As usual JS is on the mark with his initital post here. Just received this one yesterday and listened during a long drive this morning. Thanks for the trip.
Not for the short of attention span folk like me but I stuck with it and really appreciated the groove they had such a good time laying down. That first track, "3", clocking in at twenty or more, reminded me of King Sunny Ade concerts from a couple decades back. The boys got the ju-ju going on this one and really set a great foundation from the spaghetti wah-wah get go to the slinky solos that follow. The first take of "Move" had me thinking of some reggae-fied hi-life and that came to be the case on the reprise (Gayton's bone workouts are worth a further "who is this guy" disclaimer). Shipp runs thru his typical morning sun salutations with "Astro Nugget" but had me thinking that this bit is becoming just that - certainly inspiring within this context but the same old we've heard before.
bitch - bitch - bitch ...My only dissapointment with this recording is the "playing" by Campbell on the fantastic "Blue 19". Shipp and the smaller rhythm section here put up a perfect descarga (?) as a set for trumpet but Roy has no idea what to do with it. Maybe his expressed intention of setting up some tension while wavering around the melody is exactly what he wants and his sphincter clenching squealo makes me wonder why Shipp didn't just get up from the bench and give him one on chops (and I use that loosely).
Great stuff none the less and while most "jam" music usually begs for a fast forward after a few minutes this one gets better as the time goes on.