Record Reviews

WEATHER REPORT ~ I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC COLUMBIA 512897 (Barcode: 5099751289722) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1971 - 1972 Released: 1997 2nd album by the first jazz super group Weather ReportFind albums by this artist, formed by ex-Miles DavisFind albums by this artist group members Joe ZawinulFind albums by this artist (keyboards) and Wayne ShorterFind albums by this artist (sax) and the Czech bass virtuoso Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist. Vitous was asked to join the Miles Davis group in 1970, but for various reasons this didn’t work out. Instead he approached two of the group members and proposed to form a new group, which would continue the revolutionary new direction Miles was following (later to be named Jazz-Rock Fusion) and expand it into new territory. Zawinul and Shorter, both being at a crossroads at the time after leaving the ensembles they played in, agreed and Weather Report was born. Following the release of their eponymous album in 1971 the group embarked on several European and Japanese tours. In November of 1971 WR entered the NYC CBS studios to record material for their second album. These sessions were interrupted by another Japanese tour, during which a legendary album called Live In TokyoFind albums with this title was recorded on January 13, 1972. The live album was released as a double LP immediately, but due to the usual corporate bullshit the release was intended for the Japanese market only, and it stayed this way for almost thirty years (it was released finally on CD in Europe in 2001), making the album unobtainable to most WR fans outside Japan. Well, not entirely, as heavily edited excerpts of this recording found their way to the B side of I Sing The Body ElectricFind albums with this title, in addition to the a.m. November studio recordings on side A. As usual with WR, personnel changes started already at this early stage and in the cause of the very few months since the recording of the debut album the original WR drummer Alphonse MouzonFind albums by this artist was replaced by Eric GravattFind albums by this artist and original percussionist Airto MoreiraFind albums by this artist was replaced by another Brazilian Master Don Um RomaoFind albums by this artist. More importantly however, the music of the band changed also quite dramatically. The debut album was an all-acoustic affair and here we have Zawinul using electric piano, modulators and other electronic devices, which eventually would dominate the WR sound. The overall sound is now almost identical to the Miles Davis In A Silent WayFind albums with this title / Bitches BrewFind albums with this title sessions. On the studio sessions WR used several guest musicians, notably the superb guitarist Ralph TownerFind albums by this artist (from OregonFind albums by this artist) on the classically influenced piece called The Moors and an extended brass session and vocals on the ominous anti-war piece called Unknown Soldier (remember the Doors?). This album is a timeless masterpiece and a cornerstone of Jazz (in general) and Fusion (in particular), providing a wonderful introspective peek at the most interesting (regardless of genre) period in the history of 20th Century music. Absolutely essential!

CD 1 Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend

WEATHER REPORT ~ LIVE IN TOKYO COLUMBIA 489208 (Barcode: 5099748920829) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1972 Released: 2001 Following the release of their eponymous album in 1971 and in spite of the hype and show-biz brouhaha created by ColumbiaFind albums on this label at the time, which presented Weather ReportFind albums by this artist as the first ever jazz super group (a term already used in reference to rock acts), the band found it difficult to secure any US venues to perform live. Europe and Japan of course couldn’t get enough of them and WR spent most of 1971 performing there in front of ecstatic audiences. In November of 1971 WR entered the NYC CBS studios to record material for their second album. These sessions were interrupted by another Japanese tour, during which this legendary album was recorded on January 13, 1972. The music was released as a double LP immediately, but due to the usual corporate bullshit the release was intended for the Japanese market only, and it stayed this way for almost thirty years (it was released finally on CD in Europe in 2001), making the album unobtainable to most WR fans outside Japan. Well, not entirely, as heavily edited excerpts of this recording found their way to the B side of the 2nd official WR album I Sing The Body ElectricFind albums with this title, which included the a.m. November studio recordings as side A – all this probably due to the fact that Columbia was anxious to have the next WR album out ASAP and didn’t want to wait for the more studio recordings. So much for the background and now for the music. As usual with WR, the personnel changes started already at this early stage and in the cause of the very few months since the recording of the debut album the original WR drummer Alphonse MouzonFind albums by this artist was replaced by Eric GravattFind albums by this artist and original percussionist Airto MoreiraFind albums by this artist was replaced by another Brazilian Master Don Um RomaoFind albums by this artist. More importantly however, the music of the band changed also quite dramatically. The debut album was an all-acoustic affair and here we have Joe ZawinulFind albums by this artist using electric piano, modulators and other electronic devices, which eventually would dominate the WR sound. The overall sound is now almost identical to the Miles DavisFind albums by this artist´ In A Silent WayFind albums with this title / Bitches BrewFind albums with this title sessions, with the intensity equal to the legendary Miles’ Fillmore concerts. The music is presented in a form of four extended medleys (the longest of which lasts for over 26 minutes), mixing expanded versions of compositions present on the debut album with those recorded during the a.m. November sessions and yet others that appear only here. The group improvisations and the telepathic interplay are fearfully intense. Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist bravely provides the steady pulsation, which cements the basis on which his companions embark into their sonic ventures. Gravatt is all over the rhythmic patterns and Romao brilliantly fills the spaces. WR strength was always in their live performances, since their studio efforts somehow lacked much of the spontaneity, drive, inspiration and vigor present on stage. This recording, in addition to its heavenly contents, has also a tremendous historic value, as it is the only one in existence documenting the early (and to many the most interesting) stage of the band. It also provides the wonderful introspective peek at the most interesting (regardless of genre) period in the history of 20th Century music, during the convoluted period where all boundaries seemed to be irrelevant and the unexpected was expected. There would be very few moments in the years that followed that either WR or any other band for that matter would reach the same level of creative genius or performance intensity. Absolutely essential!

CD 2 Essential Recommend To A Friend