Search - Jo Farrell :: Moon Germs

Great album...but one problem

Rinaldo | Durham, NC | 06/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am in agreement with previous reviewers that overall, this is an excellent early fusion album. The quartet is made up of stellar performers: Farrell (almost--see below) at the top of his game on soprano and tenor saxes; Herbie Hancock alternating funkiness and spaciness on Fender Rhodes keyboard; Stanley Clarke's instantly recognizable bass playing; and Jack DeJohnette typically mixing rock, funk and jazz elements in his drumming.



That being said, there is a noticable blemish on this album: Farrell seems to have had serious trouble with his reeds on the day of the recording. His solos flow smoothly with ideas, but his lines are marred with squeaks that can become quite unnerving at times.(Why didn't he switch reeds? Did no one notice the squeaking?) The frequent reed squeaks are all the more bothersome to me considering the otherwise hip playing on this date.



Farrell's squeaks prevent me from giving the album 5 stars. If you can ignore the squeaking saxophone reeds, you're in for a treat. _Moon Germs_ makes for great comparative listening alongside Return to Forever's first 2 albums, as well as Stan Getz's classic album _Captain Marvel_."

You must get this

Geoffrey L. Collier | Arlington, Virginia | 09/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Relistening to this CD after many years nearly brought tears to my eyes. According to the liner notes that accompany this version of this album, Joe Farrell's name has disappeared more or less into obscurity. That is unfortunate, because in his heyday I would have considered him the equal of other post-Trane hard blowers whose names have outlasted his, e.g. Dave Liebman, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Fortune (has he disappeared too?). This CD burns, as it has four hot musicians in their prime. The tunes are great too. I only noticed the squeaking, commented on by another reviewer, upon relistening after all of these years, but it doesn't bother me. In any case, Herbie Hancock plays less restrained than he did in some of his other outings during this period, and provides some of my favorite solos in this idiom. What is the idiom, anyway? Not really fusion, as their is too much jazz here, although some funk as well (Stanley Clarke plays upright strictly throughout, however). Jack Dejonnette has always been among my favorite drummers, for his aggressive style, and this is no exception. The title tune is a cooking modified minor blues in a modern swing groove with burning solos. And so it goes."

Excellent music

sergio chavez | monterrey, mx | 10/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"este disco es extremamente insano, desde el comienzo con el sonido de stanley clarke, para despues dar entrada a jack dejohnette y joe farrell acoplandose sutilmente el maestro herbie hancock, para todos los amantes del jazz este disco es una verdadera joya que no debe faltar en su coleccion, ningun efecto electronico, pura velocidad acustica, los musicos aficionados al jazz quedaran enamorados al escuchar este genial disco. 10,000 stars."