Jiva - Jiva (2022 Remaster) (1975/2022) Hi Res

This is Jiva's debut album and only release on George Harrison's Dark Horse label. It would be nice to report that he made yet another brilliant discovery (as he had with labelmates Splinter), but this is not the case. This is typical '70s rock mixed with jazz-funk fusion and little originality. They sound like a very poor man's Steely Dan with a sub-par vocalist, Michael Lanning. His phrasing is off and he seems to equate strength with yelling. He is no Roger Daltrey, although he gives it his best shot. This is rock posing at its best. The only redeeming quality in this album is that these guys can play very tight and very strong musicianship, but this does not save the songs. The drumming particularly stands out, and this is the only area of creativity, as Reed does incorporate a number of percussion instruments and techniques in an attempt to make the songs interesting. The lyrics are marginal at best, and the production is very slick. This album shouldn't be of interest to anyone other than Jiva fans and Harrison collectors.