My Pearl
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Album Summary
Automatic Man was a San Francisco-based fusion outfit that brought together some serious firepower — featuring Bayete Umbra on keyboards and the late, great Michael Shrieve fresh off his legendary run with Santana behind the kit. 'My Pearl' was released in 1976 on Island Records, produced by the band themselves alongside some guiding hands in the studio, and it captured a moment when rock, funk, and jazz-fusion were colliding in the most electric ways. The album came out of a Bay Area scene that was bubbling with creative energy, and Automatic Man brought a raw, street-level intensity to the polished fusion sound that was dominating the mid-seventies.
Reception
- The album earned modest attention from the rock and fusion press of the time, appreciated by those tuned in to the heavier, funk-driven side of the fusion movement.
- While it did not produce a mainstream chart breakthrough, it built a devoted following among listeners who craved something grittier and more guitar-forward than the smoother fusion outfits of the era.
Significance
- Automatic Man represented a rare fusion of hard rock aggression and jazz-funk sophistication, placing 'My Pearl' at a unique crossroads in the mid-seventies sonic landscape.
- The band's multicultural Bay Area roots gave 'My Pearl' a richly layered cultural identity that reflected the diversity and boundary-pushing spirit of the San Francisco music scene in that era.
- Michael Shrieve's presence anchored the album with a rhythmic complexity and dynamism that connected the record to the broader legacy of Latin-influenced rock and jazz fusion coming out of the West Coast.
Samples
- My Pearl — one of the most celebrated funk-fusion breakbeats of the era, the title track has been sampled extensively in hip-hop, most notably by Ice Cube in 'Check Yo Self' (1992) and widely recognized as one of the defining drum breaks in sample culture
Tracklist
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A My Pearl 80
2:32
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B My Pearl 80
2:32
Artist Details
Automatic Man was a slick and funky rock outfit that came together in San Francisco around 1975, blending hard rock muscle with R&B grooves in a way that made heads turn and hips move all at once — featuring the powerhouse vocals of Bayete and the fiery guitar work of Priester, these cats were ahead of their time in fusing rock and soul before the world had a proper name for it. They released their self-titled debut in 1976 on Island Records, followed by Visitors in 1977, and while they never quite broke through to the mainstream the way their talent deserved, their sound was a bold and beautiful statement about where rock music could go when it stopped being afraid of the funk.
