The Mike Nock Underground - Between Or Beyond (2015) [Hi-Res]

Between or Beyond – The Mike Nock Underground – a classic recorded in 1970 at the legendary MPS Studio Villingen in Germany’s Black Forest with the FOURTH WAY rhythm section (Eddie Marshall drums, Ron McClure electric bass, Mike Nock piano and electric piano) for the first time in high-resolution audio.

Between or Beyond – a fusion of rock, funk and jazz that spins from soulful grooves all the way to the outer edge. Kiwi Keyboardist Mike Nock had already worked with jazz giants Coleman Hawkins, Sam Rivers, and John Handy before co-founding the ground-breaking San Fran fusion group the Fourth Way.

That extraordinary group’s rhythm section has come along for the ride on Nock’s 1970 MPS release. The title piece constructs an up-tempo experiment in sounds, time, and space – quite a trip!

Funk with feeling drives The Squire, with a nod to fellow fusion pioneers Weather Report. Hobgoblin is a swinging classic example of Nock’s acoustic side, while on the slightly darker Outfall, he trades between acoustic and electric piano. Denim Dance offers up a funky blues that would get anyone born in the Age of Aquarius up and dancing to Nock’s polytonal riffs. Lady Love, a medium tempo piece in ¾, exposes Nock’s more pensive, romantic side. A classic by one of the contemporary keyboard masters.

Mike Nock, electric piano, piano
Ron McClure, bass
Eddie Marshall, drums

Recorded at MPS Studio Villingen, Black Forest, June 29, 1970
Engineered by Rolf Donner
Produced by H.G. Brunner-Schwer, Joachim E. Berendt

Digitally remastered