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Billy Cobham

Billy Cobham image
Parent Issue
Day
20
Month
June
Year
1975
OCR Text

Billy Cobham (Recorded Live in Europe) Shabazz Atlantic SD 18139

This album will burn your socks off. It's Cobham and friends unlcashed before a live audience, minus studio gloss. and all the kinetic punch that his previous albums contained literally explode out of the speakers in a sonic fury that has to be heard to be believed. At times it all seems to border on sheer bombast, but just when it's about to fly hopelessly out of control, these super soundmen pull it right back down to the funky backbeat and start off in another dircction.

Cobham's drumming is spectacular, as usual. The album opens with one of his forty-second flurries on the skins and then moves into the opening thematic statement of "Shabazz"...featuring the razor slurp horns of Michael and Randy Brecker, on sax and trumpet, and Glenn Ferris on trombone. This is one solid horn section, piling up big blocks ot clean, open harmonies as they state their melodies in clusters of rapid-fire notes.

Guitarist John Abercrombie takes a back seat to most of the fire works, cutting through the electronic haze only occasionally with brief virtuoso lines that race up and down the scale. lt sounds like he's holding back most of the time, content with just an occasional spot light appearance. John McLaughlm, look out!

This album has a much rougher sound to it than previous Cobham ventures: the studio sheen is gone, there are no conscious stereo effects except for the miking of Cobham's drums, which are spread all the way across the listening area and mixed prominently to the front. In producing the album it seems Cobham has let the rhythmic impluse capture most of the attention; his drums and Alex Blake's bass are constantly in the forefront, no matter what else is happening on the stage.

Milcho Levico, credited with keyboards, is truly an eleclronic wizard. He manufactures pure sound, sometimes highly percussive and colorful, sometimes almost a flat, bland sine wave tone. But always he lends the band it's exotic mix of gimmicky electronics and delicate, thought out harmonic structures.

Undoubtedly, Cobham fans will love this album. I dig its relentless energy. and only wish that the album had a few more quiet, introspective moments sandwiched in bet ween all that explosive activity. It's space age, for sure, as good as anything these cats have done in the studio, and even more engrossing because they pull it off so well live.