Listening to the Joel Newton Situation's ONE is the most fun I've had in a long time. Imaginative music excites and ONE is packed with novel arrangements and innovative grooves. A pulsating schizoid hors d'ouevre titillates the palate with acerbic synth voicings and strangulated guitar in preparation for a broad spectrum of flavours that are dished out over the course of the following nine tracks, in total 57 minutes of ear opening freshness and aural satisfaction. Next a Metheny-like head turns into a Hancock bassline over which a tight McLaughlin/Cobham-esque conversation develops. A quieter exploratory meandering primarily spelt out on solo electric guitar echoes John McLaughlin's acoustic work in the first half of the 70's and consolidated on tracks like When Love Is Far Away from The Heart Of Things, before a definite Mahavishnu Orchestra arrangement thunders through a handful of time changes replete with unison scale phrasings and straining phrase termini. The acidity to the guitar distortion tone is more fitting of Zappa through to modern day thrash, but the solo lines are JM-clean. Introducing a violin creates an even greater Mahavishnu Orchestra feel for the next track that has the creative maturity of material from Visions of the Emerald Beyond and Apocolypse. Soon after that, the album favourite arrives, like a gorgeous froogy oblique version of Slunky from Eric Clapton's self-titled 1982 album, the final piece is a sexy bold statement with which to close this debut.
The live recording CB's Gallery, NYC. June 1, 2001 is more based on groove driven improvisation, employing more keyboard and guitar effects it smacks of mid-70's Miles Davis Pangaea, Agharta and Dark Magus, and latterday instrumental Zappa when more structured; which is a good thing but at times departs from the Joel Newton Situation captured in the studio. The feel is retrospective but stylized with modern hiphop beats and guitar voicings. The band's ability for complexity even in the live setting is displayed across two sets ranging from weighty funk to a schizoid square-dance and concludes with afro-cha cha.

A cajolery assessment of the Joel Newton Situation is overly enthusiastic, pitching them as the first great jazz fusion band of the 21st century. Firstly, whilst all of the tracks have something attractive about them, some edge towards a smoothness that conflicts with the more aggressive (and, personally, more enjoyable) material. Secondly, and most important, the greatness of the pioneers of the fusion genre was all about when that first album hit the turntable, you couldn't categorise nor compare it. Hence "fusion". Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, etc. were all like nothing that had gone before. They weren't even like each other. So, while it is possible to say something strongly resembles something else it dilutes the claims of greatness. It's possibly just because there's been so much music that innevitably musicians run out of things to say. Tea and sympathy to us all. The Joel Newton Situation does add something to the text of their forerunners, but they don't rewrite the book. They annotate it with electric adjuncts and insert eclectic tmesis with which to enliven our sonic sense. New and old, on-the-rocks, with a twist.

The Joel Newton Situation. One of the best bands currently playing music inspired by the jazz fusion of the latter 20th Century.