Customer Reviews

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

 

 

Between his 1970's Return to Forever albums and his late-80's Elektric band albums, Chick released a number of good small-ensemble jazz albums full of original compositions - albums which have, for whatever reason, languished in obscurity. Here he teams up with Joe Farrell on flute and reeds, Eddie Gomez on bass and Steve Gadd on drums: how can you miss with that kind of line-up?

Each member of this quartet really contributes to the whole: Eddie Gomez's sound on the bass is rich and full, and Steve Gadd supplies a constant creative energy. The tracks have a great balance between composed structure(including intricate passages with Chick and Joe in unison) and improvisation that lets the individual players shine. Only the slightly hokey sound and lack of energy of the first track, and maybe the Smurfs on the cover, keep this from being five stars. For ten bucks, it's a steal for any Chick fan.

This CD is by far my favorite Chick Corea recording. When I first heard this in 1978 I immediatly fell in love with it. I have worn out several albums over the last 20+ years and couldn't wait until it was available on CD. The interplay between Chick and this band is flawless. They mix very well together and it's a shame they didn't do a follow up recording together. My favorites are The One Step and Friends. If you buy only 1 Chick Corea in your life this one should be it.

This music has haunted me in a delightfully pleasant way for the last 15 years. This album is one of Chick Corea's greatest achievements - its an electric album that has all the greatest qualities of acoustic music - its a fusion album that has all the greatness of classical jazz - its a jazz album that sounds like world music - its great music that sounds so personal! Corea's collaborators are at their best - I've never quite heard bass solo's like Eddie Gomez; neither the flute improvisations of Farell. Steve Gadd is at his best in this free flowing setting. There is something about the leadership qualities of Corea that makes people play like this. The interplay with the band is equal and magical with Chick being the lead genius among the geniuses. The amazing unexpected bonus are the children's songs. An album you must have.

I agree with the other reviewers who said this is the best Corea album ever. Certainly his best and one of his most accessible real jazz records. Like a lot of the other reviewers, I have been listening to it fairly consistently for about 30 years. It is one of my most favorite records, period. The Smurfs cover is simply a little tongue in cheek, I have to say at first I did not know what to make of the record because of that (in the days long before you could sample a record on-line) and I did not pick it up for a few years after it first came out because of it. Ignore that (don't forget though there are two of Chick's Children's Songs on here, and my kids have been drawn to that cover). Unbelievable chemistry between very compatible musicians, great melodies and interaction. There is simply no replacing Joe Farrell, a true genius, RIP. Fortunately the others are still around. There was a subsequent Corea date with the rest of the same line-up with Bob Berg on sax, made after Joe died, and it is for sure a fine record, but not in the beyond category, magical sphere of this one.

I'm a bigtime Corea fan and had listened to all of his other recordings, except this one because I thought it would be lame. Boy was I wrong! This is one of the HARDEST SWINGING jazz recordings I've ever heard. And it really showcases the genius of Joe Farrell (R.I.P.). Corea fans, straight ahead (and even fusion) fans will enjoy this recording. Young musicians should DEFINITELY get this recording and study it.

This is a real jazz outing, accessible with some great stretching solos. Everyone plays off each other and there are some moments where pure magic occurs. How I ever found this recording is beyond me. It came out before Chick's power trio recordings and I remember listening to it while in Africa and marveling at the musicianship. Excellent!

One of my all time favorites--just superb.
Bought it as a new record in high school and again over 25 years later for my iPod. Tunes for life.

As others have already pointed out, with a lineup like this how can this NOT be a great recording? Chick Corea is at his best here - I just love him on the Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano. And I will buy anything with Joe Farrell on it; he was simply the best flute/sax player in the world. I really like Eddie Gomez here, and Steve Gadd's drumming is so fluid tying it all together. The only thing I've never liked about this album is the goofy cover picture; I wish instead they had a decent picture of these four musical giants together. As far as I know this is the only recording they ever made together, and it deserves a great visual to match the great audio. It's as good now on CD as it was on vinyl 30 years ago.

Wow! I thaught this was the best Chick Cd ever! If you like the drums alot (like me) This is the number 1 best drummer in the world. The piano is extrordinary, the drums rule! Well, to sum it all up this cd is an easy A+, 100,000,000,000,000,000-infinity%,5 star cd. If you want a great jazz expierience than BUY THIS CD RIGHT NOW!!

I agree with (...) above on most things. What I disagree with, is that I thought the smurfs were cute and innovative. Track one (The one step) is supposed to be a mellow low energy song, but Chick picks up the tempo in the middle and then brings it back down. The "Samba Song" has very excelllent solos by Corea and Joe Farrel (deceased). I have been waitng for this album to arrive on CD since it came out. Another great CD from the same period is the Griffith Park Collections, featuring Chick with Freddie Hubbard and other greats.