Here’s a montage video I’ve just created for the rare Lifetime non-album single ‘One Word’, recorded in New York in July 1970 and released solely in Britain in October 1970. Featuring ‘ex-Miles Davis’ alumni John McLaughlin (guitar) and Tony Williams (drums), ex-Cream alumnus Jack Bruce (bass/vocals) and Hammond organ sensation Larry Young the group should have been huge.

There were several problems, however: (1) they refused to allow promoters to use their past connections on any publicity; (2) they had three managers between the four of them; (3) they were all broke apart from Jack, who was putting a lot of his own money into keeping them together and bringing them to Britain for an extensive period at the end of 1970; (4) their music was extremely loud and extremely challenging, being somewhere between jazz, rock and ‘free improvisation’ – a high-volume cacophony – and as liable to infuriate purists of all three as it was to intrigue; (5) their recordings – two albums and this one single – were all flawed in one way or another (something diehards said at the time let alone subsequently). Lots of top jazz and rock artists claimed to have seen the most » Continue Reading.