Customer Reviews

Light Years

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

 

 

Not my favorite but here is what I love about it. Chick seems to enjoy exploring. With these players he has the perfect ensemble to do that. I get the feeling that he wraps his head around a sound or feel that he wants and just goes after it. Each album seems to point in a different direction with each track taking us further out there. Sometimes we don't know where we are going but it is sure a fun ride. I don't know if he's exploring techno or what on this one but there is so much subtle stuff going around a huge, fat beat that it's hard not to play it over wondering what you just heard. You definitely have to have a good sound system to listen to this; otherwise you miss it, like taking a scenic highway with dirty windows.

Every musician on this album was a top notch jazz musician, just not at their best form for the recording of this disk. Now, don't think I'm saying this just because I'm a purist, and don't like 70's and 80's fusion. I do, and The Chick Corea EB has made some killer cuts. Everything sounds too commercial here, something off of a 1985 Spyro Gyra album. Dave Weckl had too many electronic drums in his kit, and the whole thing sounds techno. These musicians are playing real good on this album, but maybe if they were playing some acoustic instruments and not stuff that sounds dated today, it would be an enjoyable listen. If this is your first EB listen, and don't like it, keep looking. There's great ones out there!

Too much of this sounds (as another reviewer aptly describes it) like "Fu-zak": bland and hummable but ultimately unmemorable. (You know the kind of song you hear as the 'theme song' to cable public access talk shows? I was reminded of that several times while listening to this...)

Only sporadically did songs from this one jump out at me ("Time Track" and the title track are 2 of the better cuts) and several cuts ("Flamingo" is a case in point) were downright yawners. There's no question these are fine players and that Corea himself was critical to the formation of jazz-rock fusion as a member of Return to Forever but this just doesn't excite me.

BOTTOM LINE:
I'm at a loss as to why I bought this one now that I listen to it years after purchase. Definitely one to skip. For a better look at Corea's fusion powers, try the self-titled CHICK COREA ELEKTRIC BAND (ASIN B0000001PW) or his former band Return to Forever's ROMANTIC WARRIOR (ASIN B00004HYLF).

Chick's 1987 Light Years release was a Grammy nominee for Best POP Instrumetal Performance, Group. Call it Pop, Jazz or whatever you want. It's not New Age and it's not accoustic. It is my favorite of Chick Corea's Electric Band.

As a previous reviewer said all of the musicians are top notch here. Too much Jazz is played with so much complexity as to make a melody unrecognizable to the average music listener and therfore unenjoyable. Not here. This is Chicks's best electric offerings so far second only to Return to Forever.

I got this album in November 2006 and I remember always playing this album till dawn. Truly one of the best albums I have ever heard.

Here, Chick was faced with a dilemma, whether to make a blowing record like the first EB disc or play it safe and vie for more airplay. Unfortunately, the "Play It Safe" demon on Chick's shoulder had the final say, for the most part.

Most of the set is more Fuzak-lite but despite that, some fangs begin to protrude on the feisty, funky "Time Track" (which was blowaway when played live), the lumbering "The Dragon" and the fiery "View From The Outside". It's not until the bonus tracks that you get real serious stuff, like the mysterious Arabic/Oriental flavored "Hymn of The Heart" (with some cool fretless bass work from John Patitucci), the raw "Kaleidoscope" and the high-tech "Smokescreen".

If only the rest of the album was more like these bonus tracks!

This is a must have for Jazzeros and especially Fusion lovers. I had this on cassette back in the day and whore it out! I missed having it but now have it again on disk. This is an excellent intro to Chick and the other artist in the band. Look and see how far they all have come and what they play. This is one of my favorite disks no matter what mood I'm in. I just played it for a friend who has been asking for good stuff since he's just learning about jazz and he loves it though it's 20 years old. Next is Return to Forever. Awesome album! Some of the Elektric Bands very best. Enjoy!

I'ts unbelievable, but if you guy listen this cd , you can immediately LOVE chick corea...is a mix of all kind of music , and of course of jazz. You have to listen.

Back in the late 90's, I saw Chick Corea in Washington,D.C.. The fact that you cannot buy this CD out right shows how truly awsome this recording is. you never know how chick will come at ya, Electrically or Acustically the music is soul stirring I will Continue to find this CD to go with the rest of my collection.

To tell you how impressed I was with this project, I don't even have the cd. I recall purchasing this tape in the late 80's and this is one project that deserves to be in my library. The style of music is not too smooth (see music's answer to insomnia, Kenny G) and not too ecclectic (see any of the quasi-jazz/smooth jazz/gooie remakes of R&B standards). Not everyone will like it but you'd have to admit that his band ensemble may have been one of the best in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I would also encourage the listeners to review Chick's acoustic band project. It also does not hurt that I'm a huge fan of bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl, both who have gone on to bigger and better things.