Steak Handsome This Stanley Clarke album is for me as a newcommer to fusion jazz a real revelation. It has some of the finest drumming I have heard, and nice bass parts which is why I found Stanley Clarke. I have heard almost all the albums of Return to forever and find them very fine, but I like this album more, and find it great all the way. I have earlier listened to Jan Hammer and when it comes to make the keyboard parts great he is almost as good as Chick Corea. All in all this is a great album for new listeners who come from progrock or heavy rock, and if it is given a chance it will be an album that can be heard over and over again.

DocB Despite being a jazz fusion fan, somehow I missed Live At The Greek way back when, so it was a treat to discover it. All the players here have pedigree: Stanley Clarke from Return To Forever, Larry Carlton from The Crusaders, Billy Cobham from The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Daron Johnson played with Miles Davis in the early '90s, and Najee, well know in smooth jazz circles, shows his fusion chops here. With this kind of talent, we should hope for something good, and fortunately, we've not been disappointed. The album starts unassumingly with a short (3:26) instrumental version of Minute By Minute, a Doobie Brothers song by Michael McDonald and Lester Abrams, which Carlton previously recorded as a studio instrumental. The next five tracks range from 5:20 to 14:02 minutes, and include three originals, plus Miles Davis' All Blues and Charles Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, both being given the fusion treatment here. But the tour de force is a 21:33 minute version of Clarke's School Days. Clarke, Cobham and Carlton get the chance to really stretch out on this track, and the results are worth the price of admission. This would have been a great concert to attend!

RBlak054 Stanley Clarke. Marcus Miller. Victor Wooten.

If you know anything about jazz fusion, funk, or the electric bass, these men need no introduction. These three bassists - some of the best players alive - are responsible for revolutionizing the electric bass and demonstrating what the instrument is really capable of. So what happens if you stick all three of them into the same band? Let's find out.

After a brief symphonic intro in the opening track "Maestros De Frecuencias Bajas", your ears are greeted by a pounding, funky electric bass line and you know just what you're getting into. I would admittedly not consider most of the music on this album jazz fusion; it falls more into the realm of jazz-funk.

This record has a nice mix of original material as well as old favourites that are given the three-bass treatment. The title track, "Thunder", is probably the highlight of the album with its flashy playing and perfect interplay of basses. While most of the compositions here are strong, with so much emphasis on bass lines there seems to be a lack of strong, quality melodies. In addition, although the band seems to be trying to mix things up occasionally, the album could really benefit from even more diversity.

You wouldn't think that having three bassists in a band would sound natural, but these guys weave together flawlessly. By playing in different registers and taking on distinct roles, each bass part sounds crisp and the sound very rarely gets muddled up - something you might expect to happen when you throw so many low-range instruments into the mix. Each of the bassists takes turns alternating between traditional bass lines, lead playing, and soloing, and all three guys are exceptional at every role.

Don't be fooled into thinking that this album is entirely about bass, though; sure, it's the focus of the majority of the record, but it's not all that's here. There are a slew of guest and session musicians who contribute their expertise to this album as well, including fusion hero Chick Corea (who offers a great piano solo on "Mongoose Walk") and George Duke. Marcus Miller himself adds a plethora of instruments to this release, including bass clarinet, saxophone, and the much-loved minimoog.

If you're like me and love the electric bass, S.M.V.'s Thunder is a release you don't want to miss. If bass and jazz-funk is not something you're all that into, however, this record isn't going to do too much to change your mind despite the lineup and great concept. It has a few shortcomings, no doubt, but overall Thunder is a solid debut release.

(Originally published on progarchives.com)

darkshade Not as good as the previous album or following album, but still a good 70s fusion album, with a great lineup consisting of guys like George Duke, Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, Steve Gadd, and many more.

I'm not sure why this one isn't as good as the self-titled album, or School Days, since all the tunes here are high quality fusion. It's probably only because the two albums are just better; but this one is not to be overlooked.

The first track "Silly Putty" is probably the funkiest tune Clarke ever made, and the title track and "Hello Jeff" have some great playing from George Duke and Jeff Beck, who are masters of their instruments, as is Stanley himself. "Hello Jeff" is hard rockin' tune, almost sounds like it was lifted off of his own album "Blow By Blow" but with Clarke on bass.

The other half of the album consists of a tribute to John Coltrane, while good, is kind of just there. Not bad though. The album ends with the classical/jazz-fusion track, simply called "Concerto for Jazz/Rock Orchestra". While good, Stanley Clarke did a similar thing with his previous album, and follow up album, and did it better on those two albums. Still good, though.

Get this one after you get the other two Clarke albums mentioned in this review. This one is still good, and well worth it for the 70s jazz-fusion collector.

darkshade One of Stanley Clarke's best albums. By 1976, jazz-fusion was starting blend with the oncoming trend of disco, or it was beginning to mean "smooth jazz". But at this point, there was still good fusion coming out, and Stanley Clarke released School Days. The title track is a fusion classic, and one of Clarke's more famous bass lines. There is a hint of disco influence on that one (or is it the other way around?), but it's more because it's fast and funky. The melodies are well developed, and you can kind of hear Clarke's influence in Return To Forever when you hear this album, or the previous two solo albums of his. A favorite of mine is "Hot Fun", a short funky little number, with some nice funky horns, but the best thing about this album is probably the final "Life Is Just A Game", a jazz-rock suite that goes from orchestrated movements, to technically impressive jazz-fusion, showing off the band's chops, particularly Clarke's. This one, along with the previous two solo albums, are his best solo albums, and essential for any real collector of 70s jazz-fusion. Not to be missed.