• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Best Fusion Albums?

Lee Moses

Lee Moses

Apr 2, 2013
3,423
5,379
Tennessee
#1
What do you think they are? I'm not necessarily saying the best fusion bass albums; although if that's a major criterion for you, by all means.

I thought of setting this up as a poll, but I know I would leave too many favorites out. So what I will do is go through the posts and see what the favorites are, and I will update them by editing this post. Everyone's #1 gets 5 points, #2 gets 4 points, and so on. #5 and lower each get 1 point.

Overall rankings as of 5 p.m. CDT, March 31
1. Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior (24 points)
2. Jean-Luc Ponty, Enigmatic Ocean (22 points)
3. Weather Report, Heavy Weather (18 points)
4. Billy Cobham, Spectrum (17 points)
(tied) Mahavishnu Orchestra, Inner Mounting Flame (17 points)
6. Mahavishnu Orchestra, Birds of Fire (16 points)
7. Jeff Beck, Wired (15 points)
(tied) Miles Davis, B. Brew (15 points)
9. Weather Report, Black Market (14 points)
(tied) Herbie Hancock, Thrust (14 points)
 
#2
My own top fusion albums:
1. Weather Report, Heavy Weather
2. Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior
3. Miles Davis, B------ Brew
4. John McLaughlin, Inner Mounting Flame
5. Stanley Clarke, School Daze
6. Return to Forever, Light as a Feather
7. Chick Corea Elektric Band
8. Pat Metheny Group
9. Al DiMeola, Elegant Gypsy
10. Jeff Beck, Blow by Blow
 
#3
Nice list...I have all of those.

RTF?
I like Where Have I Known You Before & No Mystery over your two...I like Journey To Love over School Days, too.

Back in the day, I was a big Heavy Weather fan...lately, I like Mysterious Traveller. I recently heard a track of Sweetnighter (off Pandora) that blew me away.

Elektric Band is cool...goin' down Fusion in that time frame? Give me Tribal Tech & Gary Willis' 1st two solo albums.

Love Blow By Blow & Bitches Brew.

Maybe later I can organize; need to think so more.
 
#4
Lee Moses said:
My own top fusion albums:
1. Weather Report, Heavy Weather
2. Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior
3. Miles Davis, B------ Brew
4. John McLaughlin, Inner Mounting Flame
5. Stanley Clarke, School Daze
6. Return to Forever, Light as a Feather
7. Chick Corea Elektric Band
8. Pat Metheny Group
9. Al DiMeola, Elegant Gypsy
10. Jeff Beck, Blow by Blow
Click to expand...


:eek: two Moseses that love fusion.
 
#6
Some of my favorites

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire
Helmet Hattler - Bassball
Stanley Clarke - School Days
Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior
Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - Straight Ahead
Jean-Luc Ponty - Imaginary Voyage
Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean
Jean-Luc Ponty - Cosmic Messenger
Jean-Luc Ponty - Civilized Evil
Brand X - Unorthodox Behaviour
Al Di Meola - Casino
Kittyhawk - Kittyhawk
 
#7
JimK said:
Nice list...I have all of those.

RTF?
I like Where Have I Known You Before & No Mystery over your two...I like Journey To Love over School Days, too.

Back in the day, I was a big Heavy Weather fan...lately, I like Mysterious Traveller. I recently heard a track of Sweetnighter (off Pandora) that blew me away.

Elektric Band is cool...goin' down Fusion in that time frame? Give me Tribal Tech & Gary Willis' 1st two solo albums.

Love Blow By Blow & Bitches Brew.

Maybe later I can organize; need to think so more.
Click to expand...

Good comments. As far as timeframe, it's all open. I thought of Tribal Tech, but couldn't quite put them in my top 10.

And it seems everyone who has listened to a lot of Weather Report likes other albums better than Heavy Weather....But for me, none of the others approach it. That said, I haven't listened to Mysterious Traveler since...I really don't remember, and I don't really remember anything on it. I might need to download it.


M0ses said:
:eek: two Moseses that love fusion.
Click to expand...

We're a pretty scarce tribe as it is. ;)
 
#8
I don't know if The Dixie Dregs and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones would be catagorized as Prog or Fusion or what, but I think that if one likes those genres the those bands would be of interest as well.

Along the same lines; Can and Camel are two more bands that might be worth giving a listen to.
 
#9
Yo, Mo-

Mysterious Traveller may fall more into Weather Report's original M.O.
"We never solo…we always solo". You Know, the collective improvisation vibe so prevalent on things like Bitches Brew.

Tribal Tech's early albums were interesting…electric & acoustic instruments blended together. At this time, they had a sax (Bob Sheppard) & a marimba/percussionist (Brad Dutz).
On Thick (a far later release), there's a definite early Weather Report/Bitches Brew vibe. A bit later, Rocket Science was a '90s Fusion fest.

I am still thinking-
Do I need to put the Breckers, Steps Ahead, Steve Khan/Eyewitness on my list…Zappa?!?
 
#12
My personal favorite is The Inner Mounting Flame by the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music is majestic, spiritual and passionate, and the players' chops really raised the bar for thousands of other musicians.

The grandpappy of the genre is probably Bitches Brew by Miles Davis.

Light as a Feather by Chick Corea is Brazilian jazz with incredible, joyful performances by Corea, Stanley Clarke (playing the acoustic bass as if it were a little toy) and Airto Moreira on drum set. Nice cameos by Joe Farrell on flute and vocals by Airto's wife, Flora Purim.

Emergency! by the Tony Williams Lifetime is beautiful because it has lots of raw, dark, ugly energy. To me, fusion quickly degenerated in the mid-'70s into fussy, too-clever elevator music. Emergency is not that! The next Lifetime album adds Jack Bruce on bass and vocals, and it's still cool but not quite as mind-blowing.
 
#16
These aren't exactly fusion albums, but they were also "in the air" in the early '70s, and are worth a listen if your ears are tuned that way:

Band of Gypsys by Jimi Hendrix

At Fillmore East by the Allman Brothers Band

Both are live albums which feature long, coherent, riveting soloing and, in the Allmans' case, brilliantly "psychic" group interplay. The Hendrix album had an enormous effect on Miles Davis, and the Allmans' soloing on At Fillmore East was influenced in turn by Miles' earlier modal album Kind of Blue.

Both albums are known as indispensable rock classics, but back then I listened to them for the same reasons I was listening to more "proper" fusion.
 
#18
All the Zappa stuff qualifies by today's definitions probably. Also a big +1000 to Cobham's Spectrum. Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters should also be at the top. And of course Miles Davis Bitches Brew, surprised that hasn't been mentioned yet.
l.jpg
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back