Audio CD review:
Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller (Multichannel/Stereo)

Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller (Multichannel/Stereo)

Band: Weather Report Title: Mysterious Traveller (Multichannel/Stereo) Rating: Release Date: 2002-06-18 Media: Audio CD Tracks:

Superb That's debatable, but it was certainly the band's first concept album, in which the artwork and atmosphere of the music all seemed to point in the same spacey/ethnic direction. In the booklet that comes with the uncomfortably titled FORECAST TOMORROW box-set, MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER is highlighted as the jewel in Weather Report's recorded history. This SACD also demonstrates how well recorded it was. Unlike the SACD of HEAVY WEATHER, which is only in stereo, MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER is in glorious 5. 1. There seems to have been something about the 1973-74 era which persuaded record companies that they needed to mix many of their more serious recordings in quadrophonic. That system failed to take off, but it left CBS in particular with a legacy of albums by the likes of the Isley Brothers and Waether Report which could be transformed into 5. 1 sound without too much difficulty. The sleeve notes to this album are informative, and helpful for anyone who was wondering which bassist played on which track. (Vitous only appeared on 'American Tango', by the way. ) This is the third time I've bought this album (once on LP, then on CD, then on remastered CD, and finally on SACD). It's hard to imagine that Sony will find another technological excuse for re-releasing this. So this SACD stands as definitively the best sonic presentation of one of Weather Report's greatest albums. (All from SWEETNIGHTER to HEAVY WEATHER are excellent. ). A reissue of a 1970's Quad mix 1 SACD mixes of "Weather Report-Mysterious Traveller" & "Herbie Hancock-Headhunters",but as someone who was a quadrophonic-equiped teenager during the 1970's,I should explain that while both SACD's mixes are good,they are merely slight enhancements of the 1970's 4-channel Quadrophonic mixes. Another reviewer on this page praises the 5. (I once owned the Herbie Hancock album on Quadrophonic 8-track cartridge and the Weather Report album on "SQ" Quadrophonic L. P. ). Some low frequency content is syphoned off and routed to the subwoofer channel(a lot on the Herbie Hancock disc;a little on the Weather Report disc). Also,on the Herbie Hancock disc,some low-level summed front left/front right content is routed to the center channel,while the center channel is silent on the Weather Report disc. I wonder whether it was budgetary considerations that caused Sony Music to opt against a true 5. 1 channel remix from the 2 inch/16-track session tapes. As for the music,both album are landmark jazz-rock fusion classics. . . but then again you already know that. CAPTIVATING Founders Zawinul (keys) and Shorter (horns) try new electronic and acoustic sounds, always w the trademark multi-percussionists, and electric bass for the first time. This CD is a classic of "early fusion" (as opposed to "Jazz Lite"). Veering into newer, almost free-form areas, the SACD 5. 1 surround mix is outstanding. This disc is demo-material for the relatively new hi-resolution SACD medium - along the lines of Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, another great experimental fusion album that utilizes SACD 5. 1 to its maximum effect. Both discs surround you with the band members, w Zawinul and Shorter always anchored in the front soundstage on the Weather Report disc. Some surround discs may sound unnatural, or "forced", to purists, but the nature of the music here lends itself well to "experimental" soundstaging. The mix is crisp, without a hint of hiss or any other unwelcome, extraneous audio corruption. . . never betraying the 30 year old recording - it sounds as though it could have been done (very well) yesterday. Highly recommended. Truly captivating music, sound, and mix. You can see a complete list of all Weather Report discography, or go back to the Weather Report tabs