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Richard
Addison—formerly the bassist with Canadian rockers Mystery—is branching
out, and with his old guitar-wrangling chum, Michel St-Père,
he’s enlisted a motley crew of crackerjack players, some of who
doubtlessly were closet jazzers during their rockin’ days. Mood Swings
plays like emotional blackjack: you never know which card may fall
next. While there’s no fear of being sent to the cleaners by listening
to this album of polished jazz-rock, there is an utmost air of
adventure. Richard Addison’s basslines cross many niches from rock to
jazz to funk to blues; he and his drummer-ace, Stéphane Crytes,
are the only ones who appear entirely throughout. And, like his
counterpart in Spaced Out, Antoine Fafard, Addison does a good deal of
programming, owning up to much of the quirky, arpeggiatic flashes of
synthetic timbre & FX. Kickoff piece
“Sleepwalking” is a transplanted prog-rock cut with the vocals stripped
away and a sax & xylo-synth duologue superimposed over the limber
drumming and a rather traditional structure. Curiously-titled,
“The Muffin” may or may not be an ode to a legendary American jazz-rock
outfit, but pianist Luc Aubry’s Rhodes line isn't above suspicion.
Philippe Lauzier’s alto sax solo is cut like a diamond, upstaging
Éric St-Laurent’s jagged electric guitar solo. “Montée De
Lait” is chord-driven rock that crushes a serious groove over Addison’s
quasi-funk bass and what must be a series of guitar-synth solos (Aubry
handles synths, but not on this cut). David Gauthier’s
electric guitar lead cuts swaths in the mix as if with a sword on “Le
Grand-Bé (Wrath Of Châteaubriand),” a track that brings in
additional electronic drumming courtesy of Mario Di Blasio. “Mceuet” is a
shortish number anchored by a repetitious staccato motif actualized by
sax & guitar. Addison’s bass line rumbles along like Stanley Clarke
supporting a George Duke comp. Gauthier’s and Éric St-Laurent’s
overlaid chordings bring the tandem of Djam Karet’s Mike Henderson
& Gayle Ellett to mind, sans the psych underpinnings. The initial
verses on “After All (Demon’s Dance)” are akin to one of Kenso’s more
straight-grooved numbers, while the followup sections take off like
crazed jaunts into Weather Report territory. Interestingly, the payoff
comes in the final two compositions on Mood Swings. “10h10” is
hands-down the album’s best upbeat piece, and features plenty of
Pontyesque soloing by violinist Robin Boulianne. The eight-minute
trio piece, “Controlled Freedom,” is a diametrically-opposed, older
introspect composition with no guitars and a surprising conclusion. An
older gent by the name of Pierre Nadeau replaces Aubry on piano, and
tenor sax’ist Dany Roy steps in (Lauzier is present, but only performs
the intro). Mood Swings is
another great fusion release from Unicorn Records (the label that’s
home to Spaced Out, for one). Mucho sax and guitar interplay, along
with deep bass grooves, make this disc a clincher for Weather Report
phreeks and all-around fusionuts, though there is less of a focus on
keyboard leads. <-Previous review Next review ->
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