Search - David Sancious & Tone :: True Stories

True Stories, Truly Wonderful

J. J. Martin | Albany, New York USA | 03/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I hadn't been shopping in my favorite record store one day in 1978 when this album happened to be playing on the store's sound system, I probably would have missed out on one of the most beautiful and spiritual albums of the rock era. I bought the album immediately and turned most of my friends on to it. At the time we had all been through our progressive and fusion phases and were now emersing ourselves in punk / new wave. But there was something about this recording that transended musical boundaries. I was familiar with David Sancious through his keyboard work with Bruce Springsteen, but none of his previous work prepared me for this experience. It's hard to describe this music. Powerful melodies, virtuoso playing, spiritual/uplifting themes, soulful singing. I have always been a huge Todd Rundgren fan and this album, while sounding nothing like Rundgren, reminds me of his best spiritual, positive vibe offerings. The whole album is absolutely majestic! Lead singer,Alex Ligertwood, who previously had worked with Brian Auger's Oblivion Express and Santana is a revelation-the best work of his career.The female voices of Gail Boggs and Brenda Madison are gorgeous. Gerald Carboy's bass playing is solid throughout and drummer Ernest Carter is absolutely mindboggling, where is this guy now? Of course David Sancious gets credit for writing this incredible music and playing all the melody lines through his banks of keyboards. The music doesn't sound at all dated to my ears and it never sounds pompous like some prog rock. The production by Eddie Offord of Yes and ELP fame is sparkling, crystal clear. I have had to make do with my two vinyl copies of this LP for years in hope that some bright label would have the sense to reissue it on CD (shamefully, none of Sancious' back catalog has been available for years). Thanks to those wonderful folks at One Way records in my own hometown of Albany, NY, True Stories is once again in print and it sounds better than ever. If you have ever loved progressive rock or fusion jazz, buy this CD! you will not be sorry!"

Music for the musicians soul

tommoorebh | Beverly Hills, FL United States | 08/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"True Stories. David Sancious was a keyboard player in Bruce Springsteen's band. The story goes that he was such a virtuoso that he was always blowing everyone away (not ALWAYS a good thing to do). So one night, he picks up a guitar and almost instantly was playing the worlds hottest licks and tasty rhythm guitar. TOO hot for Bruce, but wait till YOU hear it. The keyboards are incredible. Synth riffs and pads that gush the best. Chord changes that work, pounded expertly into place by the rhythm section. Earnest Carter performs feats of drum magic. A drummer's drummer. Many tunes feature Jeff Berlin on bass, another powerhouse virtuoso. But often it's not the playing - it's the ensemble here that counts. Alex Litgerwood doing impossible vocal things backed by almost choral vocals with the total band soaring away behind and throughout it all ... whoa, back to Earth. It's Fusion, it's funk. It's jazz, but that's bunk. David Sancious music, to this listener (and bass player), is simply top of the line stuff.Musician: To miss this is to miss much. Tax your credit a little and simply buy this one. Whatever you play, there is REAL music here to be heard. If you don't play an instrument, you'll just have a seizure when you hear this music or go into arrest. Don't hold me responsible!"

Lost Classic Returns

Mark D Burgh | Fort Smith, AR United States | 10/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After helping the Boss record his best music, David Sancious flung himself into the then active Jazz Fusion scene and produced a string of albums that showed a musical sense informed not only by the best jazz, but classical music, and by British Prog. Sancious could write an extended piece, funk it up, jazz it up, prog it up, and conclude it with a Mozartian outro and make it look easy. Not to mention he can play country blues as well as anybody. This is his third Album and one of his best. Forming a band, Tone, Sancious consolidated the work done on his first two albums for Columbia "Forest of Feelings," and "Transformations."
With the additional of vocalists, Sancious' core band of Carboy on bass and Carter on Drums, now had a real base for their muscular, sometimes frantic, playing on the first two albums. The result borders on ecstatic vision, fusing Jazz vocal harmonies, with rock singing, and pure energy.This music has a truly important place in rock history, if you think about it. Rock and Roll was an African-American form that among others the British co-opted and made their own. Progressive Rock, that echt-British form, is the rock music most divorced from its American Black roots. This Album takes that British music and refuses with American Black forms, resulting in a masterpiece like no other. Complexity and emotion, synthesizers and piano runs, dancable tunes about Eternity and Love. Yes should be so good. No mistake about David Sancious; he's the man. Since the demise of Fusion, he's spent his career backing the pros, starting with Jon Anderson (Animation), as well as Sting, Clapton, the list goes on. On a just world, David Sancious would be putting out a collection of this fine music once every couple years. Take me to that place."