Columbia
1972
Moon Germs
About This Album
Recorded in 1972 and released in 1973 with Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, and Jack DeJohnette, Joe Farrell's Moon Germs was a foray into the electric side of jazz. More progressive than groove-oriented, three of the four compositions were written by Chick Corea and certainly reflect that knotty, angular, almost mathematic penchant of his for soaring arpeggios in the solos and contrapuntal basslines that circle DeJohnette's drumming. Nowhere is this truer than on the opener, "Great George," where Farrell leads off with the hint of a melody before careening into legato streams of thought along striated intervallic paths. DeJohnette is like a machine gun, quadruple-timing the band as Clarke moves against the grain in a series of fours and eights, and Hancock's attempts to keep the entire thing anchored are almost insufficient. On the title track there is more of a funk backdrop, but still, there are the knotty runs and insane harmonic reaches Farrell attempts on his soprano that crack, falter, and ultimately turn into something else even more satisfying that what Mr. Math (Corea) wanted, though the sheer business of the track is dizzying. "Bass Folk Song" is by Clarke, and is the only thing on the record that actively engages melody rather than harmonic structures.
Track List (try tracks 1,2 and 3)

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