Feels Good to Me | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 1978 [1] | |||
Recorded | August 1977 | |||
Studio | Trident, London | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
Length | 46:58 | |||
Label | EG/Polydor | |||
Producer | Robin Lumley, Bill Bruford | |||
Bruford chronology | ||||
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Feels Good to Me is the only solo studio album by former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford. The band Bruford grew out of the line-up assembled for this album. The album features guitarist Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jeff Berlin, keyboardist Dave Stewart, and ECM stalwart Kenny Wheeler on fluegelhorn. Bruford also enlisted singer-songwriter Annette Peacock (who performs two of Bruford's lyrics, and contributes one of her own) and Brand X guitarist John Goodsall (who plays rhythm on the title track only). Dave Stewart was a pivotal figure in the music of the Canterbury scene with groups like Egg, Hatfield and the North and National Health, but despite his strong playing (and co-writing) presence, the album does not sound much like the Canterbury bands, and is instead closer to contemporaries Brand X (whose keyboardist Robin Lumley co-produced the album with Bill Bruford).
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [3] |
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek praised the way the performers handled the material, and opined that "Bruford has yet to issue a solo recording as powerful as Feels Good to Me." [2]
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated: "The combination of Kenny Wheeler and Annette Peacock gives Feels Good to Me an obvious cachet, but it's Bruford's torrential drumming with its ringing snare drum sound that makes the record special." [3]
John Kelman of All About Jazz called the album "a landmark recording" due to "the sheer chemistry between the core members," and noted that "the kind of compositional depth and maturity of Feels Good to Me came completely out of left field." He commented: "what is so refreshing about Feels Good to Me is its complete lack of compromise; there's no question that this is the album Bruford wanted to make, and it weathers the test of time incredibly well." [4]
Writing for Progrography, Dave Connolly remarked: "Of the solo Bruford albums, this is the best... Bruford the band is as unique here as the people in it." [5]
Exposé Online's Jon Davis wrote: "These musicians were presenting a completely new way of blending jazz and rock that didn't sound like any of the previous 'fusion' groups... Every single track on the album brings something new to the table... the combination of these players at this moment in time is simply magical." [6]
All tracks are written by Bill Bruford, except where noted:
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Beelzebub" | 3:16 | |
2. | "Back to the Beginning" | 7:09 | |
3. | "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (Part One)" | 2:30 | |
4. | "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (Part Two)" | 4:25 | |
5. | "Sample and Hold" | Bruford, Dave Stewart | 5:12 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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6. | "Feels Good to Me" | 3:49 | |
7. | "Either End of August" | 5:27 | |
8. | "If You Can't Stand the Heat..." | Bruford, Stewart | 3:20 |
9. | "Springtime in Siberia" | Bruford, Stewart | 2:43 |
10. | "Adios a la pasada (Goodbye to the Past)" | Bruford, Annette Peacock | 7:55 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Joe Frazier" (live) | Jeff Berlin | 4:39 |
with
William Scott Bruford is an English 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), Roy Harper (1975), and U.K. (1978), as well as touring with Genesis (1976). In 1978, he formed his own group, Bruford, which was active until 1980.
Brand X were a British jazz fusion band formed in London in 1974. They were initially active until 1980, followed by a reformations between 1992 and 1999 and 2016 until 2021. Despite sometimes being considered to be a Phil Collins side project, the band was in fact centred on a core composing/playing trio of John Goodsall (guitar), Percy Jones (bass) and Robin Lumley (keyboards), with Lumley also playing a prominent production role. Other members of the band at various times included Morris Pert, J. Peter Robinson, Kenwood Dennard, John Giblin, Mike Clark, Frank Katz, Kenny Grohowski and Chris Clark.
One of a Kind is the second solo album by the drummer Bill Bruford, and the first proper album by his band Bruford. Released in 1979 on EG Records, it is a collection of instrumentals in a style that can loosely be defined as jazz fusion. Bruford features guitarist Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jeff Berlin, and keyboardist Dave Stewart. "Forever Until Sunday" and "The Sahara of Snow" had originally been performed at 1978 concerts by Bruford and Holdsworth’s previous band U.K. They were intended for a studio album, but were never properly recorded by U.K. as Bruford kept the pieces for himself when he and Holdsworth exited the band. U.K. bandmate Eddie Jobson co-wrote "The Sahara of Snow" and reprises his violin part on "Forever Until Sunday". Stewart's "Hell's Bells" utilizes a fragment penned by his former National Health colleague Alan Gowen. Holdsworth's "The Abingdon Chasp" is the only piece he wrote for Bruford.
Gradually Going Tornado is the third solo album by drummer Bill Bruford and the second and final album by his group Bruford. It was co-produced by Bruford and Ron Malo, the latter known from his work with Weather Report. The music on the album leans closer to progressive rock than the jazz fusion oriented sound of the band’s previous albums. More of Bruford's lyrics are featured as well, for the first time sung by bassist Jeff Berlin. "Land's End" incorporates music keyboardist Dave Stewart had previously composed for the National Health album Of Queues and Cures (1978). Guitarist Allan Holdsworth left the group before recording began, and recommended his guitar student John Clark as his replacement. Clark was listed as “the Unknown John Clark” on the album sleeve as part of a running joke highlighting his obscurity in comparison to Holdsworth.
Unorthodox Behaviour is the first album by British jazz fusion group Brand X. It peaked at 191 on the Billboard 200 in 1976, the same year it was released.
Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s.
Children of Forever is the debut album by jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke. It was recorded in December 1972, and was released in 1973 by Polydor Records. On the album, Clarke is joined by vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Andy Bey, flutist Arthur Webb, guitarist Pat Martino, keyboardist Chick Corea, and drummer Lenny White.
John Goodsall was a British-American progressive rock and jazz fusion guitarist most noted for his work with Brand X, Atomic Rooster, and The Fire Merchants.
Settin' the Pace is a studio album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in December 1961 through Prestige Records. It is assembled from previously unissued tracks from a recording session at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1958. Coltrane on tenor saxophone is accompanied by Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. With Garland and Chambers, Coltrane had played together since at least October 1955 in Miles Davis' band. With Art Taylor they were part of the Tenor Conclave recordings in September 1956. As a quartet they had already recorded two albums for Prestige, John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio and Soultrane. The material the quartet recorded on this session were extended interpretations of three popular songs and "Little Melonae", a classic bebop tune written by Jackie McLean. Of note is Coltrane's use of the sheets of sound technique, particularly on "Little Melonae".
Earthworks is the first album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, a jazz fusion band led by drummer Bill Bruford with keyboardist and trumpeter Django Bates, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, and acoustic bassist Mick Hutton. It was released in 1987 on EG Records and reissued on Summerforld in 2005. The album was co-produced by Bruford's former bandmate Dave Stewart.
Andy Pyle is a British bassist who is best known for playing with The Kinks from 1976 to 1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig (1968–1972) and Savoy Brown (1972–1974). Later, he played with Wishbone Ash.
Jack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician.
The Out-of-Towners is a live album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich on July 28, 2001 and released by ECM on August 30, 2004. Jarrett's trio—the Standards trio—features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.
X-Dreams is the second solo album by Annette Peacock, released in 1978.
Nothing Ever Was, Anyway: Music of Annette Peacock is a double album by pianist Marilyn Crispell, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Paul Motian recorded in September 1996 and released on ECM the following year.
Music for Piano and Drums is the first studio album by a duo consisting of Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz and English drummer Bill Bruford. Both were members of Yes at different times, and the two had played together on Yes bassist Chris Squire's solo album Fish Out of Water in 1975.
Flags is a 1985 album by the duo of keyboardist Patrick Moraz and drummer Bill Bruford. Unlike their debut Music for Piano and Drums, which featured only the two instruments in the album's title, this recording expanded their musical palette by incorporating Kurzweil 250 synthesizer and Simmons electronic percussion. During the recording of this album, Moraz was a member of The Moody Blues, while Bruford's band King Crimson had just begun a hiatus that would last for ten years. Flags features ten original instrumentals, mostly derived from the duo improvising or working with sketches. There is also a drum solo Bruford based on Max Roach's "The Drum Also Waltzes".
The Bruford Tapes is a live 1979 album by the British band Bruford, only issued in the United States, Canada and Japan. It was recorded on July 12, 1979 in Roslyn, New York State and originally broadcast on WLIR radio. Shortly before the tour, guitarist Allan Holdsworth left the band and was replaced by his student John Clark, who had played with the prog group Quasar. The show features extended performances of material from the group's previous two albums Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind.
Bruford were a band assembled and led by British drummer Bill Bruford, originating in the late 1970s.