The company that represents the gold standard in remastering, Audio Fidelity, has released two new Hybrid SACD reissues of vintage fusion from two superbands of the 70s. Hold on tight!
By 1977, Return to Forever consisted of Chick Corea/key, Stanley Clarke/b, Joe Farrell/reeds but with Gerry Brown now at the drums and the addition of a horn section consisting of Harold Garrett, Jim Pugh, John Thomas and James Tinsley. The band had been riding high from albums like Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy and Where Have I Known You Before, but the team changes direction a bit with some vocals by Gayle Moran and Clarke on “The Endless Night” which works surprisingly well with the rich melody, while “Hello Again” is a bit too cutesy-pie. The horns actually add a bit of oomph to the processings, especially on the title track as Corea digs in on the keyboards. Wonderfully self-important pieces like the dramatic “Do You Ever” exemplify the glory and pitfalls of the jazz-rock genre. At times the band digs in and sounds like The Crusaders; most of the songs have vocals with philosophical messages about metaphysics, paradise and relationships. RTW at it’s most soulful in more ways than one.
In contrast and retrospect, Weather Reports 1975 Tail Spinnin’ is their last album before becoming a household name. Alphonso Johnson was the last bassist on WR’s rotating rhythm section before Jaco Pastorius came along to change the sound of jazz (and WR) forever on the subsequent Black Market album, but he sounds fine on his own with his soulful pulse. The core team of Joe Zawinul/key, Wayne Shorter/ts-ss, Ndugu Chancler/dr, Alyrio Lima/perc and Johnson swing harder and funkier than before, with the upbeat “Man in the Green Shirt” an ecstatic delight. Zawinul also continues his then-groundbreaking journey into what eventually became known as “world music” with the richly textured and exotic “Badia” with its irresistible pulse and jungle sounds. The band shows some homage to the then-popular disco on occasion, but Shorter’s red hot “Freezing Fire” demonstrates what happens when these guys bore down, and the monastic duet between him and Zawinul to close the album on “Five Short Stories” is one for the ages. This one’s a treat, and holds up amazingly well 2 score years later.