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Frequently Bought Together
Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Freezing Fire |
| 2. Scarlet Woman |
| 3. Mysterious Traveller |
| 4. Badia / Boogie Woogie Waltz |
Product Description
Review
Members of the ‘not more old jazz’ lobby might find it hard to raise a smile let alone lend an ear to something like this, but that would be their loss. A previously unreleased concert set captures the fusion pioneers at full tilt and deliciously re-opens the debate on what is the definitive line-up of the group that was spearheaded by Miles Davis alumni, keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and saw a string of brilliant young tyros come and go over some 15 years of volcanic activity.
Perhaps most controversially, one might argue that bass guitarist Alphonso Johnson was possibly a more effective cog in the futuristic machine than the deified Jaco Pastorious, the man who would replace him and become one of the defining figures on the instrument in the years that followed. Johnson is simply imperious here, his tone both rugged and articulate and his phrasing elaborate and immediate with the kind of roadhouse blues-rock character that entirely suits the brawny and boisterous, testosterone-fuelled bombast that is such a vital part of the WR aesthetic.
Freezing Fire, which opens the set with mucho sturm und drang is a case in point. This is possibly the band at its most red raw, with Johnson’s bass, Chester Thompson’s drums and Alex Acuña’s percussion creating a bubbling whirlpool of what is really heady, hyperactive staccato funk. Furthermore, wild accelerations on the snare provide an excitingly muddy blueprint for the yet-to-be-born jungle producers of the 1990s, a decade which already feels a lifetime ago. But if we’re talking about past, present and future blending and blurring to good effect, then Weather Report were masters of sonic time-travelling.
What really makes this performance extraordinary is the way the keyboard colours and horn motifs conjure up an ancestral, almost dawn-of-time ambience in one bar and then a sci-fi it-came-from-outer-space tone the next, the epitome of which is an absolutely astounding version of Scarlet Woman. Other highlights include a sturdy, groove-heavy Mysterious Traveller and a moody, plaintive Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz. Essential listening for both faithful and faithless.
--Kevin Le Gendre
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The Guardian, (John Fordham), March 25, 2011
(4 stars) Finds that balance of spacious tone-poetry, incisive improv and infectious hook-playing that was the essence of their best performances.
(5 stars) A fantastic and unexpected release from this legendary group and is simply an essential purchase.
(4 stars) A ferociously energetic line-up...a 20-minute jam that pulls out all the stops as it heads to a tumultuous climax.
(5 stars) A fantastic and unexpected release from this legendary group and is simply an essential purchase.
(4 stars) A ferociously energetic line-up...a 20-minute jam that pulls out all the stops as it heads to a tumultuous climax.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Since the breakup of this ground-breaking jazz fusion band in 1986, there have only been a small number of additions to its discography, starting with the excellent Live and Unreleased collection in 2002. This is in contrast to the vigorous work rate of the band, which saw it releasing a new studio album in almost every year of its sixteen year existence, along with a couple of live albums which showcased its characteristic powers of improvisation. During that time, the line-up underwent some rapid and extensive changes, with the only fixed points being keyboard player Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter.
This live date (at Berlin Philharmonie on November 6, 1975) comes from an important line-up which hasn't yet been extensively represented on record: that including Alphonso Johnson (bass), Alex Acuña (perc) and Chester Thompson (drums). In fact, they only played together on a few tracks on the 1976 album Black Market, but that record also saw the first appearance of the unbridled talents of Jaco Pastorius, who was already easing Johnson out of the bass chair.
Hence, the present set shows the band in transition between lengthily imaginative funk jams to more tuneful popular forms (which would see their apotheosis in the following year's Heavy Weather, the band's most successful record). The extended improvisations contain some mysteriously subtle touches - particularly on 'Scarlet Woman', and in the middle of the quiet changeover between 'Badia' and 'Boogie-Woogie Waltz' (a medley which was used to close the band's set for many years). Elsewhere, there are some fierce and pulsating rhythmic interchanges that underpin the soaring improvisations of Zawinul and Shorter (a skill they originally honed together in Miles Davis's In A Silent Way band).
This is a delightful set, which - although on the brief side (four tracks, 41 minutes) - is supplemented with a well-produced DVD of the concert, which gives the viewer a chance to observe the uncanny degree of interplay between these stellar musicians in this important band.
This live date (at Berlin Philharmonie on November 6, 1975) comes from an important line-up which hasn't yet been extensively represented on record: that including Alphonso Johnson (bass), Alex Acuña (perc) and Chester Thompson (drums). In fact, they only played together on a few tracks on the 1976 album Black Market, but that record also saw the first appearance of the unbridled talents of Jaco Pastorius, who was already easing Johnson out of the bass chair.
Hence, the present set shows the band in transition between lengthily imaginative funk jams to more tuneful popular forms (which would see their apotheosis in the following year's Heavy Weather, the band's most successful record). The extended improvisations contain some mysteriously subtle touches - particularly on 'Scarlet Woman', and in the middle of the quiet changeover between 'Badia' and 'Boogie-Woogie Waltz' (a medley which was used to close the band's set for many years). Elsewhere, there are some fierce and pulsating rhythmic interchanges that underpin the soaring improvisations of Zawinul and Shorter (a skill they originally honed together in Miles Davis's In A Silent Way band).
This is a delightful set, which - although on the brief side (four tracks, 41 minutes) - is supplemented with a well-produced DVD of the concert, which gives the viewer a chance to observe the uncanny degree of interplay between these stellar musicians in this important band.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fine and currently bargain-priced 40+ minutes on CD and DVD; high-quality sound and video from 1975. There are 4 numbers here and the DVD conveys some of the excitement and tension; Chester Thompson seems to perhaps be feeling some pressure from the 2 principals, as he looks grimly serious throughout and plays like the devil is on his tail, absolutely smoking. Johnson is attentive and responsive and Alex Acuna plays very strongly and fits in perfectly. It's furious from the outset and has a magnificent, jagged rough edge to it which was polished out in later lineups.
The video is IMHO better shot than the later performance released in the 'Forecast Tomorrow' box; and we even see Wayne Shorter playing piano on 'Mysterious Traveller'. This particular track is truncated compared to the studio version, probably as even they couldn't reproduce all the parts. 'Scarlet Woman' is excellent, without the countdown nonsense that was introduced in later live shows, and the ending medley includes a brilliant Zawinul piano section, behind which Johnson plays some Vitous-like figures that almost sound like a bowed upright. Shorter introduces the melody of 'Boogie Woogie Waltz' in an incredible way, like a ballad, then Thompson hits the groove and Zawinul snaps into it like a robot. Unique.
Later WR performances and tours did not include an acoustic piano, as by then the sound could be got from an electronic box which was much easier to amplify. With the arrival of Pastorius, they crossed over into bigger venues, eventually playing much, much louder and dividing the show into a series of ultimately very self-indulgent solo sections bookended by the current tunes and greatest hits.
But at the time of this recording they were still on the way up and had a lot to prove, and the music of the lineup with Alphonso Johnson has a dark, brutal urgency which is reflected in this set and the live tracks on 'Live and Unreleased' and 'Forecast Tomorrow'.
Magnificent. Even though my computer DVD drive won't read the DVD.
Well worth your attention at the current low price.
The video is IMHO better shot than the later performance released in the 'Forecast Tomorrow' box; and we even see Wayne Shorter playing piano on 'Mysterious Traveller'. This particular track is truncated compared to the studio version, probably as even they couldn't reproduce all the parts. 'Scarlet Woman' is excellent, without the countdown nonsense that was introduced in later live shows, and the ending medley includes a brilliant Zawinul piano section, behind which Johnson plays some Vitous-like figures that almost sound like a bowed upright. Shorter introduces the melody of 'Boogie Woogie Waltz' in an incredible way, like a ballad, then Thompson hits the groove and Zawinul snaps into it like a robot. Unique.
Later WR performances and tours did not include an acoustic piano, as by then the sound could be got from an electronic box which was much easier to amplify. With the arrival of Pastorius, they crossed over into bigger venues, eventually playing much, much louder and dividing the show into a series of ultimately very self-indulgent solo sections bookended by the current tunes and greatest hits.
But at the time of this recording they were still on the way up and had a lot to prove, and the music of the lineup with Alphonso Johnson has a dark, brutal urgency which is reflected in this set and the live tracks on 'Live and Unreleased' and 'Forecast Tomorrow'.
Magnificent. Even though my computer DVD drive won't read the DVD.
Well worth your attention at the current low price.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The fusion jazz super-group had a habit of recording their live shows on their world-wide tours and this is the one of their 1975 concert in Berlin. I have another of the CDs produced from a live recording called 8:30 and dates from the 1979 world tour. The band are in great form on both records. The two shows contain similar material. Which may indicate they are the pieces that work best live, and that they think they can do well. The 8:30 line-up is probably the better band, as it contains Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erkine, which was probably their best rhythm section. The main difference between the two records is that 8:30 is just two CDs, whereas the Berlin package has one CD and one DVD. I suppose it depends on whether you need to actually see them or want to just hear the music.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Live and Overlooked
This is the best of the recent live Weather Report releases. The numbers are taken from 'Tale Spinnin' and 'Mysterious Traveller' with a nod to the earlier 'Sweetnighter' when they... Read more
Published 5 months ago by O. george
You have to ask why they released this.
I am a long term fan of Weather Report. Zawinul and his music have been the soundtrack to most of my life, and that said I can just about stand listening to this album. Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. Baron
Live in Berlin
Where did this spring from !!!. An great addition to any WR fan's collection. Unlike one reviewer I found the sound quality to be very good. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Chris Weavers
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