The shifts in Weather Report's personnel come fast and furious now, with Narada Michael Walden and Chester Thompson as the drummers, Alex Acuna and Don Alias at the percussion table, and Alphonso Johnson giving way to the mighty, martyred Jaco Pastorius…
Or shall we say, that is that, the final album by a group called Weather Report, now captained and guided by Josef Zawinul. The photo of Zawinul and Wayne Shorter shaking hands on the back cover of the LP is definitely a farewell gesture, for Shorter turns up on only three of the eight cuts (having left the band while this record was being made), and the record's world-music slant gives it a closer kinship with Zawinul's subsequent albums than with WR's earlier output…
Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular and artistic success – and for the same reasons. For one thing, Joe Zawinul revealed an unexpectedly potent commercial streak for the first time since his Cannonball Adderley days, contributing what has become a perennial hit, "Birdland." Indeed, "Birdland" is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band…
Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular and artistic success – and for the same reasons…
Mobile Fidelity reissued Marianne Faithfull's two dark milestones, 1979's Broken English and 1987's Strange Weather, on one CD. Although there were nearly ten years separating these two records, they share a moodiness and faux-torch arrangements that make them a perfect match…
Cardboard sleeve reissue from Brand X features remastering in 2014 for the first time and the high-fidelity SHM-CD format.
Five CD box set containing a quintet of their albums housed together in an attractive slipcase: Chicago Transit Authority (1969), Chicago II (1970), Chicago V (1972), Chicago VI (1973) and Chicago VII (1974). While Chicago are oft remembered as a Pop/Rock hit making machine, their musical roots were Jazz-oriented and this quintet of albums features the band blending their commercial sensibilities with their excellent Jazz/Rock musicianship
It’s hard to take any Vulfpeck release out of its intended context. While all of their records stand up on their own, there is an inherent strategy in everything they do. Each EP or LP is a logical successor to the last one. As their popularity grows, though, they are exposed to scores of people who are not attuned to their grooves, not privy to the in-jokes and history that informs each new album…