Where Have I Known You Before
1. Vulcan Worlds
2. Where Have I Loved You Before
3. The Shadow Of Lo
4. Where Have I Danced With You Before
5. Beyond The Seventh Galaxy
6. Earth Juice
7. Where Have I Known You Before
8. Song To The Pharoah Kings
No Mystery
1. Dayride
2. Jungle Waterfall
3. Flight of the Newborn
4. Sofistifunk
5. Excerpt from the First Movement of Heavy
Metal
6. No Mystery
7. Interplay
8. Celebration Suite Pt.I
9. Celebration Suite Pt.II
Chick Corea - Acoustic piano, electric piano,
clavinet, Yamaha organ, synthesisers, percussion
Stanley Clarke - Acoustic bass, electric bass,Yamaha
organ, chimes, bell-tree, synthesiser, vocals
Lenny White - Drums, percussion, marimba,
congas, bongoes, marimba
Al Di Meola - Electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
acoustic 12-string guitar
Having recently reviewed
an anthology of Return to Forever's work
which contained about half these tracks, there
may be an element of déja vu
in this review, but I am happy to go on writing
about the band - as it was one of the finest
of the jazz-rock era.
This double CD contains two
complete albums from 1974 and 1975 respectively.
By this time Al Di Meola had replaced Bill
Connors as the group's guitarist but the music
was still heavier than it had been in the
early days of Return to Forever with albums
like Light as a Feather. Alyn Shipton's
sleeve-note to this compilation quotes leader
Chick Corea as saying "One of the reasons
we added electric guitar to the line-up...was
to use those timbres which were familiar to
audiences from the rock area...I think we
gained a lot from doing this over the four
years or so of this edition of Return to Forever,
although perhaps you could argue that in the
process we also lost a few things in terms
of subtleties and harmonies, or the more intimate
side of music that I also always enjoy".
Certainly many tracks are
very loud - sometimes to the extent of being
piercing - and Lenny White's constant barrage
on the drums becomes tiresome with repetition.
His drumming is very skilful but it lacks
sufficient variety. Yet there are some peaceful
tracks, which may even benefit from the contrast
with the surrounding heaviness.
For example, the first album
has piano interludes from Corea on tracks
2, 4 and 7. Even better, the second CD's title-track,
No Mystery, is a wonderfully subtle
(but also engaging) piece of work, with Lenny
White playing marimba instead of drums, and
an overall acoustic feeling which is far away
from the preceding heavy metal. And Interplay
is a sensitive duet between Corea's piano
and Clarke's string bass.
Both albums are also full
of immediately likeable tunes, thanks to Chick
Corea's enviable melodic sense. Chick composed
the majority of the tracks, which gives both
CDs unusual immediacy: attractive on the very
first hearing. More than 30 years after they
were recorded, these two albums defy the passage
of time and were well worth reissuing as a
"two for the price of one" package.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
BGO
Records BGOCD 799
