Lenny White's 1977 recording The Adventures of Astral Pirates was an incredibly tough act to follow -- so tough, in fact, that anything less than a five-star gem was likely to seem a bit disappointing. Streamline, the 1978 LP that came right after The Adventures of Astral Pirates, isn't a five-star gem, but it isn't bad either. Although not in a class with The Adventures of Astral Pirates or 1975's Venusian Summer, let alone
White's work with
Return to Forever, Streamline is a generally decent, if mildly uneven, collection of instrumental jazz fusion and R&B vocal numbers. While this album (which
White produced with
Earth, Wind & Fire keyboardist
Larry Dunn) isn't as R&B-oriented as
White's Twennynine projects would be, the drummer is obviously going after R&B audiences on "Time" (a somewhat
Earth, Wind & Fire-ish funk item) and an interesting cover of
the Beatles' "Lady Madonna" (which features soul goddess
Chaka Khan). But there is also plenty of fusion, and instrumentals like "Night Games," "Struttin'," and the Brazilian-influenced "Pooh Bear" are enjoyable even though they fall short of the brilliance of the material on The Adventures of Astral Pirates and Venusian Summer. While Streamline isn't among
White's essential albums, it's a likable set. ~ Alex Henderson