From the opening sound of Satnam Singh’s tablas on the lead off song “Narmada” , a
fusion piece of World music inspired by the late Weather Report keyboard wizard
Joe Zawinal’s work with his Zawinal Syndicate, we are transported into the world
of drummer Simon Phillips super group on his latest release Protocol
III. The former drum slinger, who
has pounded his toms for the likes of Toto, the Who , Jeff Beck and Judas
Priest has formed a monster group with chops to spare and a driving sound that resurrects
my lost love of well played fusion music.
The group features Phillips on his enormous set of drums, the masterful
Andy Timmons on guitar, the indefatigable Ernest Tibbs laying down his anchored
bass lines and the creative keyboard artist Steve Weingart. Together these guys
bring back the fun and awe of rock-inspired , jazz fusion. Labeling musical styles is a pointless exercise and clearly the emphasis of Phillips music is on technically proficient, hard driving rock, but no matter the album kicks butt. The band
has absorbed some of the best sounds of the masters, Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu,
Return to Forever and Weather Report to name a few.
The catchy “Imaginary Ways” is a case in point with Tibbs
throbbing electric bass laying down the bottom and Timmons tasteful
guitar singing out the repeated melody as Weingart layers the song with
a myriad of electronic accents. The breaks are crisp and executed impeccably as
they mix a hard rock bridge that could satiate
any head bangers desires. The rapid-fired, synchronous bridge at the end is a bow
to Mahavishnu and a stunning display of precision.
“Outlaw” is just a down and dirty electric blues with
Timmons doing some tasty guitar work clearly inspired by Jeff Beck’s body of work.
”Catalyst” has the most fractious
breaks creating and electro-mechanical sound driven by Tibbs relentless bass, Phillips
thunderous driving drums and Timmons Jimmy Page like guitar solo.
On “Amirta, a billowy
suspension of sounds that crescendos into a Return
to Forever like romp, Timmons voicing’s takes on more of a Larry Carlton
inspired sound, sustaining wonderful nuances from each note. When Phillips isn’t laying down the sauntering
beat he occasionally pounds his toms
into rolling submission and Weingart creates an aural backdrop of other-worldliness.
”Circle Seven” starts out as Timmons bow to Beck’s “Diamond Dust”
period before it turns into a Return to Forever romp. Tibbs lays down a gorgeous bass line that is
then repeated by Timmons guitar before Weingart struts his Wurlitzer/Rhodes
chops beautifully with Tibbs matching him skillfully on bass. Phillips interjects
timely fills over and eventually yielding to a rambunctious and tumultuous drum
solo. The song is a hard driving celebration
of synchronicity. The album finishes off
this excursion into fusion with the funky “You Can’t But You Can” and the drum heavy “Undercover.” With Protocol
III Simon Phillips and company
have provided a skillfully executed
album, strongly influenced by those who came before them, but that brings
rock/jazz fusion back into relevance.