Electromagnets
Electromagnets II (Vortexan)
The Electromagnets introduced the brilliant guitar pyrotechnics of Austin’s Eric Johnson. Unfortunately, like most jazz fusion of the 1970s, it has not aged particularly well. Miles Davis laid down the gauntlet with his landmark Bitches Brew, but it was the slew of first generation fusion bands led by Davis alumni – Weather Report, Headhunters, Return to Forever, and Mahavishnu Orchestra – that furnished a template for the Electromagnets’ super-charged guitar/keyboard sound. Recorded around the same time as the Austin band’s sole, self-titled album in late 1975, Electromagnets II is seeing the light of day for the first time. As such, it stands as a historical artifact to an expansive era when the adventurousness and virtuosity of jazz melded with the high-voltage energy of rock. Johnson’s soaring and immediately recognizable tones provide the highlights of the album, and the frenetic interplay between the guitarist and keyboardist Stephen Barber, bassist Kyle Brock, and drummer Bill Maddox has its moments. All too often, however, any and all sense of subtlety takes a back seat to careening velocity. Jazz fusion, as a style, and Eric Johnson, as a player, both evolved. Only true fans of either will appreciate this offering.
This article appears in April 21 • 2006.