Customer Reviews

8:30

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Best heard loud. The only thing wrong with this recording is that it isn't substantially longer. Erskine and Jaco form a disciplined and enormously powerful rhythm section that Zawinul and Shorter ride like a thousand foot wave. Scarlet Woman is expertly treated with sci-fi sound effects, from rocket launch to space accident. Teentown is, frankly, overcooked and scattered. A Remark You Made is really beautifully performed. Slang showcases Jaco and his digital delay (incredible that this wall of sound could be performed live by one man). But the real highlight is Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz. It features Jaco's frenetic bass licks, frenzied drumming and almost wobbles entirely out of control until a huge close decays into the sound of a train. The audience is hugely enthusiastic, which makes this a very good listen. The studio tracks are interesting (exception: The Orphan), particularly 8:30, which features Jaco on drums(!). This should be reissued in a box set with bonus tracks. Twenty years after it was issued, it's still the best live fusion album ever made, and an important document of the incredible musical phenomenon that was Weather Report.

....

I saw Weather Report in London at the Hammersmith Odeon on the tour from which this was made, though I have no way of knowing whether any of the recordings came from that concert. '8:30' is a pretty accurate souvenir of those concerts, with all their histrionics, sound effects and solo spots. (Somehow Jaco's bass solo, which normally exceeded 20 minutes, is kept to under five here.) Pete Erskine does a grand job on drums, but this album cannot convey the disappointment that, in order to get Erskine, we lost TWO percussionists. I know nothing about drumming, and for all I know Acuna and Badrena may have been just merely good at their craft. But they brought a wonderful spirit to Weather Report concerts -- sometimes competitive, sometimes collaborative, but always energetic and in good humour. With no percussionists from Latin America, the new four-man band was very much the first-world Weather Report; save Shorter, it was white men playing jazz.

As other reviewers have said, it was a mistake by Sony to remove one track from the CBS double album to squeeze it onto one CD, particularly as it is my favourite, if not the best track. 'Scarlet Woman' had a wonderful spacey intro, a brand new riff from Jaco replacing the Al Johnson lick, one of the biggest decibel ranges between the loud and quiet passages, and a bizarre sotto voce sound-effect ending. But there's no point in my telling you that. You get all the rest of the tracks from the original album, all of which are good, even if few are marvellous. But, if given the choice, I would prefer to listen to the studio version of every track here.

The 'Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz' medley plays much the same role as the 'Goin Ahead/Wichita Falls' pairing on the Pat Metheny 'Travels' album: an exquisite melding (on side 3 of the LP) of two tunes from different albums. If that track achieves nothing more than persuading a few more people to dip into the back-catalogue and buy the outstanding 'Sweetnighter', then it was well worth doing.

The studio tracks unnecessarily tacked onto the end are unremarkable. Goodness knows why any studio material was needed, as every Weather Report concert I attended lasted a good 1.75 hours. Having let down their many fans with 'Mr Gone', the band redeemed themselves a little, but not much, with this album.

If you enjoyed this album and don't know the group's earlier material, then you are in for a wonderful treat: 'Sweetnighter', 'Mysterious Traveller', 'Tale Spinnin', 'Black Market' and 'Heavy Weather' are all five-star, toe-tapping jazz-rock. (If you go back even further, things become not quite so catchy or commercial.)

If I had to choose which WR album I most like, it would be somewhere between Heavy Weather or Mysterious Traveller. It's simply hard to pick up one favourite. BUt if I were asked which tune is the ultimate WR tune, I definitely would choose BADIA/BOOGIE WOOGIE WALTZ Medley from 8:30. This track epitomized everything that WR was all about. This track, a monstrous live version, shows all corners of WR's ideology: space, catchable 'tune', catchable 'hook', improvising and monstrous power between Jaco and Erskine....this song should be the ultimate introduction to Weather Report. I only wished that the drums were more mixed to the front (especially the snare drums)...but let's not forget the great other classics on this live record: Slang (Jaco's solo), Black Market and of course, Birdland.

This dynamic album (available in either one- or two-disc format, the latter with one extra song) showcases Weather Report in their prime lineup, the Big Three (Jaco Pastorius, Joe Zawinul, and Wayne Shorter) plus then-new drummer Peter Erskine. The tunes from "Heavy Weather" (1977) are the best ones presented here, only with even more authenticity and feel: from the upbeat, extended grooves of "Black Market" and "Teen Town" to the excruciatingly honest, soul-searching theme of "A Remark You Made". Jaco's bass solo, "Slang", highlights both his showmanship and the crowd's roaring approval. When Jaco turns up the distortion, he's as heavy as any metal axeman, and yet still grooved into the loop he's laid down with his delay pedal. The trimphant "Birdland" is another favorite, with Jaco's false harmonics imitating a guitar convincingly. Properly described by Zawinul as a "fearsome foursome", this lineup of Weather Report, especially in a live setting, was its best ever -- and for a band like this, that ought to tell you something.

NOTE: The Amazon tracklist above is incorrect. This is the complete, TWO DISC set of the original 13-track double-LP album (as evidenced by the CD's catalog number SICP-1247/48), and properly restores "Scarlet Woman" to the album (edited off all domestic releases to allow a single CD release). The correct tracklist for this set is:

Disc: 1
1. Black Market
2. Scarlet Woman
3. Teen Town
4. Remark You Made
5. Slang (Bass Solo)
6. In a Silent Way
Disc: 2
1. Birdland
2. Thanks for the Memory [Tenor Sax Solo]
3. Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz Medley
4. 8:30
5. Brown Street
6. Orphan
7. Sightseeing

In 2007, the main 16 Weather Report Columbia titles were re-released in Japan with new DSD remastering in mini-sleeve format. From an audio quality standpoint, the DSD versions now supercede all the earlier standard-CD-audio U.S. releases (some of the WR catalog are available as SACD's).

So far, the WR DSD catalog is only available in mini-sleeve format, and all `sleeves are limited edition. If it is your desire to own the latest/greatest audio, then don't delay in picking these up, although it is always possible that Sony Japan will release them again as less expensive jewel case editions somewhere down the road. However, for the true WR fan and vinyl nut, it's great to have the wonderful mini-LP replicas of the original LP covers!

I wanted to provide links for each 2007 `sleeve edition, but unfortunately, Amazon only allows 10 per review. But, by linking to the 2007 DSD remaster of the first Weather Report album, you should be able to use the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" tool to locate the rest of the 2007 DSD titles (just make sure you verify the release date and Product Description).

Also, of note: In this same release were updated DSD remasters of the following WR-member solo albums, also as mini-sleeves:

Jaco Pastorius (1st album)
Wayne Shorter "Native Dancer"
Joe Zawinul "Di-a-lects"

And, the two Havana Jam albums, both where WR appeared live, also as `sleeves:

Havana Jam 1
Havana Jam 2

And, FINALLY: 2007 witnessed John McLaughlin finally relenting to release the full Trio Of Doom studio & live recordings, the awesome line-up of McLaughlin, Pastorius and Tony Williams, which could only be found previously on the Havana Jam albums, albeit in edited form.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Joe Zawinul, the late founder and keyboardist for WR, said this was WR at it's peak. The band went through a long series of lineup and musical alterations, but it's hard to believe that anyone would not see this lineup as the best. What really blows is that CBS left off one superb song, "Scarlet Woman", from the original two-vinyl record set, to squeeze it onto one CD. In fairness, this disc does note the omission on the back cover, but I went ahead and bought it, as I was reduced to listening to a 20 year old cassette in my car. But I was frustrated with this "dismembered" version. A few years ago, my lovely and thoughtful wife was in Japan and knowing my adoration of this release, bought the somewhat more pricey Japanese set, which restores the missing track and stretches out to 2-CD's. (BTW...I went through the same foolishness with Joni Mitchell's "Shadows And Light" which had the same problem and required the same expensive solution. Jaco Pastorius shines on both albums and he alone was worth the extra cash; probably $40 total )If you love WR, and especially if you are a total zombie when it comes to seeking out live performances by Pastorius, spend the extra dough and get the double disc from Japan. It's a better mastering job, too. Don't pass up " S & L " either. It may be Joni's record, but she's already admitted that Jaco radically uplifted every song he played.

Zawinul once said " They've got it all f*****g wrong. Jimi Hendrix was the Jaco Pastorius of the guitar, not the other way around."

I saw Weather Report in two concerts to promote the album that featured three sides recorded live and one side of studio work. It was at a point where the band was at its commercial height, but not letting the burden of popularity weigh the group down (that was to come later when Joe Zawinul sacked Jaco Pastorius, as the great bassist began to succumb to his personal demons).

The live cuts highlight the music that many "new" fans expected; Black Market, Teen Town and Birdland. The band delivered their most famous songs, along with other selections and ample solo space, in concerts lasting more than two hours & typically starting at.....you guessed it, 8:30 pm.

The album cover aptly depicted the variety of fans Weather Report was drawing. It was one of the last jazz groups to truly break through the labels that plagued the music industry then and are still around today.

The live lineup of Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Pastorius and Peter Erskine is perhaps the best known among casual and hardcore fans alike. The studio side features Zawinul's son, Erich, on percussion.

The album is a good sample of what made Weather Report great and I highly recommend it to those who want the "big picture" before delving into the outstanding studio-only releases.

This is, for me, one of the best albums of all time in any genre. The musicianship is unparalleled (how could it not be, with Pastorius, Shorter and Zawinul?) and well-captured, making the excitement of the crowd as palpable as on any recording I've heard (similar to Ellington at Newport). There is a wide range of moods, from a quiet (though powerful) version of A Remark You Made, though Black Market and Slang. Every cut is amazing, and full of musical brilliance.

I've grown to love Wayne's "Thanks for the memories"on this album."Sight-seeing"is also a favorite.And Jaco's "Slang"solo holds up after countless listenings.Peter Erskine's drumming is nothing short of excellent(and at times,amazing)throughout the album. Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter TOGETHER created a wonderful band that reached it's peak with this lineup in the late 70's, early 80's.The addition of Robert Thomas on percussion a little later ultimately completed the best overall group called Weather Report, in my opinion. But the band should be listened to in it's entirety,from it's inception to it's end to fully appreciate what a great musical invention this was. If you want to listen to these guys for the first time, 8:30 is a real good place to start.

If you have ANY interest in Weather Report at all, you must buy this album. I am a huge fan, and it is by far my favorite. "Slang" is funky, but there's something in there that I always get listening to the best of Jaco; a sense of the infinite. His harmonics with the distortion on in "Slang" is just magnificent. The two great ballads "A Remark You Made" and "In a Silent Way" will simply put you in a trance, and Weather Report has never been more fiery than on this version of "Teen Town". "Badia/Boogie-Woogie-Waltz Medley" is Joe Zawinul's spacious style at its best-(you can definitely tell it's him when you listen to the Joe Zawinul Syndicate nowadays-half of that stuff sounds like this tune.) An unbelieveable album, and a great for all time.