Space
1969 / Apple
"A lovely record seemingly less concerned with melody than with feeling, this relatively late MJQ album is distinguished from earlier ones by its, well, spaciness. Recorded at Trident Studios in London with Apple A&R guy Peter Asher supervising, some of Space has an Eastern/drone musical sensibility that may very well be a product of its time. The apparent aim was achieving a bass heavy “rock” sound with acoustic jazz instrumentation, but this is not In A Silent Way much less Bitches Brew–it is still wholly recognisable MJQ."
"The sessions took place at the new and highly-regarded Trident Studios in London’s Soho district, where state-of-the-art technology and a new approach to capturing music on tape had lured The Beatles themselves, and would at various times attract almost the entire roster of Apple’s early album artists: James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, Badfinger, Doris Troy and Billy Preston. Trident turned out to be the ideal British venue for the MJQ’s unique instrumental palette of piano, vibes, bass and drums, boasting, as it did, a hand-made Bechstein concert grand (as heard on ‘Hey Jude’), which sounded particularly fine when played by the impeccable John Lewis."
