Native Son Part 2

For the next installment for Native Son we'll take a quick look at their next 4 studio albums. I quite enjoyed 1983's Resort but I began to lose interest with the following 3 albums that we'll also discuss here.

For Resort, another new bassist is onboard in American Gregg Lee. All other bandmates return including trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura who first appeared on the excellent album, Shining. I have a couple of his solo albums to share at some point that have some memorable moments. I appreciate that we've made it to 1983 without falling into full-on smooth fusion. They're off to a strong start again with an opening track from Honda, "Bay Street Talkin'," followed up with a nice tune from newcomer Lee, "Nite of Limbo" and "Midnight Cruising" from Ohde. Only other track worthy of mention is the nice, funky tune "Under the Bahamian Moon". 

Overall, still a nice album with about half of the tracks being solid, in my opinion.

Next up, we have 1984's Gumbo, which is where they really start to lose me. Bassist Lee returns with regulars Ohde, Mine and Honda. A new drummer is here in American Cecil Monroe. This album is a little mundane, I'm afraid, with only 2 tracks being note-worthy. The solo piano title track from Honda is quite pleasant despite straying from their normal sound. Ohde tune "Evolution of the Nights" is the main takeaway from the album and worth checking in and of itself. 

Following Gumbo is 1985's Daybreak and there's little to write about, unfortunately. We have yet another bassist in Yasushi Yoneki and a new drummer in Tamaya Honda, son of keyboardist Takehiro. Tamaya utilizes an electronic drum kit on this album and it's certainly a forgettable sound of the 1980s. The opening tracks, "They're Just Bad" and "Impact Factor" are the only highlights here, with Mine offering his typical superb playing. Beyond that, I likely won't revisit this one.

In 1986, the group returned with another album in Veer, minus founding and long-time member Kohsuke Mine on saxophone. Yoneki and Honda return on bass and drums with staples Ohde and Honda. Sax duties are handled by Mikinori Fujiwara who plays quite nicely, although not as impressively as Mine. The second track "Tic-Tac-Toe" is the best offering in an otherwise underwhelming output. 

This iteration of the band will return with another studio album that will be covered in the next post. Fortunately for us, we'll also cover their 2 live albums that were released when they were playing much more interesting and energetic fusion. Until then...