Now Available – Billy Cobham, The Atlantic Years: 1973-1978
Drummers don’t come much more legendary than Billy Cobham, whose work during the late ‘60s, throughout the ‘70s, and into the ‘80s and beyond helped define the concept of jazz fusion. That’s not to say that Cobham has ever limited himself solely to one genre, but that’s certainly the stuff that helped make him into a legend.
Although he first started getting major props when he and John McLaughlin co-founded Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham’s post-Orchestra work is the focus of The Atlantic Years: 1973-1978, an 8-disc collection which serves not just as an instant introduction to Cobham’s solo career but also provides jazz novices with a history lesson of what was going on in the jazz fusion world in the ‘70s. In other words, it’s a great set for a number of reasons, and it sounds great, too.
Here’s the full track listing of the set, so you’ll know exactly what you’re getting, but you won’t really know what you’ve got until you sit down and press “play.” Once you do that, though, prepare to have your mind blown and maybe even experience astral projection. Probably not, but we’ve heard it happened to Billy during one of his shows in the ‘70s. Then again, that might not have been anything to do with the music, so forget we said anything and just go dig Cobham’s grooves.
DISC 1: SPECTRUM
1. Quadrant 4
2. Searching For The Right Door
3. Spectrum
4. Anxiety
5. Taurian Matador
6. Stratus
7. To The Women In My Life
8. Le Lis
9. Snoopy's Search
10. Red Baron
11. All 4 One
12. Stratus Part I (Mono) Single *
13. Stratus Part I (Stereo) Single *
DISC 2: CROSSWINDS
1. Spanish Moss: A Sound Portrait
2. The Pleasant Pheasant
3. Heather
4. Crosswind
5. Crosswind (Single Edit) *
6. Le Lis (Single Edit) *
DISC 3: TOTAL ECLIPSE
1. Solarization
2. Lunarputians
3. Total Eclipse
4. Bandits
5. Moon Germs
6. The Moon Ain't Made Of Green Cheese
7. Sea Of Tranquility
8. Last Frontier
9. Moon Germs (Single)*
DISC 4: SHABAZZ
1. Shabazz
2. Taurian Matador (Revised)
3. Red Baron (Revised)
4. Tenth Pinn
DISC 5: A FUNKY THIDE OF SINGS
1. Panhandler
2. Sorcery
3. A Funky Thide Of Sings
4. Thinking Of You
5. Some Skunk Funk
6. Light At The End Of The Tunnel
7. A Funky Kind Of Thing
8. Moody Modes
9. Neu Rock & Roll (Outtake)*
DISC 6: LIFE & TIMES
1. Life & Times
2. 29
3. Siesta / Wake Up / That's What I Said
4. East Bay
5. Earthlings
6. Song For A Friend (Part I)
7. On A Natural High
8. Song For A Friend (Part II)
9. Natural Essence - Out Of Darkness (Produced by Billy Cobham)*
10. Natural Essence - It's You I Need (Produced by Billy Cobham)*
DISC 7: LIVE ON TOUR IN EUROPE (WITH GEORGE DUKE)
1. Hip Pockets
2. Ivory Tattoo
3. Space Lady
4. Almustafa The Beloved
5. Do What Cha Wanna
6. Frankenstein Goes To The Disco
7. Sweet Wine
8. Juicy
9. Do What Cha Wanna (Single)*
10. Hip Pockets (Single)*
DISC 8: INNER CONFLICTS
1. Inner Conflicts
2. The Muffin Talks Back
3. Nickels And Dimes
4. El Barrio
5. Arroyo
