Ennea

Studio album by Chase

Released

March 1972

Recorded

San Francisco, California

Genre

Jazz-rock fusion

Length

41:26

Label

Epic

Producer

Frank Rand, Bob Destocki

Chase chronology

Chase
(1971)

Ennea
(1972)

Pure Music
(1974)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Ennea was the second album by jazz-rock fusion band Chase. It did not repeat the commercial success of their debut album, mostly due to the lack of a top 40 hit and the extended suite to Greek Mythology on side 2, which lacked the "commercial appeal" the first LP had. Ennea is basically a further refinement of the trumpet-rock innovations from the first LP, yet while the first album made its greatest impact in the sheer novelty of four trumpets plus a rock rhythm section, Ennea begins to explore the possibilities of this lineup and to challenge it. On this album, the group pull out all the stops and musically almost thumb their noses at BS&T and Chicago.

The original lineup from the first album was changed midway through the recording sessions, with Gary Smith taking over from Jay Burrid on drums and G. G. Shinn replacing Terry Richards on lead vocals. Sessions for the recording occurred in late August 1971 and again late October through early-mid November 1971 at CBS/Columbia Studios in San Francisco. The cost of the album went $120,000.00 over budget.

The six songs on side two of the album comprise a jazz suite entitled "Ennea", with lyrics based on Greek mythology. The album's title is the Greek word for nine, a reference to the nine band members. The lyrics to the suite were written by Bill Chase's longtime lady companion Erin Adair. The tune Cronus was originally used as an instrumental.

The single "So Many People" (written by Paul Williams and performed by both he and The Neighborhood) saw limited airplay in the U.S. The album charted for just 12 weeks, peaking at #71. [1]

Part of the song "Cronus" was featured in the intro to the Telewizja Polska show "997".

...
Wikipedia