Jan Hammer, piano, Fender Rhodes, Moog, Oberheim synthesizer & digital sequencer, drums, percussion, Freeman string synth, mellotron; with Steve Kindler, violin; David Earle Johnson, percussion

Tracklist: 
1.  Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun — 4:31
2.  Light/Sun — 6:44
3.  Oceans and Continents — 6:16
4.  Fourth Day - Plants and Trees — 2:46
5.  The Animals — 6:14
6.  Sixth Day - The People — 7:15
7.  The Seventh Day — 6:11

total time 40:06 

After departing from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jan Hammer invested his money into a home studio in Kent, NY. With fellow departed M.O. bandmate Jerry Goodman, he made the transitional Like Children, and then this, his first purely solo effort. The First Seven Days is a monumental solo debut, capturing the keyboardist at the height of his power as a composer and arranger. With perhaps the exception of "The Animals," it's very easy to envision each and every song on here played by a full orchestra. Hammer executes these thoughtful pieces with an expected virtuosic precision, but is never self-indulgent. To sweeten the deal for prog rock fans, all the pieces are played exclusively on a set of classic analog keys.

The prog hallmark of flux between 'introverted' and 'extroverted' musical passages is clearly evident. One need look no further than the lone piano ballet of "Light" (which also cleverly references Hammer's beautiful "I Remember Me" from Like Children) offset by the galloping sequencer and kaleidoscopic Moog flare-ups of its complement piece, "Sun". Similarly, the broad piano strokes painting wide landscapes, contrasted with lightning piano and Moog arpeggios, on "Oceans and Continents." The lyricism to be found in the melodies of "Fourth Day - Plants and Trees" and "Sixth Day - The People," with Hammer drawing from his Eastern European roots, are subtle and affecting. "The Seventh Day," which Hammer describes as his personal "Ode to Joy," is a simply resplendent closer and by itself would make this album worth it.

The only bad thing I could say about this album is that it makes me ache that the first lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra was no longer together to record it. Hammer is a pretty impressive one man band, but at the end of the day, I have strong convictions that The First Seven Days would have been an unassailable classic had it been recorded with his previous bandmates. "The Seventh Day" is a prime example. I can hear in my head McLaughlin and Goodman playing the main melody in lieu of Hammer's Moog, bassist Rick Laird replacing the diluted Moog bass lines, and Cobham's surefooted drum bursts in the song's climax replacing Hammer's competent but not masterful drum work. 

That aside, this is still an essential album for symph prog lovers, keyboardists, and Mahavishnu Orchestra fans. It provides clear evidence that Hammer's writing ability should have been more acknowledged by McLaughlin in the first edition of the Orchestra. Or, if you're more cynical, perhaps this will reinforce the belief that his writing contributions were indeed integrated, but not given proper accreditation. 
 

review by Joe McGlinchey
© ground and sky