ProJazz.net

Turn It Over is the second album by the American jazz fusion group the Tony Williams Lifetime, released in 1970 via Polydor Records. It was rereleased by Verve Records in 1997, as part of Spectrum: The Anthology. Williams is again joined by guitarist John McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, along with former Cream member Jack Bruce on bass guitar.

Reception

AllMusic review by Stewart Mason awarded the album 4 stars and stated:”The better of the two albums the Tony Williams Lifetime recorded in 1970, Turn It Over, is a far more focused and powerful album than the loose, experimental Ego, and one of the more intense pieces of early jazz-rock fusion around. In parts, it’s like Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys with much better chops. It’s more rock-oriented and darker-hued than their debut, 1969’s Emergency!, and the temporary addition of ex-Cream member Jack Bruce on bass and vocals alongside stalwart guitarist John McLaughlin makes this something of a milestone of British progressive jazz. The album’s primary flaw is that unlike the expansive double album Emergency!, these ten songs are tightly constricted into pop-song forms — only a swinging cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Once I Loved” breaks the five-minute mark, and then only barely — which reins in these marvelous soloists too much. This is particularly frustrating since pieces like the two-part “To Whom It May Concern” feature some outstanding solos (especially from McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, the group’s secret weapon) that are frustratingly, tantalizingly short. Expanded to a double album, Turn It Over would probably surpass Emergency! as a pioneering jazz-rock fusion release; as it is, it’s an exciting but mildly maddening session.”

Track listing
1. “To Whom It May Concern – Them” Chick Corea 4:18
2. “To Whom It May Concern – Us” Corea 2:58
3. “This Night This Song” Tony Williams 3:45
4. “Big Nick” John Coltrane 2:43
5. “Right On” Williams 1:52
6. “”Once I Loved”” Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Ray Gilbert 5:05
7. “Vuelta Abajo” Williams 4:57
8. “A Famous Blues” John McLaughlin 4:15
9. “Allah Be Praised” Larry Young 4:39
10. “One Word” (originally released as a UK single, 1970) McLaughlin 3:45

Personnel
Tony Williams – drums, vocals on “This Night This Song”, “Once I Loved”, “A Famous Blues”
John McLaughlin – guitar, vocals on “A Famous Blues”
Larry Young – organ
Jack Bruce – bass, lead vocals on “One Word”

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Released: December 1970
Recorded: July 1970
Studio: Olmsteads, New York City
Length: 34:50
38:36 (reissue)
Label: Polydor
Producers: Monte Kay, Jack Lewis, Tony Williams