Guitarist
Jean-Paul Bourelly
came up through Chicago's AACM organization, studied with luminaries such as
Von Freeman
, and, early in his career, worked with
Muhal Richard Abrams
,
Elvin Jones
, and
Roy Haynes
. But he apparently had it in his head to become a latter-day
Jimi Hendrix
, and this recording is an unfortunate stab in that direction. Imagine if
Hendrix
had been sentenced to do nothing but substandard variations on
"Crosstown Traffic"
for the rest of his life, and you'd have a close approximation of what transpires here.
Bourelly
is certainly a capable guitarist, but here his talents are put in the service of vapid
funk-rock
lines and wishy-washy atmospherics. Worse, his vocals are a pale imitation of
' casual phrasing (which, admittedly, few others have mastered) and the lyrics, as might be inferred from some of the titles, are often embarrassing. A couple of the tracks succeed marginally but, despite the occasional presence of outstanding musicians like
Julius Hemphill
and
Andrew Cyrille
, most of the songs remain leaden and slick, the musical equivalent of the glamour-style photos that adorn the album cover. ~ Brian Olewnick