James Blood Ulmer - Black Rock (1982 Japanese CBS/Sony Vinyl LP)

James Blood Ulmer - Black Rock | Vinyl LP - 1982 Japanese CBS/Sony (25AP 2438, CBS/Sony Inc.)

James Blood Ulmer spent most of the 1970s absorbing Ornette Coleman's harmolodic theory firsthand, famously tuning all six guitar strings to the same note and reworking the entire instrument from the ground up. By the time he landed on Columbia, he'd already made a case for himself on Are You Glad to Be in America? and Free Lancing. Black Rock is where the accessible version of that language arrived. The title track is a three-minute punk-funk sprint with Ulmer and Calvin Weston trading shouts over Ronald Drayton's rhythm guitar. "Moon Beam" and "Overnight" bring in Sam Sanders on saxophone, weaving through stacked melodic lines that pull apart and snap back into formation. "Family Affair", the A-side's longest track, hands lead vocals to Irene Datcher and stretches into a seven-minute slow-burn. The whole record balances precision with looseness in a way Ulmer's earlier work didn't always manage.

The band here is tight: Amin Ali on electric bass, Calvin Weston on primary drums, Cornell Rochester doubling on five of the nine tracks, and Drayton adding rhythm guitar across most of Side A and B. Ulmer co-produced with associate producers Ali, Weston, Harrison Avery and Jim Fishel. It was recorded at the Power Station in New York and mastered at CBS Recording Studios by Joe Gastwirt.

This is the Japanese pressing on CBS/Sony (25AP 2438), manufactured in Tokyo with Japanese liner notes included. Ulmer passed away in June 2026, and his Columbia trilogy (Free Lancing, Black Rock, Odyssey) remains the most direct entry point into one of the most original guitar voices in post-war American music.