THE NEW TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME FEATURING ALLAN HOLDSWORTH / LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE 1976 (1CDR)

Tony Williams - drums
Allan Holdsworth - guitar
Alan Pasqua - keyboards
Tony Newton - bass

1. SNAKE OIL
2. FRED
3. PROTO COSMOS
4. RED ALERT
5. WILDLIFE
6. MR. SPOCK
(Another Set or Another Day)
7. RED ALERT
8. FRED
9. PROTO COSMOS

Tony Williams—a premier jazz drummer highly regarded by Miles Davis—formed his own band, Lifetime, and steered it toward fusion. This live recording dates from 1976 and features Allan Holdsworth, a guitarist who was in high demand within the jazz-rock scene, having played with bands like Soft Machine and Gong. The same lineup, billed as "New Lifetime," also released a studio album; however, while an album like *Million Dollar Legs* might come across as somewhat pop-oriented and lacking in grit, this live recording is pure, rugged jazz-rock. Although it is a soundboard recording—rated "Very Good"—the sound quality has a slight drawback: there is a significant amount of hiss. Aside from that, the audio is powerful, with the bass captured with great clarity. While the hiss might be noticeable at first, the performance is so compelling that you will soon find yourself completely absorbed in the music, forgetting the noise entirely.