Civilized Evil

All of the titles here make some kind of reference to cosmic issues of good and evil on the planet Earth, but the suggestive wordplay doesn't make this music much different from that on Jean-Luc Ponty's previous Atlantic outings. Ponty plays with his accustomed fluid virtuosity; the five-piece group ranges from standard Ponty fusion to mild funk; the rhythm section is sometimes more grandly recorded than before; and occasionally, one can hear some embryonic sequenced structures which would be explored further on in the decade. But one still gets the overall impression that Ponty has been around this block a few too many times; what was once fresh and musical has ossified into formula.