"Gears/Forever Taurus" by JOHNNY HAMMOND – Albums from 1975 and 1976 on Milestone Records featuring Larry and Fonce Mizell, Chuck Rainey, Wade and Ralph Marcus with Harvey Mason and Sonny Burke (October 1992 Ace/Beat Goes Public Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD - Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Shifting Gears…"

When Soul morphed into Funk - which the old-world Jazz musicians then blended into Jazz Fusion - the berets of Jazz purists fell to the floor in disgust and dismay - but the heart rates of Dancers around the globe got with the groove and shouted "Hallelujah!" I was one of those giddy groovers...

I've never been a Jazz purist myself (can't stand that crap) but between 1973 and 1975 particularly - Rock/Soul guys like me were looking for something new and Jazz Fusion/Funk caught our attention. Quality musicians that stretched back as far as the late Fifties like trumpeter Donald Byrd, multi-instrumentalist Herbie Hancock and keyboardist Johnny Hammond (Smith) embraced the Funk and threw out absolutely fabulous albums on labels like CTI, BSF, Kudo, Blue Note and Milestone.

Hammond's legendary "Gears" album from 1975 (with superb Larry and Fonce Mizell songs and Production) and it's 1976 follow-up "Forever Taurus" (with heavy Wade and Ralph Marcus involvement) are from that ilk - and they've been cherished Jazz-Funk-Fusion LPs for collectors since their release on Milestone Records in the USA four decades ago. And that's where this amazing twofer/value for money BGP CD comes in.

Here are the Cosmic Voyager details...

UK released October 1992 – "Gears/Forever Taurus" by JOHNNY HAMMOND on Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGPD 037 (Barcode 029667273725) offers 2LPs from 1975 and 1976 originally on Milestone Records Remastered onto 1CD (in 1992) that pans out as follows (74:22 minutes):

1. Tell Me What To Do [Side 1]

2. Los Conquistadores Chocolates

3. Lost On 23rd Street

4. Fantasy [Side 2]

5. Shifting Gears

6. Can't We Smile

Tracks 1 to 6 are the album "Gears" - released November 1975 in the USA on Milestone M-9062

7. Old Devil Moon [Side 1]

8.  Countdown

9. Walk In Sunshine

10. Ghetto Samba

11. Cosmic Voyager [Side 2]

12. My Ship

13. Winds Of Change

14. Forever Taurus

Tracks 7 to 14 are the album "Forever Taurus" - released 1976 in the USA on Milestone M-9068

"Tell Me What To Do" has been featured on more Jazz Fusion/Rare Groove compilations than you can shake a stick at - and hardly surprising - what a winner. Its vocal set-up reminds me of Donald Byrd's masterpiece "Places And Spaces (also from late 1975) - another Mizell Brothers involvement. These guys seemed to funkify everyone and everything they touched - modernising their sound and that's what you get with "Gears". The wind and Spanish jabbering that begins "Los Conquistadores Chocolates" soon succumbs to frantic drums, flute and bass - but when it hits about 2 minutes in - the strings and vibes begin and the result is very special indeed. Side One ends with the mellow "Lost On 23rd Street" - with those strange synth flourishes behind that Stevie Wonder clavinet beat.

Side 2 opens with probably everyone's fave - the funky "Fantasy" (co-written by Hammond and the Mizell Brothers). Gorgeous guitar flicks mingle with strings and again those groove vocals while Chuck Rainey on Bass and Harvey Mason on Drums - punch out that that amazing rhythm section. Slap bass opens "Shifting Gears" - soon joined by wah-wah guitar and hip flute flourishes - it's always been my poison on the album (can't resist that funky groove). It ends on the mellow "Can't We Smile" where initial Crusaders-like piano morphs into spacey keyboard warbles and Jean Luc-Ponty type violin soloing.

"Forever Taurus" moved away from the Mizell brothers to the combo of Wade and Ralph Marcus along with a raft of hugely accomplished sessionmen like Trumpeter Chuck Findley, Saxophonist Jack Nimitz and Keyboard whizz Sonny Burke. Wade Marcus provided tunes in the shape of "Countdown", "Ghetto Samba" and "Winds Of Change" while Hammond stumped up "Walk In Sunshine", "Cosmic Voyager" and "Forever Taurus". Hammond's keyboard-funky covers of the standard "Old Devil Moon" and Gershwin's "My Ship" rounded out proceedings very nicely indeed.

A pair of vinyl sweeties - and its testament to their enduring appeal that even after 28 years in the marketplace (2020) - this British-issued Ace/Beat Goes Public twofer CD stills sells for full price and more...