Alphonse Mouzon - 1975 [2003] "Mind Transplant"

Mind Transplant is the third album by American jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon recorded in 1974 and released on the Blue Note label.

The Allmusic review by Robert Taylor awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Raw and powerful, the music herein is what made fusion such a viable musical style... Easily one of the best fusion recordings of all time"

Drummers Alphonse Mouzon and Billy Cobham led almost parallel careers during the 1970s and helped to raise the bar by which all subsequent drummers were to be judged. They were both in legendary fusion bands (Mouzon in Weather Report and Larry Coryell's Eleventh House and Cobham in Dreams and the Mahavishnu Orchestra), both led their own successful bands, both reinvented jazz-rock drumming, and both released one classic, genre-defining recording. Cobham's classic was Spectrum, a recording that is regularly considered as one of the genre's best. This, Mind Transplant, is Mouzon's classic recording that is often hailed as "Spectrum II." The common thread, besides the aggressive drumming, is guitarist Tommy Bolin. Where Cobham used Bolin's aggressive playing as a counterpoint to Jan Hammer, Mouzon features the guitarist as the primary attraction. The tunes themselves may not be as memorable as, say, "Red Baron" or "Stratus," but the playing is no less inspired. Mouzon and Bolin are a natural fit and push themselves to levels of creativity and skill that few can attain. Raw and powerful, the music herein is what made fusion such a viable musical style. This recording has never been as popular as Spectrum, but was finally released on CD in 1993 with the addition of the 15-minute jam session "The Real Thing." Easily one of the best fusion recordings of all time. 

 Tracks Listing

1. Mind Transplant (4:05)
2. Snow Bound (3:05)
3. Carbon Dioxide (4:38)
4. Ascorbic Acid (3:26)
5. Happiness Is Loving You (4:09)
6. Some of the Things People Do (3:40)
7. Golden Rainbows (6:56)
8. Nitroglycerin (3:03)

Total Time: 33:06 

Recorded at Wally Heider Sound Studio III in Los Angeles, California on December 4 (tracks 2, 5 & 7), December 5 (track 6), December 6 (tracks 3 & 8) and December 9 & 10 (tracks 1 & 3), 1974

Line-up / Musicians

Alphonse Mouzon / drums, vocals, ARP 2600 synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Farfisa organ
Jerry Peters / Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond B3 organ
Jay Graydon / Guitar, ARP 2600 synthesizer programming
Tommy Bolin / Guitar
Lee Ritenour / Guitar
Henry Davis / Bass