Bob James Trio – Explosions

This edition , with the orange label is from 1973 . Mine comes with a xerox advertisement where the latest records are from 1973.

...it's got to be said, the truth must be told, the solid gospel that the known is based on, the knowledge that this joint from way back in 65 is the best utterance that this jazzbo ever issued forth and put down for all interested parties...his later fusion type blather might be good, even great for what it is but this explosions biscuit is the sound of the urban landscape, all the claustrophobic paranoia that surrounds every thinking being on the roam...this is movement, perhaps random, perhaps thought out, always seemingly in the right place giving texture, building on what went before, cause and effect...Bob James and the bopsters (including a couple of avant garde types on some electric computer bleeps and blips/drones) get down with the free jazz blowout that was happening in NYC at the time (Albert Ayle r/ Sonny Murray etc) with bob giving his piano a proper set to with scraping the strings, plinking and stabbing, really getting inside the instrument, to take it all further...drums clatter and bang with forceful abandon, glad to break out from any precise timing that might give constriction to the eternal self, the bass lays down an ever changing backdrop that comes forward with avant noodles when necessary to interrupt earlier thoughts with new expressions, just like the big city with its chaotic vibe...the tape collage works in well, intermingling with the out jazzbo groove that's perculating just fine, hitting the spot with some left field science...the trio's version of hep-outness-free-spirit jazz may touch the modern listener as slightly professorial when up against some other works on the ESP-Disk imprint (surely the greatest label ever, that ain't really no exaggeration when the whole catalogue is viewed with an eye for the way forward, who else was getting this kinda gubbins on the market with the sole purpose of having it heard, no other agenda, it is what it is and always will be the bench mark for unpretentious art, an art that far outstrips any and all competition that may stray into the fields of exploration of HEPness) but that thought may be changed within a spin or two...lightness of touch in some places gives the listener time to reflect on some of the more chaotic parts, just like an early evening sojourn from the days battering that the crowded metropolis can lay on the more sensitive John Does out in the wilderness of the concrete jungle, where capitalist ambush is waiting for the next mark to come down the pike...a top earful of solid jams, the type of which ain't made anymore,which is one reason jazz today as a music is just part of the entertainment industry it's worthiness to enrich seems to have disappeared, been swallowed by the corporate miasma...grab the train to the hearts of gonesville and groove with some meditative mind tapping...a slight aside that may be of interest to certain parties is the cool fact the artwork was put together by Jay Dillon from the ever groovy Godz...

It is very fan to listen to each and every notes of this recording.

Great album. Don't even think this is the Smooth jazz Bob James. Especially with Barre Phillips and Bob Pozar. Broken time signatures, prerecorded vamps and sound clips pepper this perpetual piece of perfection. It was the era of mind altering substances and it shows here. Outstanding work. I've played it about 175 times...............PS I'm not biased i'm not selling it. ADDENDUM: Add another 30 more times I’ve played it.