Volume one captures three different versions of the acoustic Earthworks that emerged, after a brief hiatus, in 1999 with A Part, and Yet Apart (Summerfold, 1999). The first three tracks feature the initial lineup of pianist Steve Hamilton, saxophonist Patrick Clahar and bassist Mark Hodgson, culled from the Footloose in NYC footage. When this group first emerged, it was a refreshingly new combination of the kind of complex writing that Bruford had been pursuing ever since his first album as a leader, Feels Good to Me (Winterfold, 1977), along with a looser improvisational approach.
Bruford's reputation, in the art rock sphere, was that of a drummer capable of creating visceral grooves under what were at times the most difficult of circumstances. His work with Yes and King Crimson defined, in many ways, how to work with complex meters and shifting bar lines without losing the physically-felt forward motion. But here, while the music is never less than challenging or deficient in polyrhythmic power, the language is more expansive, the feel more relaxed.
01 Triplicity 02 Original Sin 03 Cloud Cuckoo Land 04 Revel Without A Pause 05 Bajo Del Sol 06 Tramontana 07 Beelzebub 08 Footloose And Fancy Free 09 Libreville 10 Highland Games 11 Youth 12 Song
13 White Knuckle Wedding 14 The Wooden Man Sings 15 And The Stone Woman Dances