Child's Play - 1979 - Child's Play

Child's Play
1979

Child's Play

01. 'sNo Danz (6:05)
02. Stella (By Flashlight) (7:18)
03. Captain's Groove (6:10)
04. Jonquille Pour Moi, Stanley? (5:28)
05. Little David (5:38)
06. Bossa Who? (4:40)
07. Melichar Babie (8:15)
08. The Gnome House That Franco Built (4:26)

Bruce Ford-Fyffe: piano
Richard Lumpkin: electric bass
Merrill Reese: drums

Muddd: guitar, synthesizer

Child's Play are an all instrumental progressive fusion band from Richmond, Virginia who successfully mix melodic and atmospheric composition with kinetic jazz school chops. Piano and electric guitar get the lion's share of attention, and the tracks move at a fast clip, keeping the listener's attention focused at all times. Plenty of excellent guitar solos, with some wah-wah applied to great effect. I really appreciate the psychedelic tones he achieves. The ivory tickling here is very impressive as well. The rhythm section does a great job of holding it all together with some crisp fills and meter shifting. Actual attention is paid to composition as well, so the album is not just a flimsy excuse for non-stop boring solos. For 70s fusion fans, this is a guaranteed hit. File alongside Genre (New Mexico), 3PM (North Carolina), and Momentum

An exciting Fusion of Jazz/Funk material littered with Progressive atmospheric break downs mainly in the form of piano movements. This one is a beauty.

Little is known about this 4 piece from Richmond Virginia except that this, their sole record, was released on a small label from North Carolina which hosted a handful of very eclectic bands including 'Killer Whales' and a late release by 'Jethro Tull'.

'Childs Play', approach these songs with a true sense of composition, lead by the piano styling's of Bruce Ford-Fyffe who writes most of the material. There is a unique sense of space and time within these tracks that is usually absent on these kind of instrumental Jazz/Fusion recordings. The solos have direction and the parts, while giving off a feeling of 'looseness', have intention and purpose and in a way are approached with a Progressive and dynamic sensibility that Jazz fans will love. Its also an extremely melodic record with loads of slick and chunky guitar riffs to grab a hold of as the piano steers the ship, the guitarist gives plenty of color to the mix, and the tracks offer up a complete Drum and Bass workout.

A knock out record that is well worth checking out.