Benjamin Croft’s third solo release will tip your mind upside down and turn it inside out. Such is the mental and aural exercise that Croft puts the listener through. His complex and adventurous music is like Pilates for the ears. We Are Here To Help is a superlative recording in which Croft has gathered a basket of superb musicians who check in with their astounding contributions to Croft’s labyrinthine compositions. This Progressive/Jazz Fusion musical workout par excellence is detonated by the sonically supercharged The Age Of Magrathea. It’s powered by the incendiary percussion of Marco Minneman and bassist Stuart Hamm, plus guitars by Greg Howe and Carter Arrington with Croft as ever on keyboards.
The magic here is in the assorted top-grade players that Croft has wrangled together. On the title track, there’s former Sons Of Apollo singer Jeff Scott Soto and Aristocrat Billy Sheehan. Furthermore, You Made Me Miss has guitar legend extraordinaire Mike Stern in harness with the one and only Simon Phillips, who, with Minneman, has split the percussive duties on these eight tracks.
Being a huge Kate Bush fan, Croft also discovered Lynsey Ward whose ethereal vocal talent fronts the sonically seductive Caught In The Flypaper and musical muscle work-out Wrestling With Plato, that features Dave Marks and Per Nilsson joining in on the sessions.
There’s also room for a sublime soft and hard jazz fusion instrumental as Lower Moat Manor reveals guitarist Frank Gambale and bassist Flo Moore supremely interacting across its soundstage.
To summarise, this is a remarkable recording in which all the musicians involved fully deserve a mention. They bring their skillset to Benjamin Croft’s unique, musically immersive and melodious compositions and make them appear to sound deceptively effortless. We Are Here To Help is a Progressive Jazz/Fusion classic.
Word by Paul Davies
