Customer Reviews

No Mystery

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow. This is a timeless recording by Return To Forever.

The acoustic and electric guitar work of Al Di Meola (only 21 years of age when this classic was released) sends chills up my spine each time I hear it. Chick Corea, the consummate musician, is once again virtuous on the synthesizer, organ, and piano. The drums of Lenny White are tight, and the bass work of Stanley Clarke is immensely complex, yet very sonorous.

This disc is a gem. To give it any less than a five-star rating is criminal. It's good to know music like this exists at an affordable price, especially in our world of hackneyed, superficial pop-music. With each listen of "No Mystery," a new level of music appreciation is procured.

Brilliant stuff.

This album along with RTF Romantic Warrior is among the best of 70's fusion, all the players are incredible,Chick Corea on keyboard, Al Dimeola on guitar, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums, it doesn't get much better than this. I love the sound of Chick's Fender Rhodes electric piano, it sounds like a powerfull percussive bells and the sounds he get from the ARP and MOOG synthesizers are classic and of course his piano playing is incredible, the piano intro to Excerpt f.t.f.m.o.heavy metal is amazing, like a fusion of classic,ragtime and rock. This CD is full of great compositions, Stanley Clarke's Dayride is one of his better pieces a mix of funk,latin and jazz, Corea's No Mystery is so beautifull and the spanish flavored Celebration Suite is such fun to listen to and Lenny White's drum solo intro to the suite is great.

All the pieces on this album are an example of a high level of virtuoso playing, the guys were young, full of fire and technique which of course they wanted to show off, but that's not all they had to offer there is a lot of thoughtfull passion going on, well crafted compositions and lively enthusiasm in the playing that is so much fun to listen to. The first fusion album I listened to was Dimeola's Casino and I fell in love with this music so I naturally looked for other albums with him and this was it, and the other three guys impressed me just as much, I just wish they had stayed together longer than they did, still most of the solo albums they did are great too.

I love all kinds of music but Fusion(or Jazz Rock as it used to be called) is my all time favorite music, I can't recomend this higly enough.

I saw these guys in concert 5 times, so to say that I love this disc is a no-brainer. I was front row center at Carnegie Hall for what I believe was Al DiMeola's first show with the band, Billy Cobham was about 10 rows behind me. These guys helped usher me into the world of fusion and remain of my favorite fusion bands of all time. This disc is funky, jazzy, and just flat-out superb. 'Dayride' kicks off the proceedings and there's no looking back. This belongs in any serious fusion collection, get it!!

www.electriceyes.us

I am going to buy this great album on CD, because I have it on vinyl, and it is worn out. Thank God for modern technology! Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola, Chick Corea and Lenny White, show you what fire, passion and creativity, in recorded music is all about with this disc. I have yet to hear any musicians before or since RTF, really push the envelope in performing the art form known as "jazz fusion", with the possible exception of Vertu. The key to "No Mystery" is the virtuosity of each musician. Not before or since, have I heard a collection of virtuoso musicians, and composers who were great individually, and yet could check their egos at the door and put together awesome music like this. If you haven't checked out RTF and "No Mystery" do so with a quickness, it will open your eyes, and show you how weak, commercial and tepid jazz and other music forms are now!

All of the RTF titles were both technically impressive and most of all captivating musically. My favorite compositions on this work are the last two Celebration 1 and 2. Lenny White's drumming is just incredible. He is so smooth. No Mystery features a beautiful bowed acoustic bass solo by Stanley Clarke than puts me in another world. The Interplay always made me think of landing on some alien planet and then exploring. I always liked Al Dimeola's playing in the band. His style was more mathematical but it balanced out with the very free style of Chic Corea. It was like Lenny and Stanley laid out the canvas and the textures and Chic came in with all the colors and moods and last Al added any hard lines and details.

Many of the other reviewers reflect my thoughts too: this album, together with 'Romantic Warrior' and a few Weather Report albums, represent the pinnacle of 70s jazz-rock. Of the electric tracks, 'Flight of the Newborn' is the stand-out. Lenny White had never hit the drums so hard, and Corea made his keyboards sound like a $15 stylophone -- sorry, that was then a popular musical toy in the UK. Clarke was suitably funky, and to my mind, this is Di Meola's strongest ever album.

Right at the beginning, it was albums like this that defined Fusion. What this album contains is four guys, minimal overdubs, superb music writing and more. Chick, Al, Stanley and Lenny are playing their guts out and you can tell they're going for it! This album is powerful stuff. You cannot prepare your ears for this kind of music; you just have to listen actively and proceed to get blown away.

I had an old cassette of this album, finally got around to buying it on CD and I'm totally thrilled all over again! It's inspiring, exciting music from a time long ago, yet still fresh. One story: I turned this album on to a younger guy (into remixing, porno/disco/funk kind of electronica), and he was even blown away.

Of course I give this five stars, how can you not? This music isn't derivative, it's all-original and just fabulous. It's electric, it's acoustic... it's FUSION, pure, raw and (not so) simple. Highly recommended.

this disc is blazing but not quite as deep as Romantic Warrior.but still Chick,Al,Stanley&Lenny give up the Rock,Jazz&Funk and Fuse a strong brew here.Celebration Suite Part 1&2 take this disc to another Level.the Playing is very Intense&tight.when folks say so&so is one of the Greatest Guitarist of All-Time they have to Include AL DiMeola. his solos ain't no joke.Lenny solos and they are banging.Stanley is incredible as usual&Chick Corea has no-Limits.

This incarnation of Return to Forever (1975) was quite different to the one featuring Bill Connors on guitar on Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973). He had managed to find a nervous, if not neurotic, and edgy sound on the electric guitar probably modelled on MacLaughlin's on Inner Mounting Flame.

Al Dimeola brings a completely different, more polished presence to this record, in terms of the tone of the electric guitar and its meshing with a more funk oriented rhythm section of Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. I always thought this album was like jazz rock in the disco: there's an overt physical, sensual energy about the music rather than the much headier Seventh Galaxy.

Side one is just about all funk, with occasional leanings to heavier rock influences. For me the album hits the spot at the beginning of what was side two on the lp: the title track sees some beautiful and typical Corea, latin influenced acoustic piano and guitar interchanges with double bass; more in line with the earliest incarnation of Return to Forever on ECM (a great record).

There's no doubt this album shows the shifting emphasis in the mid seventies: even McLaughlin was doing funk tunes on Visions of the Emerald Beyond and Inner Worlds, and George Duke's albums (Faces in Reflection, Feel, The Aura will Prevail) from that time were completely fantastic too (now no longer available).

I can leave side one alone these days, but side two still captivates me. It is much more similar to Romantic Warrior, with fluctuating moods and textures, especially on various keyboards, and has a wonderfully positive, if not ecstatic mood. Plus, it's a very summery record, full of sun and life.

THIS ALBUM IS SICK!!! "Tribute to Jack Johnson" by Miles, was my gateway drug into instrumental jazz fusion. Although I've been a longtime follower of The Dan, my appetite for the above-mentioned genre hadn't really been forged, until recently. Then, while sifting through the various works of Mr. Davis at a closing sale for Borders Books, I accidentally stumbled upon RTF's "Romantic Warrior". Intrigued by the band name, album title, and cover art, a mental note to spawn further research, was recorded into my attention-starved cranial vault. Several days later, extensive research on the band began. After sampling two or three tracks, the decision was made to acquire the entire album, and then... MUSICAL ZEN WAS ACHEIVED. I gave the album several spins at work, yet wasn't completely captivated by a majority of the material. Oddly, however, it just kept getting played, as if my brain was insisting that I ignore any reservations about the content, endure discontent, and continue to absorb every single detail of the craftwork. Finally, one evening, I threw on the disc, in preparation for a short nap. It was then, while resting upon a cloud-soft down pillow, half-conscious, that Lenny White's amazing drum work, broke free. The next day, I began a musical affair with the album, that would last, non-stop, for over two months, as I allowed "Romantic Warrior" to play constantly during every car trip, and daily jog.

I had been previously familiar with the session exploits of Chick Corea, but somehow neglected to uncover any information regarding the elaborate collaberation of aweinspiring talent that was Return to Forever. So, after thoroughly dissecting "Romantic Warrior", the crave for further work from the group began. About two weeks ago, I purchased their 2008 Live at Montreux DVD form a local store. Again, I sat motionless, as the disc's events unfolded before my heavily-glossed eyes. Now I was hooked. Yet, rather than picking up any further material, I simply returned(no pun intended) to the "Romantic Warrior" cd.

Yesterday, however, I got bravely curious and downloaded "Light as a Feather". At first, I wasn't exactly digging the soft Brazilian-accented female vocale that kicked off the album. But, suddenly, after the expiration of several minutes, I was feeling, and loving it. The theme and flow of the record, almost reminded me of a favorite childhood movie, "Blame it on Rio". It was at that point, that "No Mystery" HAD to be secured. Today, I played it for the first time, and instantly, was marinating in the sweet essence of insanely infectuous jazz/funk chords. No description that I can relay, would honestly illustrate the way this particular RTF effort makes me feel. So, the most I can say is excellent, and subsequently urge anyone who hasn't familiarized themselves with Chick Corea's Jazz/fusion equivalent of Zeppelin or Van Halen, to soak a figurative towel in anything pertaining to RTF, and proceed to baste themselves with it. You will be a better person for it, and unknown musical senses may be unlocked.