Although he had recorded the year before using trumpeter
Wallace Roney and pianist
Mulgrew Miller on
Foreign Intrigue,
Civilization was the debut record by drummer
Tony Williams' hard bop quintet, a group also including
Billy Pierce on tenor and soprano, and bassist
Charnett Moffett (who would later be succeeded by
Ira Coleman). The leader's loud and forceful drumming forced the other soloists to use their maximum power, and his eight originals gave his sidemen challenging compositions to play. With
Roney emulating
Miles Davis as usual,
Williams must have been pleased to have his former boss' sound at his disposal. Although none of the songs caught on as standards, this is an excellent effort. ~ Scott Yanow