Considering the extraordinary talent assembled for
Tony Williams' second Blue Note date as a leader, this could have been a landmark session. Unfortunately, it's not.
Spring isn't totally forgettable; on the contrary, the fire expected by members of the
Miles Davis Quintet (
Williams,
Herbie Hancock and
Wayne Shorter), all thoroughly influenced by "the new thing," were unleashed completely from
Miles' tight rein. Add tenor saxophonist
Sam Rivers and
Albert Ayler bassist
Gary Peacock into this mix and that influence thrived. However, the five
Tony Williams compositions (including the drum only "Echo") often failed to provoke the musicians into reaching crucial unity, making
Spring haphazard, falling short of the expected goal. Following
Spring,
Williams would not release another solo date for four years, returning on the Polydor label with the groundbreaking electric rock trio recording
Emergency! ~ Al Campbell