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Your Learning Zone - Chase/Ennea/Pure Music
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List Price: $23.98
Our Price: $10.97
Your Save: $ 13.01 ( 54% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Wounded Bird Records
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0664140047228
Label: Wounded Bird Records
Manufacturer: Wounded Bird Records
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Wounded Bird Records
Release Date: 2008-06-24
Studio: Wounded Bird Records
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Worth Every Penny but Sound on 1st Album Still Not What It Needs to Be
Comment: Here you've got 3 classic offerings from this legendary fusion band. There isn't a track on any of these 3 albums that you will need to skip if you like Jazz-Rock. The least popular of these albums "Ennea" actually ends up being the best one but hey, some people don't want any fusion of prog-rock and jazz or lyrics from Greek mythology. If Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Genesis can do it, why not Chase? Considering the low price you pay for 3 albums worth of some of the best, most energetic music ever made, this is is a no-brainer purchase. However, it must be said that the sound on the 1st album still isn't where it needs to be or unfortunately maybe never will be, because, apparently, the original two-track masters cannot be found and it has to be mixed down from a quad master resulting in quite a bit of hiss. "Ennea" and "Pure Music" sound good enough to my ears though it's the incredible arrangements and performances that kick it over the top and not the overall sound production on the albums.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Trumpet Heaven
Comment: Man, could these guys blow those horns, whew!!!! I had the double-LP "Chase/Ennea" back in the late '70s (a French release, I believe) and had been waiting for years for the CD release. I couldn't have asked for a better package...1 CD, all three albums. I dig Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears, but these cats went well beyond that and absolutely held back no punches. Uncompromising. Every arrangement is like a roller-coaster ride. Simply the best Jazz/Rock band ever!
Customer Rating:
Summary: For those times when you need screaming brass
Comment: Sometimes you long for the blues, or for music to set the tone for a romantic evening. But other times, you want the adrenalin rush of a rhythm section on overload, driving a brass section capable of ripping your face off. That's what you get from this three-album package.
Bill Chase had one of the very few bands that successfully produced great jazz-rock fusion. Think of it as Blood, Sweat, & Tears with an overdose of trumpet testosterone. A former lead trumpeter in the bands of Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson, Chase envisioned a rock band featuring four trumpets - an odd concept, but he made it work. The trumpet arrangements were brilliantly written and superbly executed, and all of the sidemen had solid backgrounds in both jazz and rock.
This will bring back great memories for those of us who were knocked out by it when it first came out. Of course, some characteristics of the music are firmly rooted in the early 1970s, such as the inclusion of organ in the rhythm section and the abundant use of fuzz and wa-wa guitar effects.
The weakest aspect of the songs is the lyrics. Certainly nothing profound or memorable there. Some lyrics may have you thinking, "They can't be serious!" (Case in point: "Hello Groceries" on the first album.) Brass lovers may wish that the vocals would go away entirely. That wish almost comes true on the third album, where four of the six tracks are instrumentals. (The only other instrumental in the collection is "Open Up Wide," which kicks off the first album.)
The original liner notes from the first album are included, but that's all the information we get other than the personnel and track listings. It would have been nice to get some more background, especially for younger listeners who may not be aware of who these players were, or of the band's tragic end in a 1974 plane crash.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Chase is on
Comment: The short-lived jazz-fusion band Chase released just three lp's -- all collected here on two-cd's. Bill Chase fused big band jazz and 70's rock into a great experience. Having heard these guys - I never expected 4 guys with trumpets to rock, but they do and listening to this I can relive the experience. Just like BST or Chicago only better -- edgier.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply Outstanding!
Comment: Let me preface this review by saying that I have been a huge Chase fan since the very first time I heard "Get It On" back in the early '90s. Since then, I have bought every LP (stereo and quad) and every CD I could find (including all of the CD versions of the 3 studio albums both import and domestic, the 3 volumes of "The Concert Series", "Listen To Her Sing" and the tribute "Watch Closely Now"). I'm not going to waste your time telling you about Chase or what's on these CDs. I'm going to assume that you already know that if you are looking at this! :)
Now, the review ... this is simply the best transfer of the Chase material to CD that I've heard. The trumpets are crisp and clean, the bass lines are beautiful and full and the sound is impecciably balanced for masters that are nearing 40 years old. I'm not kidding when I tell you that it sounds almost like you are there ... as good as any of us will get. You can buy this one with confidence!
I wouldn't waste your money on any other copy of the studio recordings of Chase. This one 2 CD set will do it for you. And if you already own the LPs or the other CDs put out by Epic (import) or One-Way Records (domestic), spend the money and hear these. You won't be sorry!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Chase was a Jazz-Rock horn band masterminded by trumpet player extraordinaire Bill Chase. The only issued three albums, all of which made the Billboard charts when originally issued in the early 1970s. Tragically this all came to an end when most of the band, including Bill, was killed in a plane crash in 1974. Their music lives on with these three excellent albums, gathered together here as three albums on two CDs.
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