Customer Reviews

Mysterious Traveller

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Following their previous breakthrough album ( "SWEETNIGHTER"), which established the "Weather Report sound", "MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER" (1974) contains a number of interesting compositions that give the recording the feeling (if not the formal unity) of a "suite", an extended journey through varying musical landscapes. Even more than in prior albums, individual improvisation is eschewed in favor of an "orchestral" and textural approach, an aspect of style distinguishing Weather Report from the Mahavishnu Orchestra ( the other great fusion band of the era ).

The adoption and elaboration of funky rhythm & blues "grooves" (a la Curtis Mayfield, et al ) was a vitally important ingredient that lent the music a propulsion and flow analogous to the bop swing feel that had for decades characterized jazz rhythm. To be sure, Weather Report was not the first band to do this; what set them apart was the absolutely seamless manner in which they integrated R&B grooves, achieving an authentic fluency that allowed them to break free from the reigning "rhythmic paradigm" while simultaneously retaining a connection to the older swing feel by virtue of shared (African) roots. Joe Zawinul used this dynamic rhythmic feel as an ideal foundation on which to construct elaborate electronic textures: in his hands, synthesizers were more than the self-indulgent and often hideous sounding toys that have given "fusion" music a bad name.

The opener ( "Nubian Sundance" ) is an extended ( 10 min ) piece reflecting the increasing importance of "world music". Multiple layers of synthesizers add density, with the female vocal backgrounds lending a deft touch to this particularly exuberant tune.

"American Tango" displays a lot of variety within a short amount of time; its intense, quasi-Baroque melody (played with a reedy, bagpipe-like synthesizer timbre) is a decided contrast to the laidback opening while the middle section briefly reverts to the easy-going opening before segueing into an equally short funky feel.

The funky "Cucumber Slumber" lays down a supremely hip groove courtesy of bassist and co-composer Alphonso Johnson (tasteful keyboard work throughout and fine darting soprano sax).

An aura of the mysterious and ethereal was always one of the prominent aspects of Wayne Shorter's compositional style. "Mysterious Traveller" (opening & closing with science-fantasy eeriness), features a menacing piano vamp blended with Shorter's aphoristic saxophone lines and is the "dark groove" equivalent to "Cucumber Slumber".

"Blackthorn Rose" is a concentrated duet featuring Shorter and Zawinul, the latter playing acoustic piano w/ some synthesized background harmony.

"Scarlet Woman": Another mysterious tune, undulating and understated background offset by lighting synthesizer "flashes".

As the album opened so it closes: "Jungle Book" (Zawinul) is even more indebted to "world music". A number of different "exotic" instruments ( kalimba, tamboura, cabassa, clay drum, finger cymbals ) are caressingly employed in a gentle number that gradually builds in intensity toward a life-affirming conclusion.

Addendum: The 24-bit remastered sound is superb. WR fans should strongly consider replacing the older versions with the new editions, which are definite improvements.

Most people would place Weather Report in the jazz category, rather than World Beat. But let me be different and argue that the international pedigree of this incarnation of Weather Report (Josef Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Alphonso Johnson, Dom Um Romao, Ishmael Wilburn and Miroslav Vitous) places it as World Beat years before its time, based on the rhythms, percussions and harmonies of this masterwork.

Mysterious Traveller displays a world flavor on the tracks "Nubian Sundance" and "Jungle Book," but the strongest track has to be the title one -- indeed, its echoing electric piano and impatient percussion and surging patterns are as mysterious as a streaking otherwordly comet, as shown on the lovely cover art.

. . . to hear Weather Report struggling to find their ultimate mode of expression. Which, interestingly, I don't believe they ever achieved. Why not? They never found the right guy for the drums chair. With Jaco, they (finally) got the bassist they needed. But during their most creative phase--1974-1977, which included their finest albums, Mysterious Traveller, Black Market, and Heavy Weather--they never had the right drummer. What they needed was a Gene Jackson, a Stanton Moore, or a David King--someone who could bring the funk with a thoroughly modern sensibility, someone with enough personal presence, enough res, to offset the monster moves Zawinul and Shorter (and soon, Jaco) were bringing to the table. Unfortunately, none of these was available at the time. Consequently, they had to settle for a series of competent but not brilliant drummers--Ishmael Wilburn, Skip Hadden, Narada Michael Walden, Chester Thompson, and Alex Acuna (the best of the lot).

And that, I believe, led to their ultimate demise. If they had had strong enough musical personalities in the bass and drums chairs, perhaps they could've developed sufficiently as a band to match the growth exhibited by the two founders and most prominent musical personalities, Zawinul & Shorter.

As it was, just as the latter two were composing some of their finest music and leading the entire musical world in experimentation and utilization of advanced electronic techniques, they were struggling to find the rhythmic ground to complement these developments.

Intriguingly, that lack perhaps pushed them in directions they might never have gone had they had the rhythmic personnel they needed. And Mysterious Traveller, the first of their three greatest releases, perhaps benefitted most from this lack. It strikes me that traditional rhythm plays a minor part on this disc. What we get instead is a kind of arcane inscrutibility that wraps this recording in a veil of mystery, most fully exemplified and made manifest in the title cut, which, significantly, is also the album title.

This hiddenness is what gives Mysterious Traveller its uniqueness. I'm sure they found they could never repeat, nor even build on, this vibe. Hence, on Black Market and Heavy Weather they ditched the gnostic approach and rather tethered themselves to terra firma via rich rhythmic soundscapes courtesy of Manolo Badrena, Aljendro Acuna, and Don Alias.

Yet Mysterious Traveller is inimitable among Weather Report recordings. It sings with a magesty and mystery never before or again achieved by this remarkable band. And although we were never again to hear sounds of such transcendence from them, we can be thankful that a quirk in personnel resulted in such magnificent music.

One of the most glorious music documents ever recorded.

When this many words written, I suppose a different type of "information" should be dispensed, no?

First thought, as I am getting "up in the years", I owned this recording when first issues, and decided to purchase the CD as the nice "discount price" enticed me to put out the $$ and I grabbed it !

Possibly, the most interesting(?)perspective I can give upon revisiting a recording, one that I somehow neglected for years, this is the "trunk of the tree" (one species specific) the "Weather Report Sound" seemed to fianlly congeal.

Weather Report soon became "W.R .featuring the legend Jaco Pastorius", I do not think I need elaborate. this recording introduced the new fase, "before jaco" it might be said.

Jaco's legend no doubt will inspire into "eternity" (I hope his sounds are heard on those angelic clouds promised by that great "sky-god" religion),
and a nice listen to this recording will surely display that Jaco's own compositional growth later on in his career was surely "officially stamped" by one Josef Zawinul, whose harmonic and ritmic concept Jaco certainly devoured voraciosly.

I enjoy this recording even more than I remember , as it is still steeped in the Wayne Shorter "post-Miles" tradition,(there is still Shorter on tenor, where I LOVE Wayne's playing the best. Soprano sax STILL does not stick with me the way WS's muscular tenor does), along with the inventiveness of Mr Zawinul previously described,
and for my taste, the addition of the (still alive and kicking)legend from Brasil, Dom Um Romão on percussions.

Alfonso Johnson's bassistic approach remains relative "underappreciated" since he , like Miroslav Vitous , PRECEEDED a legend in Jaco. AJ keeps the groove percolating, his solo style sofisticated, but very understated and tasteful.

So forget Jaco only for the moment, (he is not present her on this recording, of course), only the rich interaction of the bandmates , and a soulful stew of European, and US jazz/soul jazz , electronically enhanced instrumentation meet the tradition that makes for the Weather Report legend.

Delicious musics, inspired by further elaboration on the Charles Mingus "improvisation as PART of the composition" approach.

Pura magia! 1000 stars !

20+ years later the surging dynamics and mellow thunder still haunts me when I listen to this album. I was first turned on to Fusion Jazz three years after my first set of drums, since then I have graduated into piano and now assist my three children master thier various instruments. And one of the Key groups I have them listen to is Weather Report. I get the "aw dad" all the time. But my eldest kinda likes it. Thanks Weather Report. Your music has been a long-time freind. A reunion would be a blessing.

This record is appropriately titled, because the music suggests far-off, indistinct lands. "Soundscapes" is a good term to use for the songs. This record contains some of Shorter's best playing, along with his "Native Dancer" release. Mysterious Traveller is less commercial than "Heavy Weather" and impossible to categorize, which is precisely what keeps it so fresh. This is definitely one of the staples in my music collection.

This album was a turning point for Zawinul and company--a fundamental shift from the denser more acoustically based sound of the first three albums to that based on a stronger rythymic foundation, fully realized on this release. The use of state of the art keyboard technology (by 1974 standards) allowed Zawinul to explore sonic textures hertofore unimaginable. Sample "Nubian Sundance" and "Scarlet Woman"

Other reviewers have called this Weather Report's first (or second) effort to merge some fusion sensibilities into their music. I rather see it as their last, greatest effort before tipping too far into the pop/jazz/fusion idiom with the likes of Heavy Weather and Black Market. With Traveler, WR managed to add some funk/fusion sensibilities without losing their delightful quirkiness (especially when it comes to the great Wayne Shorter's unique improvised lines). With later tunes like the ubiquitous "Birdland," their jazz roots were almost (Mr.) gone, but Traveler is not only full of brilliant musical ideas (whether you call it jazz, funk, fusion or whatever), it plays as a cohesive burst of creativity even decades later, despite some dated-sounding synth sounds.

The most obvious characteristic of this recording however, and what most other reviewers fail to note, is how VISUAL this music is. Each track conjures up distinct visual images, attesting to the mystical and cerebral qualities of these seven compositions.

Nubian Sundance is a celebration. Visions of a well-populated, open-air, African plain, peppered with occasional dark visions and building to a triumphant climax.

American Tango is more of a mood than a specific vision. It begins with an air of uncertainty which is abruptly broken by a burst of joy. This is followed by, again, edges of darkness, and concludes with a hint of the happiness shouted earlier.

Cucumber Slumber - Despite brilliant bass work, this track would nowadays read as your basic bland funk groove were it not salvaged by Shorter's inimitable lines.

Mysterious Traveler is an eerie journey through darkened hallways with occasional forays past ominously-clouded skies and through anonymous crowds of hooded strangers.

Blackthorn Rose - There is a strange and unique beauty hiding in this terse musical dialog between Zawinul's piano and Shorter's sax. Unless you are already a fan of Zawinul, WR, and especially Wayne Shorter, you will find the sparseness of this track (okay, and this collection in general) to be an acquired taste. My advice? Acquire it. You won't be sorry.

Scarlet Woman - The most visual of this group of very graphic sound-images, and the eeriest of a collection tinged with strangeness, this track places you firmly into a dark alley with long shadows, a faint howling breeze, and a shadowy figure occasionally darting by menacingly.

Jungle Book takes you back to where your journey began, somewhere on the African continent, but this time, with only a few young boys leaping over bushes joyously, showing off for you on a bright Saharan afternoon. The dreamlike eeriness that pervades the entire album is still here, but the sense of joy that occasionally surfaces is also obvious through the end of the track.

No doubt other listeners see different images. The point is, the depth of this recording stimulates the intellect as well as the soul. If you are a fan of WR's later funk work, take note. As with any music that is deeper than your basic catchy melody, this music may take many listenings to appreciate. It's worth it.

This CD is a classic of "early fusion" (as opposed to "Jazz Lite"). 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.)