CLASSIC ROCK JAZZ FUSION MUSIC FROM 1973
BILLY COBHAM'S INITIAL SOLO EFFORT FROM 1973, THIS ALBUM IS A TRUE CLASSIC OF ROCK-JAZZ FUSION MUSIC, FEATURING SOME BLISTERING GUITAR FROM THE LATE, GREAT, TOMMY BOLIN (OF DEEP PURPLE FAME) AND FELLOW MAHAVISHNU BANDMATE JAN HAMMER ON MOOG SYNTHESIZER. I HAVE HAD THIS ALUM ON LP, CASSETTE, AND DD SINCE IT CAME OUT WAY BACK WHEN.

Monumental!!! A true flagship of '70s fusion!!!
I got to see Billy tour for the 30th anniversary of this album in a small club a few years ago. It was a great concert! I had a great time, despite the fact that the only original band member he could retrieve was bassist Lee Sklar. Even the guitarist did a reasonable job of covering for the late (incredible) Tommy Bolin. Let's face it: Tommy's phenomenal guitar work is a large part of why this album is a true flagship in the realm of '70s fusion. Even considering Tommy's work in Zephyr, The James Gang and Deep Purple (not to mention a few solo albums), THIS album is by far THE BEST TOMMY BOLIN GUITAR ALBUM EVER!!! When I first heard the opening song "Quadrant 4" during my early introductions to fusion, my first response was, "This is supposed to be a JAZZ album???" Quadrant 4 is one of the greatest instrumental rock guitar anthems ever...even if it's supposed to be jazz!!! Tommy's playing is incredible on 4 songs on this work. Even the title song and "Le Lis" which are more jazz tunes with brass and flute (and do not include Tommy) blend fabulously with the fusion songs, making this a wonderful album! Billy's friend from The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jan Hammer is spectacular on the keyboards, and all band members do fantastic work. Now, let's get to Billy himself. A drummer friend of mine had the fortunate chance of seeing The Mahavishnu Orchestra back in the day. He said he wondered why they set up 2 drum kits for just 1 guy....but he didn't wonder for long!! He said "they NEEDED 2 drum kits to hold the guy down so he wouldn't float away, he was so unbelievable!! He sounded like there was at least 2 drummers going at the same time....one kit couldn't contain the dude!!" And when I saw him touring for the 30th anniversary of this album a few years ago, I can still heartily agree. They still need 2 drum sets to hold this dude down! And, Billy's drumming as well as his surprising gift at writing all the music on this album, is a great part of what makes this album sparkle as the MUST HAVE album it is!! Get this album for Billy's unbelievable drumming!!! Get this album for Tommy Bolin's phenomenal guitar work!! Get this album, because it is truly a flagship for instrumental rock and brilliant '70s jazz fusion!!!

Really great album. Worth the money.
I just got this album last month and I'm still really pleased with it. If you are a fan of Jazz Fusion, or just a fan of Billy Cobham, give "Spectrum" a listen. Billy Cobham has some great drum parts, as well as a few tasteful solos which really do a lot to showcase his genius when it comes to drumming. Whats most impressive about this is that even when playing his really intracate drum solos, it doesn't seem like he is showing off. Everything he does seems to work together with the rest of the music, which says alot.

The other instruments are great on this album two. Guitarist Tom Bollin really surprised me, and Jan Hammer delivered an excellent preformance on Electric Piano and Synth in typical "Hammer" fashion. The Bassist, Lee Sklar, does alot to complement the band, but I felt he was holding back, and was dissapointed. Luckily, there are some tracks where he is replaced by the Ledgendary Ron Carter on Double Bass.

All in all, songs are well constructed and memorable, the Musicians featured on the album are great, and all the songs on the album work together as a whole and create consistency. The music is full of change, dynamics, and contrast. It's nothing quite like Mahavishnu Orchestra's older music, but it's still a great album in it's own right.

Pure Jazz Rock Fusion!
I have loved this album for years. What makes it my favorite Jazz-Rock-Fusion album is it's line-up. With the exception of two tracks featuring Ron Carter and Joe Farrell (two great Jazz musicians), the four piece group is made of two Jazz players, and two from the Rock scene. Billy and Jan are Jazz players at the core, Tommy is a Blues based Rock player, and Lee Sklar on bass is one of the great Pop-Rock studio sideman (James Taylor, Phil Collins, etc). They all come together to produce a great JRF funky sound. A lot of great JRF music is mostly played by Jazz musicians exercising their music with Rock Muscle (amplfiers, pick-ups, etc). This album gives us a fusion of different musical backgrounds. Tommy Bolin fans know that in his early days, he was in a Blues-Rock band called "Zephyr." Some of their early stuff does have tinges of Jazz and Swing, so it didn't surprise me how well he fit with Billy and Jan. It's too bad that the core group on this album wasn't really a band. It was a one time project. I saw Billy Cobham in concert soon after Spectrum was released, and he was already on to the Crosswinds-Total Eclispe group. That outfit wasn't too shabby either.

SPECTRUM review
cool CD...haven't heard it in probably 15 to 20 years...It was fun to hear it again....Funny though, it's a bit different than the way I remember it.