
Chicken
QUATUOR EBÈNE
js· 2 days ago
Det er en egen lomme
THE LEIF
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed