Fire-Eater features just four long cuts, all between seven and ten minutes in length, on a session that has
Bryant stretching out his meaty tone and improvisations a bit further than usual. This is respectable soul-jazz with a lot of funk, but no fusion, employing the tenor sax-organ-guitar-drums lineup. All of the material was written by
Bryant or members of the quartet, and favors a laid-back groove that's on the slow side, except for "Mister S.," on which guitarist
Wilbert Longmire has a particularly engaging solo. ~ Richie Unterberger