The Tony Williams Lifetime "Turn it over" - Polydor Records 1970

    Growing up in the 90's listening to hardcore and grindcore records, jazz fusion was something that wasn't on my radar for many years to come. However I was obsessed with a band called Man is the bastard. A self proclaimed "Power Violence" band from California. Which is a form of extreme hardcore/punk among the likes of Man is the bastard and their Californian peers. They have one song in tribute to Tony Williams Lifetime named "Strifetime (Tony Williams)." A cacophony of two distorted bass guitars and drums pummeling you over the head while caveman vocals are commanding you (as the lyrics state) to "Respect their power!" The full lyrics go on to say...

 "Masters - Paving the way
Visionaries - Making the future
Pioneers - Ahead of their time
God-men - Living the truth...
Respect their power - Hearing
Their blessing - Create your own
Way - Take your own chances...

or take a listen for yourself...

    This song has always sparked my curiosity as to who the fuck is Tony Williams? On the live version they introduced the song and title by adding "he played with Miles Davis." So I've always had that bit of knowledge stored away. I also had full trust in Man is the bastard. I definitely respected their power too. They must know what they're talking about? I honestly hoped I would figure it out someday.  In the last few years I've educated myself of his legendary status. From said work with Miles Davis, an extensive solo career and an insanely impressive discography!

     My education started when I finally heard "The Tony Williams Lifetime" a few years back at my friend Javier's house party. Javier is one of the "elder vinyl gurus" of Seattle. I imagine and hope most towns possess at least one?  At this point I had a general knowledge and love of jazz fusion. Especially Mahavishnu Orchestra. When Javier showed me the sleeve of whichever Lifetime album it was in that moment, I was amazed at the members that I recognized. I said to myself  "OK, this is THE Tony Williams  Man is the bastard has been preaching to me about all these years "I didn't know John McLaughlin of Mahavishnu Orchestra was in this? Cool! this sounds awesome!" My revelation that Jack Bruce was a member of Lifetime truly surprised me. How could it be that anyone from the band CREAM would be involved in any music this complex and "out there?" At that moment I realized how much cooler Jack Bruce is than Eric Clapton. Like that's difficult? Ha!

    I had parked that memory of hearing Lifetime for the first time into the "vinyl want list" of my mind. I just couldn't find any Tony Williams Lifetime records locally anywhere. A couple years later or so, I was reminded of Tony Williams by a social media post from an audio engineer acquaintance named Ronan Chris Murphy. He had mastered the album "Magnetic Struggle" for my keyboard prog metal band called SPACEBAG. In the post he was talking about how "Turn it over" came up in conversation between him and a client he was working with recently in his studio. The post was a YouTube link to the song "Vuelta Abajo." What an amazing reintroduction to Tony Williams! It's a super heavy freak out, just as heavy as Man is the bastard or any other brutal hardcore bands I love. Or maybe like the kind of unorthodox music noise rock bands make but many years earlier? However you want to understand this song, it has a power I can respect.

    When I finally had the chance to listen to the full album, I thought what an insane fever dream this sounds like. Just drop the needle on any kind of emotion you're in the mood for. I can't believe major labels would release music like this once upon a time. Still can't. I had been streaming the album for a couple of years but I finally resorted to eBay to find my copy on vinyl. All I knew about this album was the music and the credits on the back cover.  The first 2 songs are written by Chick Corea (who I love!) as played by Khalid Yasin (Larry Young) on organ. I recognized his name from my recent purchase of Lenny White's album "Venusian Summer." Which is a phenomenal album! In my further research of who Larry Young is for this post, I listened to a few of his solo albums and "Larry Young's Fuel" is an absolute gem! A must for any funky keyboard enthusiast! Currently waiting for it in the mail. But Larry Young is for another post.

    I had to do some research on who was singing on this album because it doesn't tell you. From what I've read online, Tony actually sings. He sounds like a gentle crazy person singing to himself for comfort over anxiety inducing organ swells?

    Although these are clearly composed songs from several writers, there is an omnipresent spotlight on the drums. There is no mistaking why this is named "The Tony Williams Lifetime."  Drum-centric solo albums are a unique form of freedom that only exist in a small minority of all my records. As a drummer, I've been in bands where I wrote entire songs on drums before any other instruments were added. It's a rare way to write for most bands but it's a super fun challenge if you ever get the chance. I get that sense (or at least a drum focused re-imagining of the songs) from this album. Even if I can't prove it.

    When it comes to drum tone, Tony's kick drum sounds awesome but is what nightmares are made of for sound guys. It's asking to feed back live. I had played in a metal band with a weirdo drummer named Mike Peterson. He tuned his kick drum like this and all sound guys we encountered were baffled as to why anyone would choose a tone like this. I get it now. It has a certain boom and power I've come to embrace. I think people get too accustomed to your standard rock kick drum sound. Yeah this music challenges you and I'm always up for a challenge as long as the payoff is right. And this check has cleared.

    As for the art, I absolutely love this back cover! The credits are written out in a spiral so you have to earn it by spinning it around several times. Clearly a spin on the title of the album. I love how it commands you to "PLAY IT LOUD" at the end of side one's credits. Then at the end of side two's credits it commands you to "PLAY IT VERY LOUD!" These are the sentiments you normally see on the back covers of heavy metal records of the 80's. It's details like this that prove to me that having a physical original copy of an album will always have a superior value than an impersonal stream.

    * If your name is DITTMAR, I have your record! You wrote your name on the back cover and label of the record. Let's talk about this album. I want to hear your story and connection.

BACK COVER