John Tropea - 1977 - Short Trip To Space

John Tropea 

1977

Short Trip To Space

01. The Funk You See, Is The Funk You Do!
02. Can't Hide Love
03. Southside
04. You Can't Have It All
05. Short Trip To Space
06. Blue Too
07. Love's Final Moment
08. Twist Of The Wrist

Alto Saxophone – Jeanne Findberg (tracks: 3)
Bass – Richard Davis (2) (tracks: 7)
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Will Lee
Bassoon – Ron Jannelli* (tracks: 7)
Drums – Rick Marotta, Steve Gadd
Flute – George Young (2) (tracks: 7), Lew Del Gatto (tracks: 3)
French Horn – Earl Chapin, Jim Buffington (tracks: 7)
Guitar, Voice [Box], Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Synthesizer – John Tropea
Harp – Margaret Ross (tracks: 7)
Keyboards, Piano – Don Grolnick
Oboe, Flute – Romeo Penque (tracks: 7)
Organ – Leon Pendarvis (tracks: 8)
Percussion, Congas – Rubens Bassini
Rhythm Guitar – David Spinozza (tracks: 6)
Tenor Saxophone – Jeff King (7) (tracks: 3)
Trumpet – Elen Sieling (tracks: 3)
Trumpet, Soloist – Randy Brecker (tracks: 5)
Vibraphone – Mike Minieri* (tracks: 7, 8)
Vocals – Jeffrey Kawalek* (tracks: 1), Ron Cartalemi (tracks: 1)
Wood Block, Cowbell, Tambourine – Ralph MacDonald

John Tropea is an American guitarist who has worked as a session musician for Eumir Deodato on another YT Rec, Artistry. Eumir's album underwhelmed me a little as it spent too much time on long ,chill, Classically influenced pieces and not enough on Jazz-Funk i was expecting and hoping for. Short Trip to Space on the other hand is 36 minutes of Psychedelic influenced Jazz-Funk, complete with a full band of percussion, synths, horns, strings and even some reeds, designed to send you on a journey straight out of the atmosphere.

The title track is probably the best song on the album! Easily the most ambitious piece, it's horn arrangements are amazing and after 3 minutes of spacey guitar and synths we get into a brilliantly produced piece that truly embodies the wonderful yet ridiculous feeling that space-travel will surely be in the future!

While there are a couple of lull moments where songs slow down a little too much for even the Psychedelic Rock parts to keep the track interesting, the album is for the most part a load of fun and clearly influenced by early Funkadelic, with a heavy focus of Tropea's wonderful guitar work.

"The Funk You See..." is a cheeky upstroker with ample hints of the smoothness to come. We got the cod reggae of "Southside," and the delicate palm-muting on "You Can't Have It All". On the flipside, "Short Trip to Space" is first a beautifully moody piece with muted horns, after a nice piece of cool stinging funk. Unfortunately things get a little silly, and I begin to wait for the pensive stuff to return. It does. So it's not a bad little mood record. You'll be all "blah blah Marvin Gaye" and I'll be all "buh guh John Tropea" and then you'll be all "ok but this time i'm pitching".

This is a jazz/funk masterpiece and a true hidden gem from the late 1970s. Tropea's guitar floats over sophisticated swaths of synth, funky beats, and a subtle horn section that includes the Brecker Brothers. The entire album has a really cool, laid back vibe and the gorgeous, psychedelic cover art by Laslo fits the tone of the music perfectly. This out of print classic is going up in price on vinyl so buy it if you see it. You won't be disappointed!