Why The Hatchet Job?
Ralph Quirino | Keswick, Ontario Canada | 05/16/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Yes, I owned the original LP of the same name. Yes, virtually all of it is here on this sumptuously remastered album. But, and for me it's a big but, it's missing something. The original album featured two "pop" songs: their mix of Chinese melodies and western lite-jazz-rock arrangements winning and eye-opening. Both tracks featured great drumming and fine improvisational fun. Yet, inexplicably, both cuts are missing from this reissue. Why? Is it because they didn't fit in with the more traditional fare on this album? Whatever the reason, I feel this isn't the same great album I heard back in the early eighties. Oh, don't get me wrong, Horn is in superb form here and the recording is beautiful, lush, "exotic"...it remains the best single set of Chinese music you could buy if you only wanted one. But, the absence of both cuts cost my review one star apiece. Here's hoping the label will somehow make ammends (but don't count on it)."