The better of the two albums the Tony Williams Lifetime recorded in 1970, Turn It Over, is a far more focused and powerful album than the loose, experimental Ego, and one of the more intense pieces of early jazz-rock fusion around. In parts, it's like Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys with much better chops. It's more rock-oriented and darker-hued than their debut, 1969's Emergency!, and the temporary addition of ex-Cream member Jack Bruce on bass and vocals alongside stalwart guitarist John McLaughlin makes this something of a milestone of British progressive jazz. The album's primary flaw is that unlike the expansive double album Emergency!, these ten songs are tightly constricted into pop-song forms -- only a swinging cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Once I Loved" breaks the five-minute mark, and then only barely -- which reins in these marvelous soloists too much. This is particularly frustrating since pieces like the two-part "To Whom It May Concern" feature some outstanding solos (especially from McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, the group's secret weapon) that are frustratingly, tantalizingly short. Expanded to a double album, Turn It Over would probably surpass Emergency! as a pioneering jazz-rock fusion release; as it is, it's an exciting but mildly maddening session.
Turn It Over
The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams
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Turn It Over Review
by Stewart Mason
Track Listing
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
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1 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 04:21 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
2 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 02:57 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
3 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 03:46 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
4 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 02:46 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
5 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 01:52 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
6 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 05:11 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
7 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 05:00 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
8 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 04:13 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
9 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 04:38 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
10 | The Tony Williams Lifetime / Tony Williams | 03:45 | SpotifyAmazon |