Description
Instrumental Appetite is the debut album by the American songwriter, session keyboardist, and producer Keith Thomas, released on Myrrh Records in 1983, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Jeff Balding at the Gold Mine Studio in Brentwood, Tennessee; with Keith Thomas producing and arranging. Mixed by Bill Schnee at the Bill Schnee Studio in Los Angeles, California.
All songs written by Keith Thomas except “I Can’t Believe It’s True” written by David Meece, “Livin’ Without Your Love” written by Tom Hemby, and “One More Song For You” written by Michael Omartian. “Livin’ Without Your Love” features guitarist Dann Huff of White Heart fame.
‘Instrumental Appetite’, the new soft jazz album by keyboardist Keith Thomas, is an album of high musical quality and very low ambitions. This kind of instrumental music is to Miles Davis or Dave Brubeck what Dino or Liberace is to Van Cliburn.
Which means that if you like Chuck Mangione ot Spyro Gyra then you’ll probably like ‘Instrumental Appetite’. At times, the musicians on this album even loosen up enough to make music that sounds like Larry Carlton, Tim Weisberg, John Klemmer, or Bob James. There’s no question in my mind that sections of this record were crafted to resemble their secular counterparts.
At the same time, the album has little or no influences from the two forms of keyboard music making the greatest impact in modern music at this time. There are no echoes of the electronic percussion and keyboards of music like «Chariots of Fire» by Vangelis. Except for one short piano solo on «Changes», there are no solo instrumental passages influenced by the solo piano work of artists like Keith Jarrett or George Winston.
Most of the tunes follow the format established by the album’s opening number, «Road to Paradise». An “up-feeling” melody is played on either piano or electric piano and then the basic combo of bass, drums and keyboards is joined by a cushion of strings or lush synthesizers. It’s all really smooth.
On several tunes («The Heartmender» is the best example) there are nice breaks on nylon-string guitar, resembling Earl Klugh. However, on most of the numbers the solo instrument is saxophone.
The solo instruments rarely stray from the melody. In conventional jazz, solo instruments improvise freely while the melody and beat are maintained in the background instruments. In this kind of pseudo-jazz, everybody sticks tight to the melody almost exclusively. It there is improvisation on ‘Instrumental Appetite’ it’s very tightly contained.
For example, on «Changes», one of the charts Thomas wrote on the album, there is a beautiful moment where the drums and other instruments drop away and Thomas is left exposed for a brief, revealing, acoustic piano solo over sustained electric piano chords and brushes on cymbals. However, the rest of the instruments resume their groove after about 20 second.
The album needs more moments like that. Keith Thomas is obviously a fine enough musician to take some chances and make them pay off. ‘Instrumental Appetite’ will please most listeners. However, I wonder of it’s the best music Keith Thomas is capable of. [Terry Mattingly, CCM, August 1983]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Road To Paradise” – 3:59
A2. “I Can’t Believe It’s True” – 2:40
A3. “Midnight Celebration” – 4:46
A4. “Made To Love You” – 3:43
Side Two
B1. “Livin’ Without Your Love” – 3:33
B2. “The Heartmender” – 4:16
B3. “Changes” – 6:23
B4. “One More Song For You” – 4:08
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Myrrh Records. (The album originally came with a bonus sampler LP enclosed; Valualbum II.)
CREDITS. Produced and arranged by Keith Thomas. Production Assistance by Jeff Balding and Mark Hammond. Recorded by Jeff Balding at the Gold Mine Studio, Brentwood, TN. Mixed by Bill Schnee at the Bill Schnee Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Mastered by Hank Williams at Woodland Mastering, Nashville, TN. Photography by Mike Borum. Art Direction and Design by Bill Brunt, Private Eye Studio. Executive Producer: Neal Jospeh.
Musicians: Keith Thomas (Acoustic Piano, Fender Rhodes, Prophet V, Oberheim), Mark Douthit (Woodwinds), Jon Goin (Acoustic and Electric Guitars), Bob Wray (Bass), Mark Hammond (Drums, Percussion). Additional Musicians: Dann Huff (Guitars on “Livin’ Without You Love”), Terry McMillan (Percussion), Terry Townson (Flugel Horn). The Kris Wilkinson Strings.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.