Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Niacin: Time Crunch

129

Niacin: Time Crunch

By

View read count
Niacin: Time Crunch
This is a first for me. I open a demo package and am so impressed I begin the review before the CD is finished. This release is THAT important. Jazzers will dig this. Fusion heads will get into it. Prog rock fans will drool. Rockers will bang heads. And anyone who loves awesome keys, monster bass and slammin' drums MUST grab this. I received this CD and liner notes "naked" and I instantly assembled a fine jewel case for this gem.

This release is so, so very dense, in-your-face, pumping, groovin,' funked, slick, soul-fired jammin' and darn good fun. I was very tempted to do dashboard air-keyboards listening to this on the road. This Time Crunch has the punch, lushness, and full sound of ELP's Tarkus, (especially clear on "Stone Face"), U.K.'s legendary releases, and Derek Sherinian aka Planet X's efforts. Sheehan's bass work is immense, fluid, fast, and furious. Novello's keys are a surround sound experience with Jan Hammeresque lead fills and solos. Sheehan solos mean as well. Chambers is a solid powerhouse of relentless pummelings and graceful powerglides.

This is eleven songs of near-perfection. And guess what? I enjoyed this CD immensely yet there are NO LEAD nor RHYTHM GUITARS herein. Wow! I must give this CD a 9.9 outta 10. Otherwise someone might think I wrote a biased review or something . . . time to hit replay . . .

By the way, Niacin does two prog-fan-friendly covers; "Red" by Fripp and friends and the outro cut, "Blue Wind" by Jan Hammer. Alas, one very, very wee complaint: that psuedo-horn, mimed to a Miles-mute-Davis-cool, via a synth lead on "Daddy Long Leg" was an irksome sound-bank, voice choice. It sounded ultra cheesy aka fake. Don't use that setting on tour! I'd suggest instead that fuller Hendrixian-axe setting Hammer used on "Jetstream" off his Black Sheep and do the Jimi jive next time. 'Nuff said.

Cyberhome: http://www.magnacarta.net

Track Listing

Elbow Grease; Time Crunch; Stone Face; Red; Invisible King; Daddy Long Leg; Hog Funk; Glow; Damaged Goods; Outside Inside Out; Blue Wind;

Personnel

Niacin
band / ensemble / orchestra
John Novello
keyboards

Album information

Title: Time Crunch | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Rock Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.