One Of A Kind＜限定盤＞

YES/KING CRIMSON/U.K.他数々の名バンドを渡り歩いた、プログレッシブ・ロックシーンを代表する名ドラマー:Bill Brufordが70年代末期/80年代初期に率いたリーダー・グループ、英Polydorから発表された、'78年ソロ名義作と並ぶ傑作である'79年作が自身のレーベルSummerfold傘下Winterfoldより限定アナログ盤にて'23年再発!

故Allan Holdsworth(g)、Jeff Berlin(b)、元EGG/HATFIELD & THE NORTH/NATIONAL HEALTHのDave Stewart(key)等前作参加メンバーを迎え改めてバンド名義として制作/発表。アルバム冒頭を飾る、キーボードによる変拍子リフが印象的な'Hell's Bells'をはじめ、2部構成のタイトル曲やライブのみながらU.K.でも披露された'Forever Until Sunday''The Sahara Of Snow'等前作にも劣らぬ名曲の数々を収録の上、前作同様にスリリングでテクニカルな演奏/アンサンブルが全体から堪能できる名作です!
マスターは'17年8枚組BOX/単体リリースされた'19年CD+DVD盤と同じく、Bill Bruford監修の下行われたKING CRIMSONのJakko M. Jakszykによる'17年リミックス音源を使用。

Bill Bruford ended his brief affair with U.K. and condensed his original outfit to a quartet, releasing a second album of sinewy, celebratory jazz/rock fusion, One of a Kind. Good-humored twists and turns abound in the music, punctuated by Bruford's steadying if slightly subversive rhythms, Allan Holdsworth's flashes of fire, Jeff Berlin's insistent bass, and Dave Stewart's remarkably colorful keyboards. At the heart of many of these songs is an uplifting melody, a trait shared with fusion artists like Weather Report and Jean-Luc Ponty, though Bruford's outfit favors a faster pace than the former and pursues more musical avenues in a single song than the latter. When he takes to tuned percussion, Bruford can even sound like Frank Zappa (both bands have a funky side to them). Standout cuts this time include "Hell's Bells," "Fainting in Coils" (which, in an indirect link to his previous employers, would have felt at home on Robert Fripp's Exposure), "Five G," and "The Sahara of Snow." The remaining tracks are a little less muscular, and the band's strength would seem to lie in fusion propelled by the complex rhythmic patterns of Bruford and Berlin (i.e., when the band leans closer to the rock side of the fusion family). Those who enjoy their fusion with a healthy dose of rock will find One of a Kind a fair match for anything from Return to Forever or Brand X. Note that many of these songs also appear in live versions on the beat-the-boots release The Bruford Tapes. ~ Dave Connolly