"I have listening to this for 20+ years and I never get tired of it. The interplay between the players is wonderful and Vitous is front and center with them, dancing right along. It is definitely not bebop, but is hardly navel-gazing fusion junk either. Just timeless ...One very odd complaint though - there are two versions of this out on Collectables - this one, which is missing the tune Cerecka. While it is short, it is quite good. You can find it on the other version of this album - Mountain in the Clouds, which is missing the tune When Face Gets Pale. The unfortunate solution if you want the whole thing - is to buy them both and burn your own (or look for the Mountain lp [good luck])."
Pure wild genius
James | London | 04/13/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you love wild music you will love this. One of the greatest Lp's I have ever heard. Miroslav Vitous is only about 22 on this record, plus he composed the tunes. Top notch band including Herbie Hancock, John Mclauqhlin and the superb shimmering Jack Dejohnette amongst others. If you like Miles' In a Silent Way then this is taking that a million miles higher. A true Gem. Recording in 1969."
It shows what fusion might have been
R G-S | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/02/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Vitous then in his early 20's, (and before being a founding member of Weather Report) gathered for his first solo album:
John McLauglin (pre-Mahavishnu)
Herbie Hancock (pre-Headhunters)
Jack DeJohnette (pre-almost-every-good-fusion-record)
and (slightly) elder stateman Joe Henderson.
All are under the influence of Miles. The result SMOKES, starting with Vitous' playing unison on the (blisteringly fast) take on Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance".! The instrumentation is electric, the music challenging without being completely free-form, and these players were at the top of their game."
Expressive questioning
IRate | 08/06/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"3 1/2
Inspired first generation fusion with an all-star cast does suffer seldomly from rambling formlessness with the highly exploratory material, though usually offers a surprising amount of synergistic subtly despite the scattershot compositional backbone."