The Fents - 1983 - First Offense

The Fents 

1983

First Offense

01. Artichoke 2:42
02. Baxter Ward 3:54
03. Special Buns 3:02
04. Dayhike 7:40
05. Four's A Crowd 4:10
06. Stick In The Mud 4:56
07. The Skunk 3:31
08. Clutch Cargo 4:38

Bass – Doug Hodges
Drums – Ed Marrow
Guitar – Ted Hall
Keyboards – Adam Holzman

Great smoking prog/fusion featuring Miles Davis alumnus and phenomenal keyboard wizard Adam Holzman and amazing guitarist Ted Hall.

There's no question that "First Offense" is of 1982 vintage, especially after taking in the opening track. Funky slap bass, synthesizers and slick production qualities are laid out early and offer a somewhat dubious beginning. Perhaps a First Offense indeed. But The Fents were far more interesting than that, and as the album unfolds, a sophisticated blend of instrumental jazz and rock emerges, with complicated rhythms, smoking solos, and grittier sounds. The band themselves were influenced by some of the leading fusion artists of the day like Bruford, Holdsworth and the Dixie Dregs, and those artists' fingerprints are all over this.

There are two presses of this album. The first is on the VIP label (cover not shown as I write this). The other is the more common Not Yachting version (the cover shown here).

Slightly less exciting piece here, after their impressive debut EP. Still, this is super solid stuff. The Dregs are definitely a point of reference, but without the twangier elements. Dregs adjacent outfits like Stretch and 3 P.M. come to mind as well. The focus here is more songcraft than blowing people away, and they do it well. Baxter Ward is my favorite, but I don't want to undersell any of these other tunes. Not a bad one in the batch. One of the very best releases in the dead zone that is 1983 fusion.