The Story of Neptune | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1992 | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Label | Blue Note | |||
Producer | Tony Williams | |||
Tony Williams chronology | ||||
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The Story of Neptune is an album by the American musician Tony Williams.[1][2] It was released in 1992 through Blue Note Records, his fifth album for the label.[3][4] Williams supported the album by touring with the Benny Green Trio.[5] The Story of Neptune peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart.[6]
The album's songs were written or arranged by Williams.[7] "Neptune" is a three-part composition.[8] "Blackbird" is a cover of the Beatles song.[9] "Birdlike" was written by Freddie Hubbard.[10] Wallace Roney played trumpet on the album; Mulgrew Miller played piano.[11][12] It was the last album by Williams’s long-standing quintet.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [13] |
The Washington Post wrote that, "whether vigorously emphatic or impeccably subdued, [Williams's] touch is felt everywhere, propelling some tunes with tumultuous rhythms and underpinning others with a gently swinging pulse."[14] The Baltimore Sun determined that, "from the giddy extrapolations of 'Neptune: Fear Not' to the carefully arranged ensemble work of 'Blackbird', the playing here is never less than excellent."[15]
The Times opined that Wallace Roney's "diamond-cut lines are the perfect foil to [Williams's] only splintery percussion, but the leader has also learned to play more melodically, exchanging some of the fiery press-rolls he derived from Art Blakey for the quieter and more measured approach of the other great bop master, Max Roach."[16] The Guardian concluded that "pianist Mulgrew Miller builds from his central hammer-fisted role on the opening track to give probably his strongest performance with the group."[7]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Neptune: Overture" | |
2. | "Neptune: Fear Not" | |
3. | "Neptune: Creatures of Conscience" | |
4. | "Blackbird" | |
5. | "Crime Scene" | |
6. | "Poinciana" | |
7. | "Birdlike" |