I can't remember the last time I preordered a CD or LP. I don't need to be "first on the block" to own a piece a music, especially now as I'm reducing the collection. But I made an exception here. For one, I know the label Iconoclassic from finding a couple at thrift shops. Their items do go out of print, and can get expensive. The other is this is a very significant reissue. Or really "issue" as it were. There have been many reasons attributed to why this album remains extinct in original form. David Sancious himself says in the liner notes that the album wasn't mixed as it was recorded - either an error in the machinery or that the engineer thought it sounded better speeded up. So he put the kibosh on it until it could be remixed. The label then decided to shelve the project altogether and asked for a replacement, which would ultimately be True Stories. A few promo copies were released, hence its extreme rarity today. Very high demand and no supply makes for a very expensive item.
Until now, almost everyone has heard this album via bootlegs taken from what we now understand to be a flawed release. I'd heard it before, but I'm not familiar enough with the "other version" to skew my viewpoint here. For those that have ingested the bootlegs, then this new version will likely disappoint, though it could be the opposite. In general we accept music as it is presented and alterations are disturbing.
Even though Sancious is rightfully considered a jazz fusion artist, heavily influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and the like - Dance of the Age of Enlightenment is a departure into progressive rock waters. He was swimming against the tide already for 1976/77. A couple of tracks feature vocals but otherwise I'd submit this to be an instrumental prog album. Keyboards are front and center as to be expected. A mix of synthesizers and rock instrumentation, with those complicated rhythms expected in prog and fusion. Not an immediate likeable release (has an odd sound and approach - at least to my ears), but multiple plays reveal a sophisticated work that grows on you.
Ownership: CD: 2023 Iconoclassic. Jewel case release with booklet that gives a short explanation of the history of the album. Seems the sound could have been better? Who knows in what shape the tapes were in.
11/14/23 (new entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment