Billy Cobham “Spectrum” (1973)

I might be one of the few people who ventured into this album as a Deep Purple fan more than anything else. I’d read that Tommy Bolin’s best work could be found on this album so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Since then I’ve found out some more about Mr. Cobham and from “Spectrum” alone, I’m impressed. The band sound really tight on this album and every track bursts with energy. The first track is an absolute mad dash to the end with great soloing and frenetic drumming, but my favorite tracks are “Stratus” and “Red Baron”. Both of these songs have really cool, laid back grooves and the interplay between guitar, keyboard and drums is delightful. After entering into “Spectrum” as a Tommy Bolin fan, I left as a Jan Hammer fan. The keyboard solo’s here are breath-taking, stealing focus from Bolin who is no slouch himself. –Tom