JOURNEY TO LOVE - Stanley Clarke

**bassybill** · #1 08-20-2008, 10:25 AM

Listening to SMV's album Thunder prompted me to dig this old album out and give it a listen for the first time in ages. Wow! I really had forgotten how great it is, in every respect. Although the bass playing is just staggering, it's not the only thing about this album that really makes it stand out. The composing, arranging and performances all round make this one of the great jazz fusion albums of its era.

I'm going to have a good trawl through my collection and see what other gems I have that I've been ignoring for ages.

Baryonyx · #2 08-20-2008, 11:17 AM

I remember James Hart bringing this one up a while ago, and as a massive Stan fan I'd love to hear it, but Amazon has it stocked for ridiculous prices!

EDIT: I'm thinking of Time Exposure, I'll get Journey to Love right away!

ryco · #3 08-20-2008, 12:07 PM

I love "Hello Jeff"!

Always wondered why Jeff & Stan never put a band together. They seem so like-minded

Drums: Appice, Dunbar or Cobham
Keys: Duke, Hammer, Sancious or Rollie

bhagiti · #4 08-20-2008, 12:19 PM

Jeff and Stan toured Japan & Europe in '78 & '79. The band included Simon Phillips and Tony Hymas!

ryco · #5 08-20-2008, 12:29 PM

^^ Killer!!
But I find Hymas and Phillips a little cold. I like balls out guys.
Bozzio could fill the chair as well!

JimK · #6 08-20-2008, 12:40 PM

The acoustic trio pieces, "Song To John" (Coltrane) blew me away.

...& I see Amazon is selling this album for under $5?!!?

**bassybill** · #7 08-20-2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryco

^^ Killer!!
But I find Hymas and Phillips a little cold. I like balls out guys.
Bozzio could fill the chair as well!

Then again, Steve Gadd does a great job throughout this album - except on "Hello Jeff", where Lenny White was the man.

I love Steve's drumming on "Silly Putty".

**bassybill** · #8 08-20-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimK

The acoustic trio pieces, "Song To John" (Coltrane) blew me away.

Just about ANYTHING with JohnMcLaughlin playing on it blows me away. And the combination of him with Chick Corea and Stanley is every bit as good as you'd expect. That doesn't always happen when you put those sort of greats together, but on this occasion everything clicked just perfectly. Lucky us!

Baryonyx · #9 08-20-2008, 02:07 PM

I'm looking forward to hearing this. Stan and John blew me away on "Desert Song"! I also picked up the first Clarke/Duke Project album for £1, is this a good find?

While on the subject of Stanley Clarke, if you haven't already got The Toys of Men or the Animal Logic albums, buy them now!

jerry · #10 08-20-2008, 02:32 PM

David Sancious guitar playing on that album always blew me away. Stanley's self titled album that came out before Journey To Love with Tony Williams and Bill Connors is another mind blower! Especially when it came out in '75, scary!
Those albums along with School Days will always have a special place in my heart.

bassrique · #11 08-20-2008, 02:54 PM

Great record. Some of the songs were added to YouTube fairly recently. The title track, "JTL", "Hello Jeff", as well as a couple other IIRC.

JimK · #12 08-20-2008, 03:34 PM

On a tangent-
Fans of Clarke's "Bass Folk Song" (from Clarke's debut, Children Of Forever) oughta check out the version on Joe Farrell's Moon Germs (w/ Hancock, DeJohnette, & Clarke).

Hoover · #13 08-20-2008, 04:11 PM

+1 an excellent album all around.

One of my favorite moments is during the quiet bass solo (piccolo bass played through that bizarre Maestro synthesizer gizmo) on "Concerto For Jazz-Rock Orchestra": Stanley Clarke & George Duke (on Fender Rhodes) are doing an incredibly telepathic call & response improvisation, while Steve Gadd is igniting a master class on metric modulation while simultaneously churning up the stanky/nasty fonk. I still shake my head in disbelief every time I hear that section.

**bassybill** · #14 08-20-2008, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

+1 an excellent album all around.

One of my favorite moments is during the quiet bass solo (piccolo bass played through that bizarre Maestro synthesizer gizmo) on "Concerto For Jazz-Rock Orchestra": Stanley Clarke & George Duke (on Fender Rhodes) are doing an incredibly telepathic call & response improvisation, while Steve Gadd is igniting a master class on metric modulation while simultaneously churning up the stanky/nasty fonk. I still shake my head in disbelief every time I hear that section.

I love the brass figures in unison with the bass (and guitar, and keys I think) that follow on just after that section. Terrific chops all round.

jerry · #15 08-20-2008, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimK

On a tangent-
Fans of Clarke's "Bass Folk Song" (from Clarke's debut, Children Of Forever) oughta check out the version on Joe Farrell's Moon Germs (w/ Hancock, DeJohnette, & Clarke).

Big +1, I dug Stanley's acoustic studio work with CTI, and that's one of the best!

funkifiedsoul · #16 08-20-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

Listening to SMV's album Thunder prompted me to dig this old album out and give it a listen for the first time in ages. Wow! I really had forgotten how great it is, in every respect. Although the bass playing is just staggering, it's not the only thing about this album that really makes it stand out. The composing, arranging and performances all round make this one of the great jazz fusion albums of its era.

I'm going to have a good trawl through my collection and see what other gems I have that I've been ignoring for ages.

Journey to Love was my introduction to Stan at age 14, thanks to my older Brother. To this day it's an easy favorite as a whole LP.
Silly putty's the funkiest thing ever.

Baryonyx · #17 08-21-2008, 10:04 AM

If you like this one make sure you get his self titled album! Vulcan Princess is a fierce track! Tony Williams just kills it!

brivello · #18 08-21-2008, 10:07 AM

If you like that stuff, check out

Rite of Strings
Stanley Clarke - Al di Meola - Jean Luc Ponty

One of my favorite cd's ever. I saw them live about a year ago as well.

Hoover · #19 08-21-2008, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

I love the brass figures in unison with the bass (and guitar, and keys I think) that follow on just after that section. Terrific chops all round.

Heh-heh. I would love to have been a fly on the wall of the recording studio just to hear what the trombone players said when Stan handed them that chart!

**bassybill** · #20 08-21-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

Heh-heh. I would love to have been a fly on the wall of the recording studio just to hear what the trombone players said when Stan handed them that chart!

Oh yeah!