"…To Thine Own Self Be True…"
Philly-born virtuoso
ALPHONSO JOHNSON was only 23 when he replaced Weather Report’s Miroslav Vituos
on Bass in early 1974 and was soon after to also play with Fusion Giants George
Duke and Stanley Clarke on their solo projects. By the time he got to 1976 -
and with a little help from Weather Report stalwarts like Joe Zawinul and Wayne
Shorter (Zawinul once described Johnson as "...disciplined…could lay down
a groove that hurt…") – Columbia Records gave him a shot and he promptly
popped out three Funk-Fusion LPs on their Epic Records imprint –
"Moonshadows" and "Yesterday's Dreams" (both from 1976) and
"Spellbound" (from 1977). The hugely revered first two were never
issued in the UK (the 3rd was) and have been elusive on CD for decades. And
that's where this gorgeous-sounding Beat Goes On 2CD Remaster comes in. Here
are the funk-that-hurts details…
UK released 27 November 2015
(December 2015 in the USA) – "Moonshadows/Yesterday's
Dreams/Spellbound" by ALPHONSO JOHNSON on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1220 (Barcode
5017261212207) offers 3LPs on 2CDs and plays out as follows:
Disc 1 (40:48 minutes):
1. Slump
2. Involuntary Bliss
3. Cosmoba Place
4. Pandora's Box
5. Up From The Cellar [Side
2]
6. Amarteifio
7. On The Case
8. Unto Thine Own Self Be
True
Tracks 1 to 8 are his debut
album "Moonshadows" – released 1976 in the USA on Epic Records PE
34118 (no UK release)
Players included:
ALPHONSO JOHNSON – Basses,
Electric Stick and Vocals
DAWILLI GONGA – Keyboards
& Vocals
PATRICE RUSHEN – Keyboards
IAN UNDERWOOD – Keyboards
& Synth Programming
ALPHONSE MOUZON – Orchestron
Voice Choir Keyboard
GARY BARTZ – Soprano
Saxophone
DAVID AMARO, LEE RITENOUR,
CHRIS BOND and BLACKBIRD McKnight – Guitars
FLORA PURIM – Backing Vocals
on "Involuntary Bliss", "Up From The Cellar" and "Upon
Thine Own Self Be True" with Lead Vocals on "Amarteifio"
BENNIE MAUPIN – Reeds
ALEJANDRO ACUNA and AIRTO
MOREIRA – Percussion
NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN –
Drums & Keyboards
NDUGU LEON CHANCLER – Drums
Disc 2 (71:34 minutes):
1. Love's The Way I Feel
'Bout Cha
2. As Little As You
3. Scapegoat
4. Show Us The Way
5. Balls To The Wall [Side
2]
6. Tales Of Barcelona
7. Flight To Hampstead Heath
8. One To One
Tracks 1 to 8 are his second
album "Yesterday's Dreams" – released 1976 in the USA on Epic PE
34364 (no UK release)
Players included:
ALPHONSO JOHNSON – Basses,
Electric Stick, Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
FLORA PURIM, JON LUCIEN,
PHILIP BAILEY & DIANNE REEVES - Vocals
RAY GOMEZ and LEE RITENOUR –
Electric & Acoustic Guitars
PATRICE RUSHEN – Keyboards
MARK JORDAN and DAVID FOSTER
– Keyboards
IAN UNDERWOOD – Synths
SHEILA ESCOVEDO – Congas
& Percussion
RUTH UNDERWOOD - Harpophone,
Orchestra Bells, Marimbas & Vibraphone
GROVER WASHINGTON, JR.,
ERNIE WATTS & ERNIE FIELDS – Saxophones
CHUCK FINDLEY and GARY GRANT
– Trumpets
GEORGE BOHANON and GARNETT
BROWN – Trombones
CHESTER THOMPSON and MICK
CLARK – Drums
9. Summer Solstice (First
Movement)
10. Follow Your Heart
11. Bahama Mama
12. Nomads
13. Moonlight Conversations
14. Face Blaster [Side 2]
15. Feelings Are… (The
Hardest Words To Say)
16. Earthtales Suite: Intro
– Winter Solstice
I - Release From Bondage
II – Why
III – Voice Of Authority
IV Rushing Of The Wind
V – Sword And The Scepter
VI – Summer Solstice (Second
Movement)
Tracks 9 to 16 are this
third album "Spellbound" – released 1977 in the USA on Epic Records
JE 34869 and in the UK on Epic S EPC 82197
The outer card slipcase
lends the release a classy feel, the 24-page booklet is packed with
album-by-album credits and new liner notes from noted writer CHARLES WARING – a
regular contributor to Mojo and Record Collector. ANDREW THOMPSON has carried
out the new 2015 Remasters licensed from Sony and the Audio here is stupendous
– beautifully clear and reflecting the original top-class production values of
Skip Drinkwater (Johnson did the 3rd set himself).
As you can see from the
'Players' lists given above – the guest names of talent featured for each
record is astonishing – a virtual who's who of Jazz Funk talent with Johnson
providing the Funky Bass backdrop. And they’re not just window-dressing either.
The debut album opens with "Strump" and "Involuntary Bliss"
– Funk workouts on a Jazz-tip that feel amazingly 'now' rather than 1976.
Entering the territory of sublime Jazz/Soul/Fusion is the gorgeous
sea-and-gulls ballad "Amarteifio" – the only song on the album with
lyrics that Flora Purim slays in her path with her Soulful swoops and phrasing
(lyrics reproduced in the booklet). It's a true highlight on a great album. It
gets seriously funky with the bass-led "On The Case" where Johnson
goes all slap stick wild in the first passage followed by Lee Ritenour letting
rip on his axe for the second part (wonderful playing). It ends on a piece of
joyous fusion that’s so Narada Michael Walden – Flora singing the title as a
backing refrain while Dawilli Gonga plays a blinder on various keyboards.
Wisely trying for a more
commercial angle - the number of vocalists increased for album number two
"Yesterday's Dream" – released at the end of 1976. "Love's The
Way I Feel 'Bout Cha" might as well be Con Funk Shun with Dianne Reeves
and Philip Bailey on Vocals (lyrics in the booklet). Keyboard genius Patrice
Rushen fills up both "As Little as You" and "Scapegoat"
with her skills - while Grover Washington Jr. plays his horn. Jon Lucien adds
his deep voice to "Show Us The Way" as Ritenour skilfully plucks the
Acoustic Guitar. But my fave on here is the beautiful instrumental "Flight
To Hampstead Heath" – a mid-tempo builder that feels more Prog Jazz than
Fusion.
Prog dominates the opening
"Summer Solstice (First Movement)" and for that matter much of the
"Spellbound” album - sounding more like Jon Anderson has gone Jazz (but
not in a good way). Guitarist Pat Thrall provides the Guitar Solos for "Follow
Your Heart", "Bahama Mama", "Face Blaster" and
"Feelings Are…" But it was a big mistake to forego the various
quality vocalists that made the first two albums so good for his larynx on
album number three. Johnson's voice is decidedly ordinary compared to what went
before – and this is never more evident than on "Nomads" – a nice
tune rendered impotent by his flat delivery. The short but pretty instrumental
"Moonlight Conversations" features lovely playing from the other
featured guitarist on the album – Kevin Shireve. It ends on the near
nine-minute "Earthtales Suite" – a complicated but ultimately boring
piece that unfortunately sums up the whole LP – virtuosity without any heart or
tunes…
Jazz Fusion and Funk fans
will love the first two albums – especially as neither received a UK release –
but that third record rather lets the side down. Still – with its superb
presentation and gorgeous Audio quality – this is a must buy for fans…and so
good to see Johnson be given some well-deserved limelight at last...
