AMG Review of Bruford Tapes

Paul Collins
All Music Guide

A live N.Y.C. radio broadcast by Bill Bruford and his band in July 1979, The Bruford Tapes features material from his Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind albums. Although the mix is shaky, the playing is not. Bruford rules the roost with his inimitable "pong" rim-shot sound and droll stage patter, and Dave Stewart's keyboards especially benefit from a heavier, slightly overdriven stage sound. Stewart gets "Hell's Bells" off to a rousing start, and his piano and Hammond sounds nicely embellish "Fainting in Coils"; not to be outdone, Jeff Berlin blazes across "Five G" with some wonderfully frenetic bass playing. This is one of the best Bruford albums of this period; those who found the studio releases of these songs to be too cold will be won over by the improvisational intensity of this live show.