Album Liner Notes
The Bruford Tapes
The Bruford Tapes matters because it is not a polished concert album built in post. It is a WLIR broadcast document from My Father's Place in Roslyn, cut from a touring lineup that had just changed guitarists and still had to deliver hard material from the first two Bruford records.
Overview
This is one of the clearest records for hearing Jeff Berlin in the Bruford band as a working live unit rather than an assembled studio project. The music is tighter, riskier, and less protected than it is on the studio albums because the broadcast setup leaves the edges exposed.
John Clark's presence is part of what makes the record interesting. Holdsworth's departure could have made the band sound compromised, but The Bruford Tapes instead catches a group adjusting in public and still sounding dangerous.
Jeff is central to that success. The set leans on the rhythmic snap of his bass against Bruford's drumming and Dave Stewart's keyboard writing, especially on 'Sample And Hold,' 'Fainting In Coils,' and the closing '5g,' which keeps his co-writing credit visible on a live Bruford release.
Quick Snapshot
- The album was recorded on July 12, 1979 at My Father's Place in Roslyn, New York, and originally broadcast on WLIR-FM 92.7.
- Shortly before the tour, Allan Holdsworth left and was replaced by John Clark, credited on the sleeve as 'the unknown John Clark.'
- The program reshuffles material from Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind into a lean nine-track live set.
A live lineup under pressure
The group had just replaced Allan Holdsworth with John Clark, so the album captures a real transition rather than a settled long-running band.
Broadcast, not beautified
The sleeve notes stress that the set was broadcast live from My Father's Place and recorded direct to 2-track for radio, which is a very different proposition from a heavily overdubbed concert record.
Jeff's writing credit survives live
The closer '5g' still carries Jeff Berlin's co-writing credit, which matters on a record otherwise built from Bruford and Stewart material.
Listen For
Sample And Hold
One of the best examples of how the live band hardens the studio arrangement without losing the rhythmic detail.
Fainting In Coils
A good study track for the band's live interaction, especially the bass and keyboard movement under the guitar lines.
5g
The closing sprint keeps Jeff's co-writing credit in view and ends the album with one of the sharpest rhythmic performances in the set.
Track Listing
- 1. Hells Bells — 4:02
- 2. Sample And Hold — 6:18
- 3. Fainting In Coils — 6:34
- 4. Travels With Myself - And Someone Else — 4:37
- 5. Beelzebub — 3:28
- 6. The Sahara Of Snow (Part One) — 4:46
- 7. The Sahara Of Snow (Part Two) — 3:07
- 8. One Of A Kind (Part Two) — 8:06
- 9. 5g — 2:39
Musicians
- Bill Bruford: drums and percussion
- Dave Stewart: electric piano, synthesizer, electronics
- Jeff Berlin: bass guitar
- John Clark: electric guitar
Technical Credits
- Technical director: Michael Billeter
- Recorded by: Jeff Kracke
- Front cover credit: Jean Kelly
- Photography: Neil Zlozower
- Broadcast live from My Father's Place, Roslyn, New York on WLIR-FM 92.7 on July 12, 1979
- Recorded direct to 2-track and mixed for broadcast by Jeff Kracke at Workshoppe Recording Studios