The Colours of Chloë

Like so many prog and fusion albums from the 70s, this one follows (the highly enjoyable) cookie-cutter formula of having side A be the appetizers and side B bringing the sprawling main course. If you couldn't make it past side A, therefore, you don't deserve side B is my takeaway from that whole phenomenon. Give me a track to slip into and explore, from the re-emerging repetitive bass riff that forms the structure of the final track or the piano that takes the theme and soars with it or the synthesizer that steals it and evens it all out.

This just might be my favorite jazz release of all time. Structurally it leans on the ambient side more than anything. lays down the foundation on the opener, and Eberhard gives us a taste of the characteristic double bass that simillarly continues onto the next one, The Colours of Chloë, which is a much more clearer composition than the mysterious More Colours

An Evening With Vincent Van Ritz is the weak link here. With its flugelhorn, it's mostly akin to some early 60s classics than to the subdued and hazy nature of the rest of the album that really attracts me.

No Motion Picture is a 20-minute composition that for some is the best thing on here. Employing inspiration from the Hindustani musical heritage for a moment, sometimes it goes far above it, entering minimalism, chamber music, and psychedelia, it goes below it with the deep bass, and sometimes it employs ECM-style pianos. There's a lot for everyone here, and I can't properly convey how much of a spiritual level it reaches for me. You'll have to trust me and try it for yourself.

This album made me an Eberhardist, maybe even a full-blown Weberist.

(Also, listen to this on some bigger speakers and crank the volume high. It does magic)