Tommy Bolin - Sister Andrea (Demo 1971)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- from The Ultimate Redux
Bolin was part of a studio session being fronted by the jazz-rock flutist Jeremy Steig and including Billy Cobham. It was the first time Bolin had met Cobham and led directly to his later inclusion on Spectrum. This version of Jan Hammer's composition "Sister Andrea," later covered by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, was a demo that didn't see the light of day until Tommy Bolin: From the Archives was released in 1996. Steig's lead flute and Bolin's spacey sound effects give the tune quite a different character than Mahavishnu's interpretation. Some of those effects, in truncated form, would find their way onto Spectrum two years later. Though he doesn't really let it rip, you can hear hints of Bolin's future greatness here. He possessed the perfect guitar rough-but-not-sloppy sound for all future fusion superstars. Perla lays down a simple bassline in conjunction with Hammer's slightly funky chords. Though this performance is enjoyable, it is probably of more historical interest. And to be fair, it is a demo. Jan Hammer does say in the liner notes that he prefers this performance over Mahavishnu's. That statement is flummoxing. But he knows his music better than I do.
Reviewer: Walter Kolosky
MO Sister Andrea has 3 great solos, JM’s takes it to another orbit, violin is superb quite like Hendrix but with something else but it is Jan’s one that really breaks the bank it has everything in it: the phrasing, the rhythm and the sound landscape, it is just a phenomenal solo and Billy goes on board as well which makes it quite magical. Now you listen to Tommy Bolin solo here and you find loads of ideas that Jan later used on that solo, this is just fantastic! Tommy was a very intuitive musician and his approach to jazz is totally outsider because he couldn’t read music so he couldn’t possibly go down the road of infinite chord changes. Thus what he brings to jazz is this sense of space to the sound that he creates using effects but more than that he manages this sonic space masterly. After listening to this I think Jan was probably quite influenced by Tommy and has gracefully honoured him in his magnificent solo of Sister Andrea. Or not. Who knows? But the fact is Tommy was a powerhouse of out of the box ideas and concepts, what a great musician 🙏
I love MO! Saw them on the Birds of Fire tour & was TOTALLY caught off guard! Never even heard of their name let alone that music! Rocked my world! Same exact thing happened with Yes prior to that! Having said that, I like this version of Sister Andrea much better than MO...
You are SO correct! It’s amazing to find here how closely Jan followed Tommy’s solo here in doing his own. I’m realizing much of the ‘genius’ credit on the MO version goes to Tommy!
Just a small nitpick: I'm not sure you could technically call the Mahavishnu version a cover, since Jan Hammer was in the group at the time, and as you note, he is the composer. At any rate, this is definitely a cool track that totally demonstrates Tommy's versatility. To think he could do this sort stuff AND the stuff he did with The James Gang and Deep Purple and what was on his solo albums is a bit mindboggling. It's kinda scary to think where he might have gone if he hadn't died so young.
I absolutely agree. I have been a fan since mid 1978, his talent was boundless. R I P Tommy
Kohntarkosz Agree 100% The talent was boundless
+Kohntarkosz did he die young? when and why? do you know? thanks..
+legatou Yes, I forget his exact age, but Tommy died from a drug overdose when he was in his late 20's, in 1976, I believe. Supposedly, when he was on tour with Deep Purple, at one point, he did too much heroin and his arm was paralyzed for several days. They had to postpone the Japanese dates on the tour until Tommy could play again.
tommy died at 25 in miami,from multi drug overdose, he was with his own band ,...the tommy bolin band. .look it up. it will tell you about how he fell asleep on his hand ,and how it damaged the nerve and how he seeked help from doctors and other in order for him to try and play with deep purple.. in a john lord interview he talks about it,and even in the archieves from a radio interview from tommy himself,he speakes about it. they dont say what caused it ,but we all know.. he was so young like many of the greats. google the info.
Always loved this song but never heard Bolins version. Saw him when he was with the James gang a million years ago.
Listened to a lot of the early Mahavishnu, but never heard this. Awesome find.
A beautiful, subtle version of this fusion classic/epic.
Tommy Bolin rocked-- cool version of a great tune-- Marching Powder with Michael Walden classic funk fusion at it's best
wish miss you Tommy B
"Marching Powder" which also had Jan Hammer on the Mini-Moog!!!!!
easy summation..both versions are good...pointless..I love Bolin, and Between nothingness is a classic LP...first "Jazz" I ever heard.......
never heard this version...very very refreshing...thanks so much for posting this....
TB was far ahead of his time, Rock blues, jazz, fusion, and his own style. Followed him from Zephyr james Gang Deep Purple then Tommy Bolins Albums with Jeff Beck 1976 tickets and poster Charlotte NC but he past
All Tommy fans:
Google: Tommy Bolin/Jim Fox interviewed on Whistle Test.
It's a TV interview from 1973 when he had just joined The James Gang.
He looks healthy and happy and comes across as laid back and supercool.
He's also wearing a cool hat.
If you're a fan you'll enjoy it.
Subtle finesse on the guitar 🎸 work
Lovely work by Jan as well on keys 🔑
Tommy Bolin was Fab. On the Mahavishnu side of things one has to bare in mind that Jan has never forgiven McLaughlin for treating them like sidemen on Sidemens wages, and precious few composer credits hence most of the Royalties going to John, Johns manager and Sri Chinmoy! Jack Bruce told me the same thing about John, and it's mentioned in the Biography about Jack, also in Colin Harper's Book "John McLaughlin, the Sixties, and the Emerald Beyond". I still think John's the most Innovative and Passionate Guitarist since Jimi Hendrix graced the Earth. The Music's what matters~ not the Personality Politics You know?
I was thinking that - Jan’s resentment of John may have played a role in saying this was his preferred version.
On the other side of the coin, Bolin CLEARLY influenced Hammer’s solo in the MO version. Jan drew a lot of inspiration from this session, which may have put this version close to his heart.
And I’ve got to say, the flute is a nice mellow, refreshing change from the MO version we are used to.
I was lucky to have seen tommy in concert. By luck Ritchie Blackmore had left deep purple and tommy filled in. I would have loved to see Ritchie but tommy was something else. He had stage presence galore
a beautiful combination of instruments played by amazing performers.
I got to see Tommy once, just a few months before he OD'd. This was at the Circle Stat theater in San Carlos, CA. I remember he had Narada Michael Walden on drums and a bass player that usually played with Stevie Wonder ...don't remember his name off hand. Great show and glad I didn't wait to see him.
1971? I can't work that out. This means Jan Hammer knew Tommy before Mahavishnu?
Hammer says he prefers this version over Mahavishnu’s. He did also hate John McLaughlin. So, perhaps he would prefer it.
He didn't hate John, per se, he just wanted to get more song writing credit or more of his songs played by MO. MO was John's band and Jan was a hired band member, it wasn't ran like a typical band where each player has equal standing and songwriting. It was a band that John put together playing John's material, and John handpicked each player. At least he did start to allow other members to bring songs forward, but it was John's final approval since it was HIS band and he was the featured member since he had already a solo career before moving to the US. it wasn't like they all met each other and decided to form a band. Yes, the grueling touring schedule didn't allow for them to really hash things out because they didn't communicate well as John didn't know Jan's feelings because Jan kept it to himself, so they could have continued playing together.
Yes, they don't speak to each other because quite frankly, Jan's being just a little to immature about it. I still love both of their playing, etc. But in all honesty, Jan is the one that had to grow up a little. Jan's career is what it is because John got Jan out of playing with Sarah Vaughn and some Elvin Jones gigs and got Jan his dream of playing more rock influenced music so Jan could do more of what he wanted to do. Jan should be a man and apologize for essentially breaking up what was one of the best bands in the world that broke ground for others to follow. I still think Jan's one of the best synth players in the world, but he should rekindle a relationship with John before it's too late. Life's too short to have messed up such a good thing and not allow themselves to not play together. I feel it's a tragedy.
@@Oneness100 thank you for a very considered reply. I wish they would get back together - can you iMAGine the reception they'd get from the crowd?!?!
@@Steeyuv I wish they would at least patch things up and maybe Jan, John, Jerry and Rick could do an acoustic version of their catalog.
There would be risks and some people would rather just be content with the memories of the band rather than trying to do something simply isn't going to be the same as it was and disappoint the audience with a less than insane concert due to not being able to play with the same power, intensity, speed and most importantly passion.
@@Steeyuv I'm sure some of their fanbase would be very happy for sure. I've tried to do what I could about getting them back together, but Jan is the big hold out from what I'm observing. He's the one that has said that it just wouldn't be the same. When fans look at their musical idols, we have OUR perspective, but we have to consider THEIRS.
I would only want them playing together if everyone involved was 100% committed and they gave themselves enough time to clean up the cobwebs. I am thinking of Cobham as he's playing the most physically demanding instrument. I didn't much care for his performance with the HR Big Band. I think he was definitely holding back and I don't know how much better he would be with the other players.. He's way more reserved and not as ballastic as he used to be and that's what he would need to work on to make it a great reunion.
I heard Jan Hammer is afraid of flying.. which could also affect a reunion even if they patched things up. Also agree, Cobham, and even McLaughlin, would need to find the pure power they used to play with. That type of music can’t sound sterile, it’s gotta sound dirty, dangerous, and feel like it’s about to all fall apart.
위대한 현의 마술사 타미볼린 영원히 사랑한다
No one was fired from the first Mahavishnu, They just disbanded because of certain disagreements, differences and personality conflicts. This was done around 1970 when Jan was working with Jeremy Steig. You can tell it was definitely done before the MiniMoog as Jan was using a Rhodes with a Ring Modulator to simulate a synth.
Sounds like it could have been on the spectrum album. Pure gold!
Tommy bolin raised me leave him alone
thanks for your comments and history....came to the Bolin version of Mahavishnu by chance.....I love he's album Teaser.....
It’s just so damn cool!!! Love it!!!
"k,,,,, Chief". At any rate,. Turnnitup
"k,,,,, Chief". At any rate,. Turnnitup
I hear a Jeff Beck influence with a echoplex or delay!😮
If so, then Jeff was influenced by Tommy. They were good friends.
Disbanding is not the same thing as firing them. It's a little different than that. I'm a long time (since 1973) fan of this band and do know members that have cycled through this band as well as have read Kolosky's book. You just made it sound like John fired everyone. Disbanding is different than firing two of the members. John also wanted to go into a different direction which was more orchestrated rather than relying on improvisation.
At the Signal Hammer it on down, as it was and so Jamming Bolin Flambay!
This is the better version demo or not!
Nothing to be flummoxed over, If Jan says so than it must be so he has played with any and everybody and is a master musician bar none.
Masterful with Essence circulating fine!
Hey, thanks for this one. It's one of my favourite Mahavishnu tunes. Do you know the musicians?
Billy Cobham's cymbal work in this tune is exemplary.
But what does it mean?
@@RadiantFutureRecords Hilarious ... viz., CYMBAL.
@@carbonc6065 Ah, I see. It represents absolute rhythmic truth?
JAN HAMMER!
JAN frickin' HAMMER
Thee 1 AND only!!!!!!!!!!!
My last name is Bolin and family's last is that name too
...and ?..... my name is jack and i live in the back...