Level One
by The Eleventh House Featuring Larry Coryell

I can't play anywhere near this level, so chalk this up to jealousy if you want, but this is the kind of music that killed "fusion" and jazz with it (OK, jazz isn't dead, but it's in the old folks' home along with classical). Ripping through chord changes, demonstrating chops, hammering away without any meaning or emotional resonance--it's what all jazz sounds like to those who hate jazz. Sure they can play, but to what purpose? The sound is smooth to the point of being plastic, the grit of good jazz is absent. It does check the "virtuosity" box, I'll grant them that. It's got spice, but that just makes it spicy cotton candy. I could say this about a bunch of jazz guitar albums from the 70s and 80s, but this one happened to trigger it, it's a perfect specimen of the type.