Lee Ritenour
Captain Fingers

THE REVIEW

It truly surprises me not to find any reviews on Debaser of this great guitarist, one of the most refined in existence and undoubtedly with a great sense of taste in playing. He is also one of those rare progressive musicians who didn't spoil themselves in the 80s but composed some of their masterpieces (just mentioning the superb "The Rit Variations"). "Captain Fingers", released in 1977, represents his masterpiece. An album like this should not be missing from a musician's discography, not only because of the cast of characters involved in the making of the album (Ian Underwood, Anthony Jackson, Dave Grusin, the late Jeff Porcaro, Ernie Watts, Dawilli Gonga (a pseudonym of George Duke), Harvey Mason, and Mike Porcaro to name a few), the quality of the tracks contained in it is spectacular.

The opening track, the title track, is a frenetic piece in which Ian Underwood gives a taste of his keyboard skills and especially highlights the very solid rhythmic foundation provided by Anthony Jackson and Harvey Mason, bass and drums respectively. "Dolphin Dreams" and the concluding "Sun Song" are instead two quiet tracks. The first of the two is undoubtedly the most successful: light, delicate, and with Dave Grusin truly on form. "Margarita" is a wild track interspersed with short calm interludes, featuring an exceptional Lee Ritenour on guitar and the Mason brothers on percussion and drums bringing great emphasis to the piece, undoubtedly among the best. "Fly By Night" is a mid-tempo track with an irresistible rhythm and melody and with a magnificent Ernie Watts on the soprano sax. "Isn't She Lovely" is the only sung track on the album, and it's a semi-funky version of the Stevie Wonder song, accompanied by the splendid voice of Bill Champlin. The track also features a beautiful solo by Ritenour and two great figures on bass and drums: Jeff and Mike Porcaro. "Space Glide" is undoubtedly the best track on the album, a funky but also hard rock track. A memorable riff, pounding drums (Jeff Porcaro), excellent percussion, and funky guitars are the ingredients of this excellent track.

This is an album not only for musicians (though mostly for them), and I highly recommend it, because in my opinion, it is one of the masterpieces of progressive music, as well as the best of the great Lee Ritenour!