Friday Afternoon in the Universe
MEDESKI, MARTIN & WOOD
Gramavision
Released before the intrepid trio became a fixture on the jam-band scene, Friday Afternoon brims with freewheeling funk, grinding improvisation and willy-nilly noise. At this point, Medeski was still sticking mostly to his low-rent, greasy Wurlitzer organ, pushing it into overdrive and running it through wah-wah and other effects. This album is experimental on its face, and lacks the tinge of pretentiousness that crept into some of MM&W's later work. ES
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 4, 2006.