Snakes Alive - s/t (1974 Australia). In the early 70s, the music world was teeming with jazz fusion bands. The major two schools were a) The technically proficient, as defined by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever and Weather Report. And b) The Miles Davis long track deep groove, with many followers in Germany (in particular the MPS label), Poland, Italy, USA and beyond. These were jazzers who were fascinated with rock’s rhythms and power. But finding rockers who were fascinated by jazz was a much more rare breed. Guess that’s why they call it jazz fusion. Snakes Alive are a rock fusion band. Of course bands like Mahavishnu come to mind. Even early Zappa and Xhol Caravan. But, you know, Finch did too come to mind - for example. There are vocals, but they’re sparse. Trumpet, sax, flute, organ, guitar are the solo instruments. And it rocks with a capital R. This is a good one, that’s slipped way under the radar. Despite some initial reservations about its authenticity, I just found out that Pokora lists it in his 4001 guide, and it’s on the EMI label. Looks like it may have been a demo, without wide release, however.
Edition Speciale - Horizon Digital (1978 France). And with this 2007 reissue, Musea completes their Edition Speciale series. “Horizon Digital” has always been my favorite of the three, and the only one I also kept on LP (and will continue to do so, as it features an extraordinary cover). The group started inauspiciously with “Allee des Tilleuls”, a misfired attempt at American funk. But the followup “Aliquante” was a punch between the eyes - a fast paced, tightly interwoven instrumental fusion album, indebted to Mahavishnu Orchestra to be sure, but of the highest quality. Most folks rate “Aliquante” the best, and it’s understandable why (and Musea’s reissue of same is a must buy). “Horizon Digital” combines the high energy fusion of “Aliquante” with a much better understanding of the funk they tried on their debut. After mixing those two, they took the end product and added some Zeuhl elements, ala Zao, to create a diverse, and highly creative effort. CD is of the usual high quality Musea standard, taken from the master tapes, with unique liner notes. Also included are 5 tracks (totaling around 27 minutes) of the proposed 4th album from 1980. These tracks are fully developed and show the band incorporating the French New Wave movement. One can hear the same type of sounds as also found on Superfreego, Lievaux - Transfo, Foehn and Odeurs. Overall, a great package from Musea!
Vanessa - Black and White (1976 Norway). Vanessa have two albums, but I’ve only heard the latter, “Black and White”, which is a better than average instrumental jazz fusion album, with some tight rhythms and occasional funky lines. Primary leads come from the sax, but plenty of good guitar and keyboard leads as well. Comparisons to Secret Oyster or the French group Spheroe wouldn’t be out of place. This album received pretty good distribution in the US, and it wasn’t too difficult to find in the used bins in the 1980s. Because of this, I’m surprised it still hasn’t been reissued to date.