POP WORKSHOP — Vol. 1 (review)

Album · 1973 · Fusion

4.5/5 · 2025-04-05
FunkFreak75

An all-star band formed and recorded in Sweden that included Polish ex-pats Wlodek Gulgowski on keys and young saxophonist Zbigniew Namysłowski along with future legends of Baltik, Ablution, Egba, and solo (Janne Schaffer) fame.

1. "Point Of Junction" (7:24) sounds very much like something from the experimental side of the Funk/R&B world with the weird percussion noises, wah-wah-ed lead saxophone, bouncy Fender Rhodes and great wah-wah-ed rhythm guitar of the great Janne Schaffer. At 1:55 the band stops, and then takes a turn down a cruisin' speed lane of Cobham-Hancock-like funk. Awesome groove! Everybody in the band is suddenly alive and cookin' leading to some great jazz-rock Fusion: great performances from Zbigniew Namysłowski on his now-untreated sax, bassist Stefan Brolund who is all over his bass, drummer Ola Brunkert who is playing his heart out just tot keep up, and of course, Janne. Wlodek's Fender Rhodes work is awesome--especially as aided by the crazy rhythm guitar accents behind him-- and the melodies are great. Too bad they decided to fade out instead of letting us hear the whole jam cuz it was awesome! (14.75/15)

2. "Hanging Loose" (5:28) opens like a blues-rock exploration of some old jazz theme and yet the sound palette and styling used to do so is so influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra's (and, to a lesser degree, Weather report's) vigorous approach to stamping the low-end with syncopated power-thrums. The guitar skill of Janne Schaffer is never in question, like Larry Coryell: I'm just not always a fan of his choice of guitar tones and effects. Otherwise, this is a fine experiment in Mahavishnu-ism. (8.75/10)

3. "Perforated Mind" (3:57) Tony Williams/Mahavishnu-like rock-infused Jazz-Rock Fusion in which Pop lets Janne Schaffer loose. The wah-wah pedal, unfortunately, for me, diminishes this Mahavishnu-level solo whereas Wlodek, Stefan, and Ola's high-speed play are every bit up to the comparisons. (9/10)

4. "Sentience" (5:54) opening with some solo Fender Rhodes play that sounds, honestly, like some of the tinkering that Fred Rogers and Johnny Costa used to use as background music on their show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. But then, at 1:24 Janne Schaffer and the crew burst in with a "Rock Around the Clock" like sound and motif over which Zbigniew Namysłowski's bluesy sax and Wlodek's now-dirty Fender Rhodes take turns soloing. In the middle of the fourth minute Zbigniew returns for his second solo, this time with a cleaned-up sound. He's really attuned to the groove the band is playing. Really good! At the mid-poinft of the fifth minute Zbigniew leads the band through a final couple of rounds with a more whole-band version of the repeating theme but then he and Wlodek turn "dirty" again for the loose finish. Nice creation, boys! (9/10)

5. "Equinox" (5:20) a syncopated motif that sounds like something Larry Coryell or Herbie and his Head Hunters might create (but this is 1973!) Great main motif with its syncopated groove carving an odd wormhole into the listeners brain; these guys were so far ahead of their time! (9.5/10)

6. "The Last Pharoah" (5:24) a very pleasant and melodic mood piece that Zbigniew Namysłowski wrote, this could serve as a bedtime lullaby or a John Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders song--or all of the above. Great, spacious, yet modern jazz-rock instrumental sounds and engineering mix backs Zbigniew's beautifully-toned, hypnotic sax throughout the first four minutes, then Wlodek gets a turn over the enticing bass play of Stefan Brolund before Zbigniew rejoins for the finish. I hate to like saxophone songs! (9.333/10)

7. "Equivalent In Nature" (4:52) here Zbigniew picks up a flute to play along with a creatively-composed, impeccably- performed, and beautifully-rendered Jazz-Rock Fusion song. Mega kudos to Zbigniew and the band as well as to the engineers in the box. (9.25/10)

8. "Perfect Touchdown" (3:33) this one sounds like a clip of some of the better or more-interesting stuff from a longer (practice/warm-up) jam. Impressive playing from the percussionists as well as Janne, Zbigniew, and Wlodek but not really a very complete, polished, or charming song. (For "charm" one must properly warm up and let down the listener--like sex's foreplay and afterglow hugging.) (8.75/10)

Total Time 41:52

This album does something that very few Jazz-Rock Fusion albums in 1973 were doing well: serving up original and creative song compositions through the recipe of GREAT three-dimensional sound engineering and production. I find myself absolutely astounded time after time at the "modern" spherical feel and imagery of these amazingly-well recorded and creatively-effected instrumental sounds. I need mention once how well bassist Stefan Brolund and drummer Ola Brunkert account for themselves throughout this album (and how well their sounds were recorded and mixed).

A/five stars; other than Janne Schaffer's caustic guitar sound, this is a masterpiece of stunning performances of masterful compositions and boundary-pushing sound engineering.