Billy Cobham's credentials were in order before he joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He fired a number of studio dates for Mose Allison, James Brown and Larry Coryell, among others, and was one of the best things about Dreams. He has brought his studio precision to McLaughlin's band, but otherwise has made the transition from technician to performer with apparent ease. And Spectrum indicates considerable compositional talent as well.

Much of the album is in a Mahavishnu groove, loud, bombastic, "hot" dynamically, and, for all its expertise in unusual time signatures and its thunderous energy, rhythmically stiff. The tip-off is two quieter pieces, "Spectrum" and "Le Lis," which blend electronic and acoustic instrumental textures and generate a broader range of colors, more improvisational interest and variety, and greater fluidity and drive in the rhythm section.

Trumpeter Jimmy Owens contributes a spare, affecting solo to "Le Lis" and Joe Farrell, a dependable if somewhat predictable reedman, is in good form. The trick of voicing Jan Hammer's synthesizer with the horns works very well indeed, suggesting possibilities for the instrument's use in jazz which should no longer be neglected.

The added rhythmic drive is due to the addition of Ray Barretto's congas. Barretto, a Latin bandleader and veteran of numerous groups, swings the entire band with his fingertips.

Compared to the Cobham/Barretto team, Cobham by himself leaves something to be desired. His chops are amazing and he gets an impressive variety of timbres from his kit, but he lacks a small but significant edge: that buoying, polyrhythmic orientation which makes the work of Elvin Jones, Airto Moreira, Earl Young, and a few other jazz and soul drummers so bracing and alive.

The band featured on most of the album is basically the Mahavishnu Orchestra with bassist Lee Sklar (of the Section) subbing for Rick Laird and violinist Jerry Goodman absent. Guitarist Tommy Bolin sounds enough like McLaughlin, especially when he trades fours with Jan Hammer on "Taurian Matador," to suggest that he may be McLaughlin in disguise. Hammer has most of the solo space and he carries the weight admirably; he is at his best in a steaming rock groove, using his synthesizer to whip off flying phrases with blues guitar inflections. Only on "The Red Baron" does he use the instrument's processed sound capabilities to mask a lack of ideas and a few traces of rhythmic uncertainty.

If the majority of Spectrum simply reiterates styles and ideas done first, and done better, by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the drum solos using percussion-activated Moog are sheer gadgetry. "Searching for the Right Door" and "Anxiety" are attractive showcases for Cobham's ability on the acoustic drum set; he uses dynamic contrasts and shifting colors well, and his solos tell a story.

Spectrum demonstrates talent and ability; "Spectrum" and "Le Lis" are accomplished, fully realized statements. But the rest of the album is neither particularly unified nor particularly original; it presents a tentative first step in what may prove to be a more interesting journey in its next phase. (RS 154)

BOB PALMER