Rypdal's eponymous debut loosely traverses the line between Miles' Jack Johnson and the first Ash Ra Tempel lp.  (Hey, someone had to do it...)  Altogether more deep-spacey than icy, as Rypdal's tenure with ECM would ultimately see him become, and if your backbone don't drop when Garbarek makes his slithering entrance into "Keep It Like That- Tight", well, you'd best be seeing a doctor about that big bug up yr ass. Odyssey is more subdued than Rypdal's previous Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away, but the effect is still as sweet. Instrumentation on this one includes trombone and organ in addition to the gtr/b/dr triad.  The organ is a standout, purely textural and slowly filtered through a wah pedal.  Gorgeous.  Although this was reissued on CD, the original 2lp version is preferable since the CD omits the final 23 minute track, a slowburner that nicely evokes Miles' "He Loved Him Madly." [DW]

The first track on Odyssey -- "Rolling Stone" -- is pure koz. Starts off with typical Rypdalian spaciness, then the rhythm section comes in with a opiatic funk groove. Check it out on Youtube. Highly recommended!
[Thomas]