100 Greatest Fusion Albums

Criteria: - These Fusion Albums were chosen to showcase the artists musical vision through their originality, influence, instrumental quality and creative inspiration.

Edited By: Tom M
List Begun 8-29-07

Link: http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_fusion_albums.html

1. In A Silent Way (1969) - Miles Davis
2. Bitches Brew (1969) - Miles Davis
3. The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) - Mahavishnu Orchestra
4. Weather Report (1971) - Weather Report
5. Third (1970) - Soft Machine
6. Return To Forever (1972) - Chick Corea
7. Tribal Tech (1991) - Tribal Tech
8. Atavachron (1986) - Allan Holdsworth
9. Emergency! (1969) - Tony Williams Lifetime
10. Electric Bath (1967) - Don Ellis Orchestra
11. 8:30 (1979) - Weather Report
12. Love, Devotion & Surrender (1972) - Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin
13. Rocket Science (2000) - Tribal Tech
14. Lotus (1974) - Santana
15. Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969) - Blood, Sweat & Tears
16. The Lost Trident Sessions (1999) - Mahavishnu Orchestra
17. Chicago Transit Authority (1969) - Chicago
18. Light As A Feather (1972) - Return To Forever
19. Birds Of Fire (1972) - Mahavishnu Orchestra
20. Quantum (2007) - Planet X
21. Amandla (1989) - Miles Davis
22. Head Hunters (1973) - Herbie Hancock
23. The Grand Wazoo (1973) - Frank Zappa
24. The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys (1971) - Traffic
25. Six (1973) - Soft Machine
26. Sand (1987) - Allan Holdsworth
27. Reality Check (1995) - Tribal Tech
28. Aja (1977) - Steely Dan
29. Pick Hits Live (1987) - John Scofield
30. Elegant Gypsy (1977) - Al Di Meola
31. Michael Brecker (1986) - Michael Brecker
32. Spectrum (1973) - Billy Cobham
33. Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar (1981) - Frank Zappa
34. Believe It (1975) - The New Tony Williams Lifetime
35. Live At The Village Gate (1971) - Larry Coryell
36. World Gone Strange (1991) - Andy Summers
37. Short Stories (1987) - Bob Berg
38. Where Have I Known You Before (1974) - Return To Forever
39. Sunburst (1975) - Eddie Henderson
40. Steps Ahead (1983) - Steps Ahead
41. Vertical Vision (2003) - Christian McBride
42. Seven (1974) - Soft Machine
43. Closer To The Light (1989) - Leni Stern
44. Romantic Warrior (1976) - Return To Forever
45. The Forbidden Zone (1994) - Tom Coster
46. I Sing The Body Electric (1972)- Weather Report
47. Pat Metheny Group (1978) - Pat Metheny
48. School Days (1976) - Stanley Clarke
49. Petite Blonde (1992) - Bill Evans
50. Getting Even (1998) - Dennis Chambers
51. Unorthodox Behaviour (1976) - Brand X
52. Crossings (1972) - Herbie Hancock
53. King Kong (1969) - Jean-Luc Ponty
54. Vital Tech Tones (1998) - Vital Tech Tones
55. Kinesethetics (2006) - Scott Kinsey
56. Stories To Tell (1974) - Flora Purim
57. Expansions (1974) - Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes
58. Cycles (1998) - Bob Berg
59. Metro (1994) - Metro
60. Tutu (1986) - Miles Davis
61. The Rotters' Club (1975) - Hatfield & The North
62. Bass Desires (1985) - Marc Johnson
63. National Health (1977) - National Health
64. We'll Talk About It Later (1971) - Nucleus
65. Train Of Thought (1985) - Mitchel Forman
66. Upside Downside (1986) - Mike Stern
67. To The Heart (1976) - Mark-Almond
68. Captain Marvel (1972) - Stan Getz
69. B,S & T 4 (1971) - Blood, Sweat & Tears
70. Dreams (1969) - Dreams
71. Introducing The Eleventh House (1974) - Larry Coryell
72. Forty Reasons (1991) - Chad Wackerman
73. Arrowhead (1980) - Wayne Johnson
74. Still Warm (1986) - John Scofield
75. Secrets (1989) - Allan Holdsworth
76. Don Ellis At Fillmore (1970) - Don Ellis Orchestra
77. Crosswinds (1974) - Billy Cobham
78. Expresso II (1978) - Gong
79. Music On The Edge (1991) - Chroma
80. Cross-Collateral (1975) - Passport
81. Compost (1971) - Compost
82. If 2 (1970) - If
83. Electric Guitarist (1978) - Johnny McLaughlin
84. Blue Matter (1986) - John Scofield
85. Enigmatic Ocean (1977) - Jean Luc-Ponty
86. Thick (1999) - Tribal Tech
87. Smash & Scatteration (1984) - Bill Frisell & Vernon Reid
88. Mountain In The Clouds (1969) - Mirolslav Vitous
89. CAB 2 (2001) - CAB
90. My Goals Beyond (1970) - John McLaughlin
91. Volume Two (1969) - Soft Machine
92. MoonBabies (2002) - Planet X
93. Illusion (1975) - Isotope
94. Like Children (1975) - Jan Hammer & Jerry Goodman
95. Unity (1974) - Catalyst
96. Live (2006) - Michael Landau Group
97. Wardenclyffe Tower (1992) - Allan Holdsworth
98. Vinnie Colaiuta (1994) - Vinnie Colaiuta
99. Live And More - Marcus Miller
100. Mobo II (1984) - Kazumi Watanabe

Honorable Mentions
Animal Logic II (1991) - Animal Logic
Azteca (1972) - Azteca
Ginger Baker's Air Force (1970) - Ginger Baker's Air Force
The Journey (1990) - Joe Beck
In Harmony's Way (2001) - Jeff Berlin
Child Is Father To The Man (1968) - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood Sweat & Tears 3 (1970) - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Jaco (2002) - Brian Bromberg
Duster (1967) - Gary Burton
CAB (2000) - CAB
CAB 4 (2003) - CAB
Septober Energy (1971) - Centipede
Boston T Party (2006) - Dennis Chambers
Chase (1971) - Chase
Chicago II (1970) - Chicago
Chicago III (1971) - Chicago
Valentyne Suite (1969) - Colosseum
The Elektric Band (1986) - Chick Corea
Just Us (1972) - Elton Dean
Untitled (1976) - Jack DeJohnette's Directions
Tears Of Joy (1971) - Don Ellis Orchestra
Tricycle (1982) - Flim & The BB's
The Flock (1969) - The Flock
Talk To Your Daughter (1988) - Robben Ford
Big Sky (2003) - Brett Garsed
Gilgamesh (1975) - Gilgamesh
Mwandishi (1970) - Herbie Hancock
Live (2005) - Scott Henderson
Metal Fatigue (1988) - Allan Holdsworth
Hard Hat Area (1994) - Allan Holdsworth
1984 (1973) - Hugh Hopper
If 3 (1971) - If
Summerhill (1992) - Dieter Ilg
Decode Yourself (1985) - Ronald Shannon Jackson
Fission (1998) - Jens Johansson
2 Drink Minimum (1995) - Wayne Krantz
Powers Of Ten Live! (2001) - Shawn Lane
Wanderlust (1981) - Mike Mainieri
Little Red Record (1972) - Matching Mole
Street Dreams (1988) - Lyle Mays
Layers (1972) - Les McCann
Industrial Zen (2006) - John McLaughlin
American Garage (1980) - Pat Metheny
Mingus (1979) - Joni Mitchell
Shadows And Light (1980) - Joni Mitchell
Wild Things Run Fast (1982) - Joni Mitchell
Jaco Pastorius (1976) - Jaco Pastorius
Live From Oz (2002) - Planet X
Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy (1974) - Return To Forever
Welcome (1973) - Santana
First Minute Of A New Day (1975) - Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
Inertia (2001) - Derek Sherinian
Vitalive! (1999) - Steve Smith/Vital Information
Soft Heap (2006) - Soft Heap
Bundles (1975) - Soft Machine
Smokin' In The Pit (1980) - Steps (Ahead)
Modern Times (1984) - Steps Ahead
Secrets (1988) - Leni Stern
Give And Take (1997) - Mike Stern
Time In Place (1990) - Mike Stern
Nothing Like The Sun (1987) - Sting
The Dream Of The Blue Turtles (1985) - Sting
Charming Snakes (1990) - Andy Summers
Meet The Podium Three (2006) - Jamaaldeen Tacuma
Illicit (1992) - Tribal Tech
Face First (1993) - Tribal Tech
Uncle Moe's Space Ranch (2001) - Uncle Moe's Space Ranch
Moe's Town (2007) - Uncle Moe's Space Ranch
VTT 2 (2000) - Vital Tech Tones
The View (1993) - Chad Wackerman
Sweetnighter (1973) - Weather Report
Black Market (1976) - Weather Report
Synergy (1999) - Dave Weckl
The Joy Of Flying (1978) - Tony Williams
Bent (1998) - Gary Willis
The End Of An Ear (1971) - Robert Wyatt
Dreamland (1995) - Yellowjackets
Hot Rats (1969) - Frank Zappa
Waka/Jawaka (1972) - Frank Zappa
Dialects (1986) - Joe Zawinul
My People (1992) - Joe Zawinul
The Immigrants (1998) - Zawinul Syndicate

Bitches Brew should be on top. Although in a silent way was good, Bitches Brew is the rawest most pure form of fusion you can get. It sold alot more than In A Silent Way has. In A Silent Way should be second. Also it spawned the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Chick Corea, and many other artist in the top 100. I also think Tribute to Jack Johnson should be switched with Amandla. More critics think of Tribute to Jack Johnson than Amandla. JJ gets 5 stars by almost every reviewer where as Amandla is hardly recognized and receives a 3-4 star rating.


Bitches Brew #1 please!

Noted...and we each have our opinions...

Yeah, I kind of agree too that Bitches Brew should be #1 considering it was the first album that was fully recognized as being the beginning of fusion.
If you're going to put "In a Silent Way" high on the list, then you'd probably consider putting The Free Spirits "Out of Sight and Sound" on this list considering that was one of the very first albums that combined jazz with rock. You'd also have to consider Gary Burton's album "Duster" at the top of the list.

Those are indeed some of the first records most point to as some of the origins of fusion, and are worth noting in a historical setting in that respect...it's just my thought/opinion that they don't make the "Greatest" 100 list. And it's my opinion that "In A Silent Way" has had more influence on fusion over time than "Bitches Brew"...the music on "In A Silent Way" has held up a better over time as the most prominent early marker of fusion as a genre. Musicians I know still play "In A Silent Way"'s music on a much more regular basis, it has a timeless quality in that respect.

Why couldn't "Out of Sight and Sound" and "Duster" be in the top 20? I'd group them together with "In a Silent Way" which are albums that are kind of like "pre-fusion" fusion.

Also, I think there should be some Chick Corea Elektric Band albums. They're one of the greatest fusion groups.

Again...a matter of opinion...I look at "Out" and "Duster" as historical records, but not ones I listen to with any regularity. I have four Corea/RTF records in the Top 50. I am not, as I mentioned earlier, a huge fan of the DiMeola RTF or Gambale Elektric bands, and think there are a lot of other bands worthy of mention in these lists beyond having 10 Corea/RTF/EB records out of 100...there's a lot more good music out there. The original Jazz Fusion article on Wikipedia I found back in 2006 was written by a Dutch guy that thought RTF and EB were practically the beginning and end of the entire genre, something I found was way, way off. Other people can of course find that to be their personal "truth" if they wish.

If I was doing these based solely on my own personal preferences, I'd have a lot more Holdsworth, Tribal Tech/Henderson, Soft Machine and a few other bands...we all have our personal preferences, and I tried to balance my preferences with what I know other musicians talk about most often, as well as other factors.

The thing I notice on your fusion lists is that you put a lot of rock/fusion dudes. It seems that you are kind of a more rock/fusion guy, so you are going to put more rock dudes on the list rather than jazz guys. Personally, I believe that there are three categories of fusion: jazz-fusion, fusion, rock-fusion. Jazz-fusion are guys like Chick Corea, Pat Metheny. Fusion are guys like Holdsworth, Gambale, Henderson. Rock-fusion are guys like Howe, Donati, Lane. Out of these three categories the jazz-fusion & fusion guys should probably represent more often than the rock-fusion dudes. I hope you understand what I mean.

I know what you mean, but I follow the more general definition of jazz fusion, which at its origin was specifically coined as a term to merge rock and jazz. If you look at my guitar preferences, for example, you see Holdsworth and Henderson in the top 3, Lane and Howe are much further down...the only two "rock" guys in my Top 10 Guitarists are Zappa and Santana...and that has a lot to do with their composition in addition to just pure guitar playing. The other eight would be people from the "jazz" side of the ledger in my mind. There are some rock guys like Chris Poland I don't like at all some people think are the greatest fusion guys out there today. If fusion was originally defined as the merging of rock and jazz, the original rock-jazz players deserve plenty of consideration. Again, my opinion.

What are your feelings as to why so many rock/fusion dudes belong on the list? I have always grown up thinking fusion was more of a jazz cat type of a deal.

I think I've already answered that...the genre was established to try and categorize musicians blending aspects of both rock and jazz, and it later expanded to include world and other music. Most of the fusion I listen to comes from jazz-origin players, as I pointed to in having 8 of the top 10 guitarists from the "jazz world". If you look at the Musician categories, they are overwhelmingly, but not exclusively, players from the jazz world.

Thanks, just wanted to make sure. Hope to eventually see it as a predominantly jazz musician list.

It already IS.

Alright, thanks. There are just a few things that I disagree with on the fusion lists.