About Vital Information

THE ultimate power fusion band of the 90s now celebrates the rootsy groove.

Who could have guessed? When Vital Information first stepped into the public spotlight with their new studio album "Where We Come From" [INT 3218-2] back in March 1998, they were still considered to be representatives of the antiquated style called "Fusion". Those days were over all ova sudden - the days when 'good' was defined with the most complex arrangements possible, with breakneck note values and exuberant solos. But whoever thought that Vital Information died along with that kind of music will be quite surprised: Although top drummer Steve Smith and his band colleagues Tom Coster (keyb), Frank Gambale (guit) and Jeff Andrews (bs) still favor(ed) the combination of jazz with driving elements, "Where We Come From" sounded quite different from their style back then. There was clearly less of the 'typical' fusion idiom and more tight grooves with straight-on jazz superstructures, which could even be considered minimalist in some places. In addition to 'classic' ingredients from the pioneering times of electrified jazz (such as style elements from Blues, R&B, Rock and BeBop) the studio production also contained reminiscent hints of the epicenters of other musical styles, such as New Orleans or Memphis, and of great musicians like James Brown or Jimmy Smith. Whoever read the liner notes (or our product info) to "Where We Come From" knows how this reorientation came about: Steve Smith was just plain sick and tired of the playing getting faster and faster, the song structures ever crazier, while the spirit of the music clearly dwindled towards anemia for the sake of acrobatics. So he settled down with the guys to win back a little bit of that good ol' solid rock & roll feeling. And the fact that they've achieved this is confirmed by enthusiastic press reviews from around the world, a proud balance of almost 20,000 sold albums worldwide, and last but not least, the AFIM Indie Award 1999 (the Grammy of the Independent Scene) for "Where We Come From". A level of success which has well surpassed the highest expectations of all those involved.