Gradually Going Tornado

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Gradually Going Tornado
Bill Bruford Gradually Going Tornado.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1980
RecordedOctober & November 1979
Studio Surrey Sound Studios, Surrey, England
Genre Jazz fusion, [1] progressive rock [1]
Length46:02
Label Polydor Records
Producer Bill Bruford
Ron Malo
Bruford chronology
The Bruford Tapes
(1979)
Gradually Going Tornado
(1980)

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.

Contents

The title of the album was taken from the British-based Romanian artist Paul Neagu who did a performance under the name "Gradually Going Tornado" in London in 1974. Neagu created the album's cover art.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]

In a review for AllMusic, Lee Bloom wrote: "This is intelligent fusion -- intricately crafted, high energy, and technically impressive... Gradually Going Tornado, if not Bruford's most successful effort, is certainly among the finest music produced in the progressive rock/fusion genre." [1]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the music "strongly melodic, freewheeling and built round Bruford's ringing percussion." [2]

John Kelman of All About Jazz commented: "The Bruford Tapes demonstrated a more raucous energy than Bruford's first two releases, but the follow-up studio album, Gradually Going Tornado, proved that the group was capable of generating the same kind of power in the studio." [3]

Track listing

  1. "Age of Information" (Bruford, Stewart) – 4:41
  2. "Gothic 17" (Bruford, Stewart) – 5:07
  3. "Joe Frazier" (Berlin) – 4:41
  4. "Q.E.D." (Bruford, Stewart) – 7:46
  5. "The Sliding Floor" (Berlin, Bruford, Stewart) – 4:58
  6. "Palewell Park" (Bruford) – 3:57
  7. "Plans for J.D." (Bruford) – 3:50
  8. "Land's End" (Stewart) – 10:20

2005 bonus cut
9. "5G" [live] (Berlin, Bruford, Stewart) – 7:21

Personnel

Guests:

Technical:

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

YearChartPosition
1980Pop Albums191

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bloom, Lee. "Bill Bruford: Gradually Going Tornado". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 185.
  3. Kelman, John (14 October 2005). "Bill Bruford: The Bruford Tapes & Gradually Going Tornado". All About Jazz. Retrieved 28 September 2022.