Audio CD review:
Weather Report - Best of

Weather Report - Best of

Band: Weather Report Title: Best of Rating: Release Date: 2002-06-04 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Birdland 2: Mysterious Traveller 3: Boogie Woogie Waltz 4: The Elders 5: Night Passage 6: Freezing Time 7: A Remark You Made 8: Elegant People 9: Man In The Green Shirt 10: Blackthorn Rose 11: Black Market

Excellent restrospective with a couple of key omissions It's also a nice value as the disk is about 73 minutes long. The first thing that you need to know is that this disk sounds great. Also, this compilation contains nothing from the band's first two albums, nor does it contain the club crossover hit, "River People", one of my all-time favorite songs in any genre. Columbia knows that people want that song and it's only available on the following releases: This Is Jazz, Vol. 40: The Jaco Years Forecast: Tomorrow (included on the DVD) Mr. Gone [Bonus Tracks] When I was in high school, I had a couple of friends who were bonkers about Weather Report. I could never really get into them back then -- too oblique, moody and shape-shifting for me. Now, though, I get it. Why? Because I made an intentional effort to explore and understand jazz from Cole Porter to Duke Ellington to Ella, Miles, Coltrane and all the great Blue Note and Impulse stuff. At first, Weather Report was still challenging, and I say that as someone who appreciates jazz. But give it several spins, free your mind, and understand that these compositions were often experimental and yes, moody and oblique. But life is that way, too, OK? Recognise that there's a vibe here, captured in the song "Mysterious Traveller", of exploration. Let go of your preconceived ideas of where song forms are supposed to go, and let the musicians instead chart their own course through everything from funk to show tunes to dance to smoldering spirituality. The liner notes contain a great question. "What do they sound like? What kind of music do they play?" And the answer is, there is no other band that sounds like Weather Report except Weather Report. These compositions stand alongside the work of Monk, Brubeck/Desmond, Ellington, Horace Silver, and Miles. The purists have always had an axe to grind because they dared to incorporate electronics and song forms from Tin Pan Alley, the American Songbook, Show Tunes, World Music and even pure Funk. You can even hear some spaced-out, Grateful Dead-style spacey/trippy interludes at times. But at every moment, you know that what you are hearing is an accomplished and jazz band that respected the listener and always took it to "a whole 'nother level. " The standout for me is the 13-minute opus "Boogie Woogie Waltz" (which you'll notice after a couple of listenings really is a waltz done up in polyrythms) with a free-floating melody, or series of melodies that suggests a very gritty, urban stretscape. The tune gets really spacey as it builds to a wild funky break, at which time it morphs into an unmistakable pounding heartbeat that absolutely explodes out of your speakers over a hot percolating bed of percussion-laced wah-wah guitar and improvised electric piano runs and hot horn blasts that drive home a final melodic theme that you didn't even realise had been building the entire time. This is improvisational groove music with highly original melodies, by a band that was never afraid to challenge the definition of jazz by the musty critics' club that oversaw the genre at the time. In the words of a song by Herbie Hancock, "Hang up Your Hang Ups" and order this. It doesn't sieze you by the throat as much as it dances its way into your consciousness. Funky, heartfelt and a lot of fun. Funky! Just look at some of the group's members of the past: Wayne Shorter (sax), Jaco Pastorius (electric bass), and Joe Zawinul (piano) . Weather Report put out some very funky jazz cuts over the years. . . among many others. When you hear the opening to "Boogie Woogie Waltz" you instantly are transported to the 1970s on some funky electric neon light moving stairs. If you look around you you'll notice the walls are furry and fluorescent. Listen even closer and you will fall into the "FUNK" rabbit hole. We are still just explaining "Boogie Woogie Waltz" for god sake. The Best of Weather Report is smoking cold jazz fusion from start to finish. When you play this album you must do it loud. . THE BAND THAT GOT ME INTO FUSION JAZZ IN THE 70's! Louis area and Weather Report came one night to play the small (prob. When I was about 9 in the early mid-seventies my Mom was a student at Webster College in the St. under 1000 seat) theater there and I had the privilege of experiencing it up close and personal. It was usual that I was helping myself to all areas of the college and going backstage at events, etc. Well, I had seen music there before, but Weather Report was a different story! What was this strange, energetic and powerful music? My young mind absorbed it in as if in a trance. At the end Wayne Shorter (the sax guy) said something to me which I don't remember, but I was in absolute awe by this time and was not my usual talkative self. Let's just say this was instrumental (not being punny) in pointing me to the musicians life and opening a whole new world of music besides The Beatles and Neil Young, etc. (of course I still love all the great Rock). I have many of the earlier albums, but this compilation, at 75 minutes, is a great introduction to the band and includes many great songs. Of course, you probably will want to pick up more since all of the albums are great! The flow is nice and the sound quality seems very high (I'm used to the records). Even if you have or will purchase more, this could fill the car or work slot or just be a good one cd way to get the WEATHER REPORT. great value, Enjoy!!. The Best of Weather Report. The band's permanent members were keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter both of whom had previously worked with Miles Davis. Weather Report is one of the most important and significant bands in Jazz music. Between 1971 and 1986, Zawinul and Shorter employed a revolving door of bass players, drummers and percussionists thoughout their band's exsistance. Among them were Alphonso Johnson, Miroslav Vitous, Chester Thompson, Peter Erskine, Alex Acuna and the late Jaco Pastorious just to name a few. The recent compilation "Best of Weather Report" is not a career spanning collection but does cover the band's most important and ground breaking period between 1973 and 1980. Included in this compilation are the spaced-out experimental sounds of "Mysterious Traveller", the tough street-grooves of "Boogie Woogie Waltz", the intense polyrhythms of "Night Passage" and "Freezing Fire" as well as the melodic beauty of "A Remark You Made". Of course, no Weather Report collection is complete without the band's signature classic "Birdland". This track is Weather Report's best known compostition and has since gone on to become a Jazz-Fusion standard. Defnitely, a shining moment for the band. "The Best Of Weather Report" displays a wealthy amount of great music from the band. The only minor complaint I have is that there is no material from the band's first two albums or their self-titled 12th album from 1982 (its last with bassist Jaco Pastorius). Apart from that, this is a great collection from Weather Report. The band has always displayed an excellent musical backdrop no matter who is playing with them. This CD is a great place to start for those unfamiliar with the band. Definitive Jazz-Rock-Fusion from one the band's who helped pioneer the genre. enjoy there fusion this set highlights the many changing directions these Cats went in. I always dug the Fusion Weather Report brought out in there work. Joe Zawinul&Wayne Shorter were done with Miles during His Fusion period&these Cats just took it into there own Direction. you never knew who might show up with these Cats but at the end of the listen you knew you had Challenging Music to enjoy&reflect on. You can see a complete list of all Weather Report discography, or go back to the Weather Report tabs