VERTÚ
VertÚ (550 Music)
Rating: 5 out of 7
By Tim Sheridan

   While advance publicity boasts this new venture by bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White will "launch fusion music into the 21st century," the reality is a bit more modest, and surely more satisfying, than the hype would suggest. After all, what does the mention of "fusion from the 21st century" conjure?
   Perhaps cold electronica or maybe New Age effluvia? This disc, in contrast, is a heady brew of funk, prog-rock, and old school fusion that owes a debt to bands like King Crimson, Weather Report, White’s old band Return To Forever, and even Chic. Sure, it isn’t exactly forward-looking, but who cares? Check out energetic tracks like "On Top Of The Rain" or "The Call." You’ll hear Clarke popping bass strings like it might be outlawed come 2001, and White pounding the downbeat like it said something about his mother. Abetted by Rachel Briggs on violin, Rachel Z on keyboards, and Richie Kotzen on guitar, the band gets down to some old fashioned jamming. 
   It’s ostentatious, bombastic, and delicious. So if you want to party like it’s 1975, pick up a copy today.