Turn It Over

by The Tony Williams Lifetime, Tony Williams

Overview

The better of the two albums the Tony Williams Lifetime recorded in 1970, Turn It Over, is a far more focused and powerful album than the loose, experimental Ego, and one of the more intense pieces of early jazz-rock fusion around. In parts, it's like Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys with much better chops. It's more rock-oriented and darker-hued than their debut, 1969's Emergency!, and the temporary addition of ex-Cream member Jack Bruce on bass and vocals alongside stalwart guitarist John McLaughlin makes this something of a milestone of British progressive jazz. The album's primary flaw is that unlike the expansive double album Emergency!, these ten songs are tightly constricted into pop-song forms -- only a swinging cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Once I Loved" breaks the five-minute mark, and then only barely -- which reins in these marvelous soloists too much. This is particularly frustrating since pieces like the two-part "To Whom It May Concern" feature some outstanding solos (especially from McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, the group's secret weapon) that are frustratingly, tantalizingly short. Expanded to a double album, Turn It Over would probably surpass Emergency! as a pioneering jazz-rock fusion release; as it is, it's an exciting but mildly maddening session. ~ Stewart Mason

Product Details

Release Date:	04/05/2011
Label:	Esoteric Recordings
UPC:	5013929735729
Rank:	76505

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Tony Williams Lifetime   Primary Artist
Tony Williams   Primary Artist,Drums,Vocals,Director
Larry Young   Guest Artist,Organ
John McLaughlin   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Jack Bruce   Guest Artist,Bass,Vocals
Khalid Yasin   Organ
Jack Lewis   Director
Monte Kay   Director

Technical Credits

Ray Hall   Engineer,Mixing
Terri Tierney   Project Coordinator
Catherine Ladis   Project Assistant
Sid Maurer   Art Direction,Jacket Design
Bruce Sauer   Photography
John McDermott   Essay
Chick Corea   Composer
Jack Lewis   Producer,Jacket Design
Larry Young   Composer
The Tony Williams Lifetime   Performer
John Coltrane   Composer
Vinicius de Moraes   Composer
John McLaughlin   Composer
Jerry Rappaport   Reissue Producer
Ray Gilbert   Composer
Monte Kay   Producer
Gary N. Mayo   Remastering
Antonio Carlos Jobim   Composer
Tony Williams   Jacket Design,Producer,Composer