Simple

Topping’s epic 12-minute live “Simple” begins with a plain melody on the EVI before morphing into a boisterous fusion workout with strains of later period Eddie Harris and Weather Report, with Sepsis’ bass lines evoking Jaco Pastorius. Vo goes beast mode on tenor pushed by Johnstone’s busy trap work. Forman steps in soloing on Rhodes, eventually using wah-wah effects as Waddell and Topping join in to create a fusion maelstrom, somehow finding their way to solid ground restating the theme in three different modes as they go out.