Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Bill Bruford - Making a Song and Dance A Complete-Career Collection (6 x CD's)

 

BILL BRUFORD

Bill Bruford - Making a Song and Dance A Complete-Career Collection (6 x CD's)

William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and touring with King Crimson (1972–1974) and Roy Harper (1975), and touring with Genesis (1976) and U.K. (1978). In 1978, he formed his own group (Bruford), which was active until 1980. Bruford ranked No. 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time". In 2017, Bruford was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes. (Wikipedia)

For this anthology, Bruford has selected 70 tracks from across his whole career, comprising works from some 23 different artists and bands over a 40-year period. 

Having played with Yes, King Crimson and Genesis, Bill Bruford can truly claim to be the godfather of prog drummers. But, as this six-CD retrospective shows, that was just a small part of a 40-year career that includes his own bands as well as a dizzying array of collaborations with proggers, jazzers… and Roy Harper.  

A box set from a drummer might sound like a daunting prospect, but rest assured there are no drum solos (Bruford didn’t do them), although obviously there’s a lot of drumming – but always with other musicians. It’s also a surprisingly varied collection, which is down to Bruford’s restless but erudite style that changed according to the setting he was in.  His prog credentials are explored on the first two CDs, although the band he co-founded, Yes, gets just three tracks, but Heart Of The Sunrise tells you most of what you need to know about his contribution to that band.   You get a better idea of his scope on his three stints with King Crimson as he varies his style – and his kit – to match Robert Fripp’s more intellectual approach as well as his aversion to cymbals. The best of the 15 Crimson tracks is a magnificent live version of Indiscipline.  There’s nothing from his brief spell with Genesis in 1976, immediately post-Gabriel, as he only toured with them. But he does squeeze in a 1978 track from UK, a prog outfit that also included John Wetton, Allan Holdsworth and Eddie Jobson.  Things turn jazzy on CD3 as Bruford’s solo career gets under way, with half a dozen tracks from his late-70s albums, highlighted by the sparkling, Weather Report-styled Joe Frazier, before getting stuck into his Earthworks band which spreads over on to CD4 and features Triplicity, arguably the track that best shows off Bruford’s technique, although a live version of Nerve comes close.  Roy Harper leads off CD5, titled ‘Special Guest’, with a couple of tracks from his HQ album, followed by other album sessions with Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Al DiMeola, David Torn and Kazumi Watanabe.   The final disc, ‘The Improviser’, has more off-the-wall collaborations with Patrick Moraz, David Torn and Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap, plus King Crimson’s No Warning, which is as close to a drum solo as you’ll get.    (www.loudersound.com)

If you are a prog fan and are in the know then you'll be aware of the work of Mr. B.  Whether he is doing prog rock or jazz fusion he is a true great. This box set is organized in a unique way. 

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Pt.1     Pt.2 

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Track list

CD1

01 Yes I've Seen All Good People 6:55

02 Yes Heart Of The Sunrise 10:40

03 Yes And You & I 10:09

04 King Crimson The Great Deceiver 4:07

05 King Crimson Fracture 11:14

06 King Crimson One More Red Nightmare 7:16

07 King Crimson Starless 12:18

08 U.K. Nevermore 8:09


CD2

01 King Crimson Frame By Frame 5:09

02 King Crimson Neal And Jack And Me 4:29

03 King Crimson Heartbeat 3:56

04 King Crimson Waiting Man 4:27

05 Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe Brother Of Mine (Radio Edit) 6:38

06 King Crimson Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream 4:50

07 King Crimson Larks' Tongues In Aspic: Pt 2 6:21

08 King Crimson Three Of A Perfect Pair 4:27

09 King Crimson Man With An Open Heart 3:43

10 King Crimson Elephant Talk 4:06

11 King Crimson Indiscipline 7:07

12 King Crimson Big Funk 3:31

13 Piano Circus Feat. Bill Bruford & Colin Riley The Still Small Voice 7:49


CD3

01 Bruford Seems Like A Lifetime Ago: Pt 1 2:32

02 Bruford Seems Like A Lifetime Ago: Pt 2 4:31

03 Bruford One Of A Kind: Pt 1 2:20

04 Bruford One Of A Kind: Pt 2 4:04

05 Bruford Palewell Park 3:59

06 Bruford Joe Frazier 4:47

07 Bill Bruford's Earthworks It Needn't End In Tears 5:13

08 Bill Bruford's Earthworks My Heart Declares A Holiday 4:43

09 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Downtown 5:55

10 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Pilgrims' Way 6:19

11 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Temple Of The Winds 5:04

12 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Candles Still Flicker In Romania's Dark 4:39

13 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Nerve 6:02

14 Bruford, Towner, Gomez Thistledown 4:13


CD4

01 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Beelzebub 3:33

02 Bruford-levin Original Sin 5:03

03 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Revel Without A Pause 7:39

04 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Triplicity 6:28

05 Bill Bruford's Earthworks The Sound Of Surprise 3:28

06 Earthworks Underground Orchestra Speaking In Wooden Tongues 8:47

07 Bill Bruford's Earthworks Modern Folk 6:26

08 Bill Bruford's Earthworks White Knuckle Wedding 7:43

09 Earthworks Underground Orchestra Footloose And Fancy Free 10:33

10 Earthworks Underground Orchestra Thud 5:30


CD5

01 Roy Harper Grown Ups Are Just Silly Children 2:57

02 Roy Harper Hallucinating Light 6:23

03 Chris Squire Lucky Seven (Single Edit) 3:28

04 Chris Squire Silently Falling 12:03

05 Al Di Meola Calliope 4:24

06 David Torn Voodoo Chile 5:34

07 Kazumi Watanabe Andre 5:13

08 Kazumi Watanabe Small Wonder 5:07

09 Steve Howe The Inner Battle 3:33

10 Buddy Rich Big Band Lingo 4:39

11 Pete Lockett's Network Of Sparks Feat. Bill Bruford Prism 6:43

12 Piano Circus Feat. Bill Bruford & Colin Riley Achilles' Feel 7:20


CD6

01 Moraz-bruford Galatea 5:23

02 Moraz-bruford Symmetry 3:48

03 Piano Circus Feat. Bill Bruford & Colin Riley Stalling Between Two Fools 5:38

04 King Crimson No Warning 3:37

05 Moraz-bruford Flags 4:36

06 Moraz-bruford Split Seconds 4:46

07 David Torn Previous Man 7:50

08 David Torn Three Minutes Of Pure Entertainment 7:11

09 Bruford-borstlap 16 Kingdoms Of The 5 Barbarians 8:47

10 Bruford-borstlap Stand On Zanzibar 7:58

11 Earthworks With Friends Like These... 3:00

12 Bruford-borstlap Low Tide, Camber Sands 4:06

13 Bruford-borstlap Kinship 3:55

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2 comments:

  1. Oh Wow! Long overdue tribute to one of the most talented drummers in music today. Had the honor of watching him perform with King Crimson In the 80's twice. Must have for fans of Prog & Jazz. Thanks BB!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Wombat Freddie,
      You are the first and only one to comment from 400 d/ls. This is a great box set. I am happy you are enjoying it.
      Cheers.

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