Clive Bunker — Awakening

Drum legend Clive Bunker has been around the block and pretty much done it all in a career spanning more than 50 years at the top of his field. He has worked with Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, Generation X, Uli Jon Roth, Blodwyn Pig and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, however it is as the drummer in Jethro Tull that he made his name and is most recognized for. During his time with The Tull he appeared on some of their most respected albums Living in the Past, Aqualung, Benefit, Stand Up and This Was, and has spent much of those years touring the world in various guises, however, it wasn’t until 1998 that he decided to write and record a solo album, Awakening appears to have been borne out of his desire to release something of his own, featuring the myriad of ideas he had written down over the years. The album has become difficult to track down since its release, so this new remaster and release from Talking Elephant is a welcome addition to their catalogue.

Obviously, Bunker has a wealth of incredible musician friends on whom he can rely on to come and play for him, from former bandmates Martin Barre (Jethro Tull, guitar) and Andy Glass (Solstice, guitar) to Jim Rodford (Argent, The Kinks, The Animals) and keyboards wizard Dave Lennox who he played with during his time in Blodwyn Pig. These incredible musicians bring a wealth of experience and musical craft to the proceedings. Anyway, let’s get down to the music.

Album opener Swayo is a surprise straight out of the gate, it’s an up-tempo pop song with a reggae vibe to it. It’s catchy and pleasant enough but feels a little dated, sounding more like a 1980s release. Fantasy is more of what I was expecting, classic 70s inspired rock with an acoustic breakdown midway through. I think Bunker’s voice fits this song better than the opener, where he sounds a little out of his comfort zone. Title track Awakening is up next and after a proggy keyboard intro we are treated to more classic sounding progressive rock, this time with keyboard melodies that have a distinctly Asian flavour to them. Penang sticks with the Asian influence as Bunker creates some beautiful percussive melodies with bells and gongs.  The track features no other musicians but highlight’s Bunker tremendous sense of rhythm and melody. Certain Feeling is a classic rock ballad, bizarrely, when I listen to it, I am reminded of Poison’s Every Rose has Its Thorn. 

Monotone Thing is the album’s midpoint, it’s a mid-tempo rock track with some nice synth work from Dave Lennox. Conversely, Do You Know Where We’re Going? Is a straightforward up tempo rocker with a mantra like chorus that is sung almost like a child’s nursery rhyme. Chichicastenango is another instrumental that allows Bunker to create some wonderful rhythms and melodies without the need for other instruments or musicians. This is followed up with the sweet reggae vibes of Wrong Programme, the bare bones of guitar and drum tracks that is Good Times, a deeper more reflective sounding song than its title might suggest, and the album closer, Strange Riffs, is a  heavy instrumental featuring Jethro Tull legend Ian Anderson on flute and whistles. This final trio of tracks are among my favourites on the whole album. Strange Riffs in particular being probably the most progressive-sounding song on the album.

Overall, Awakening is a pleasant listen, some tracks like the title track, Certain Feeling, Good Times and Strange Riffs are standouts while the opener feels a little dated and doesn’t really seem to fit with the rest of the album. One does wonder if this was written at a different point in time to the rest of the album, due to its huge stylistic difference. If you’re a rabid fan of Jethro Tull you probably already own this, or at least know it. For everyone else, it’s a pleasant listen with some good tracks but ultimately it only partially gets me moving.