Light Year - 2010 - Reveal The Fantastic

Light Year 

2010 

Reveal The Fantastic

01. Giant Babies 6:16

02. Zada 3:54

03. Buggy Cadavers 8:49

04. The Story Of Two Small Objects 2:25

05. The Nocturnal Avenger Of Human Potential 2:55

06. The World 6:12

07. Aura / Open Windows 20:20

Bass Guitar – John Yu

Drums – Zak McGrath

Electric Guitar – Randy Sellgren

Electric Piano, Keyboards – Cornelius Williams

Percussion, Vibraphone – Doug Johnson

Vocals – Sharon Pucci

Formed in 1974, Light Year were what seems to be a short lived fusion band operating out of the Bay Area of San Francisco. After support slots with the likes of The Tubes, the band's attempts to secure a record contract culminated in a showcase gig that had "....record executives exiting the club en masse with their hands over their ears" according to their biog.

From what I've heard they certainly did not deserve such treatment, as they serve up a potent stew of jazz fusion music that fair belts along. A highly competent ensemble featuring the diverse talents of Cornelius Williams (piano), Zak McGrath (drums), Randy Sellgren (guitars), John Yu (bass), Doug Johnson (percussion, marimba, vibes, etc) and the soaring vocals of Sharon Pucci.

This album, a posthumous collection of recordings finally seeing the light of day some 36 years after the event, kicks off with a crash and Giant Babies sees some furious guitar work from Randy and is an indication that if, like me, jazz fusion ticks all your right boxes, we're in for a treat. Sharon's melancholy lines in this song based around the refrain "Don't forget my love" do not prepare you for the outpourings of her soaring larynx on the next song, Zada. Some of you may be familiar with the renowned UK jazz singer Cleo Laine, and Sharon's voice, possibly starting from a higher point, puts me in mind of the British chanteuse. Probably the best vehicle for Sharon on the album is the poignant penultimate song The World, a lovely piece of work. She also gets to do some reasonable scat singing, especially on Buggy Cadavers (Nirvana would have killed for a song title like that!).

The rest of the band certainly get to show their chops, which are up there with the best fusion bands of the 70s. Think Return To Forever meets Zappa at his jazziest, with a bit of Etheridge era Soft Machine thrown in for good measure. Buggy Cadavers features Doug Johnson, who gets to hit all manner of vibes and similar instruments. The Nocturnal Avenger Of Human Potential (another great title) might have been what Black Sabbath would have sounded like if their formative influences were jazz rather than blues. It rocks!

The last song, the 20 minute Aura/Open Any Windows is a tour de force of jazz rock stylings and has a distinctly Black Napkins feel to it in the first 10 minutes or so, no bad thing indeed! The second half of this epic features mucho percussion and some nice scatting by Sharon, before leading into a keyboard led improv.

Before I bought this album I had never heard of this band, and I can well see myself returning to the album again and again. If you're a fan of 70s jazz fusion, buy this and you won't be disappointed.

Hailing from San Fransisco this little known troupe of musicians rose and fell without ever having an actually album released. They did have a handful of studio and live-in-the-studio recordings though which make up this discography CD. The music definitely comes from the Zappa school of zanny and complex Jazz/Prog/Rock music. Especially with the permanent vibraphone player which will no doubt bring to mind some of the best Zappa years with Ruth Underwood. They are also fronted by a great jazzy singer in Sharon Pucci which brings frontline personality to an already dazzling group of musicians. One of the things I like most about this album is there isn't a sleeper track to be found throughout these 7 songs. Its all kept to a pretty quick pace with a high level of technicality. Shit gives you a brain workout thats for damn sure! The grand finale is a 20 minute closer which starts off as a slow burn space rock jam, and slowly builds and breaks midway through into the more propulsive style of vibraphone hammering and vocal thrashing that normally dominates their signature sound, truly an epic piece!