Billy Cobham

Billy Cobham, tragically dead guitar whiz Tommy Bolin (James Gang, Deep Purple), and keyboardist Jan Hammer go hog wild on Cobham's 1973 debut. With high-speed tempos, vectoring rhythms and loads of rock moves, this early jazz fusion record is proof positive that although the genre may have a bit of bad name, there is plenty of stuff worth checking out.

Billy Cobham's credentials were in order before he joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He
fired a number of studio dates for Mose Allison, James Brown and Larry Coryell, among
others, and was one of the best things about Dreams. He has brought his studio precision to
McLaughlin's band, but otherwise has made the transition from technician to performer
with apparent ease. And Spectrum indicates considerable compositional talent a... More >

In which Mahavishnu's muscle-headed muscle man gets good reviews all for himself. Well, you know about drummers' bands. Despite a few tough minutes this is basically slick, gimmicky, one-dimensional--in a word, undemanding. All of which may make him a star. (Grade - C+)