Ariel - 1985 - Perspectives

Ariel

1985

Perspectives

01. Another Time, Another Place (3:49)

02. Banana Blues (5:35)

03. Moment Of Weakness (3:54)

04. Folk Dance (4:25)

05. Ugh Huh (4:16)

06. Jupiter Whale (7:06)

07. The Ballad Of Kid Rock (8:12)

Marchristiansen / guitars

Tony Kampick / piano, keyboards, synthesizer

Bob Sheldon / percussion, drums

There's not a lot known about this Jazz Fusion trio out of Chicago other than that. Released in 1985 "Perspectives" is an all instrumental affair with drums, guitar and keyboards. First and foremost these guys can really play! Love the drumming, the guitar in a few styles and the array of keyboards in play. Some have suggested that 80's RUSH and KING CRIMSON influenced this record but I never thought of either band after a week of listening. This is a 37 minute recording with seven tracks and it ends very strong with those final three tracks which are my top three and add the opener and we have a four star record.

That opener "Another Time, Another Place" is a fiery piece with killer drumming and guitar. Lots of atmosphere provided by the synths throughout this record by the way. The synths don't ruin it for me like many 80's and 90's Jazz Fusion albums lets put it that way. The next three tracks are all good but not on the same level as my top four. "Banana Blues" is so close to having a reggae sound with that guitar. Quite a bit of piano too and on "Moment Of Weakness".

Check out "Ugh Huh" for an uptempo display of talent. The drums, guitar and synths are really good over those 4 minutes. "Jupiter Whale" is an interesting 7 minute piece with lots of atmosphere early. "The Ballad Of Kid Rock" is the over 8 minute closer and it sounds awesome and I like the melancholy and depth. Drums and guitar create havoc as it picks up around 1 1/2 minutes in. The guitar will light things up a couple of times yet.

From the far south Chicago suburbs, comes the super obscure Ariel, an album that is just now making its sound heard worldwide. Early 80s Rush is the most obvious first influence, but there's more here than meets the ear as it were. All instrumental guitar, keys, and drums are the core components, and the compositions are complex and tight - with a strong fusion influence. No escaping the King Crimson sound from the era either, but also (surprisingly) Doldinger's Passport, minus the sax (imagine the sequencer heavy Moog lines for example). If we were to really deep dive here, I would compare Ariel to fellow Chicagoan's Proteus, mixed with the UK group Red (on Jigsaw). While Side 1 is impressive enough, the final three tracks do nothing short of wow the listener. And they close with their peak composition, always a hallmark of a great album. Ariel does not belie its mid 80s sound (despite the somewhat psych influenced guitar tone), and yet compared with the normal dreck from the era, the band proves the middle 80s were not a total wasteland (heavy metal genre exempted of course). This one deserves the buzz its currently receiving in the underground.