Customer Reviews

Romantic Warrior

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Back in 1976, albums like Romantic Warrior were the norm in jazz. Bebop and hardbop jazz had "gone underground" as fusion ran its natural course. For older jazz fans, the connection between free form innovation and electronical pyrotechnics often spelled confusion and misunderstanding. For those of us who grew up with bands like Gentle Giant, Yes, Genesis and E.L.P., the album was something of a find. It allowed us to develop "ears" for listening to older jazz. For me, it didn't take long to backtrack to Herbie Hancock's Empyrean Isle album or Wayne Shorter's See No Evil after hearing this landmark release. All by way of saying that, even after close to twenty-five years, this album holds up remarkably well (when so many other fusion experiments now sound somewhat stilted and comical). There should be little doubt in readers minds that this is heady, trippy, mind-expanding stuff. Its use of electronics (especially synths) and the fire brought to the interplay of guitars, bass and drums, make it a tough listen for those who think jazz is all brush-stroke drums and soft, muted trumpets. Listening to it again, however, I heard elements of Coltrane and Monk, Mingus and Bitches' Brew-era Davis...things I hadn't the first time because I hadn't experienced them. And hearing those elements here "for the first time" as it were, deeply enhanced my listening pleasure. Make no mistake, this was, is and always will be, a jazz album. It may be a highly idiosyncratic release, definitely a product of its time, but it still sounds soaring, inventive, playful, intense, winning. A perfect remastering job rounds out the experience. All told, it achieves what every good reissue should: it allows a recontextualization of what made it important and reaffirmed what made it essential. Its intensity, wryness and bold strokes a great romp through diverse fields in search of 3-D windmills and Moog jesters. Exceptional.

Along with The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever were one of the few major jazz-fusion/rock bands to gain popularity, and bring jazz to a wider audience, albeit in a rock context. These fusion bands generally created a more accessible form of jazz: by filtering it through large doses of the aforementioned rock aesthetic.

While this album has received everlasting praise from critics and fans alike, I was quite disappointed with this on the first few listens. The turn-offs at the time? The slickness of it all. While I found the musicianship quite accomplished, I found it to be quite cold, dry, over-manufactured and plastic-sounding, which gave me a feeling of the music coming off as quite soulless. The synthesizer effects in many of the songs sounded flavorless and insubstantial, and the drum sonics sounded quite dry and plastic as well. As far as synthesizers go, I'll be the first to disagree with the many who say that they produce little or no emotional substance, but here, this was the first time I was ever compelled to agree with the many detractors.

Most importantly, I was disappointed in this because everything mentioned above that bothered me seemed to be the very things that go against what I assumed are/were the very principles of jazz and/or jazz-fusion; the music needs feeling, it needs soul, it needs fire, it needs purposeful, authentic expression. A highly respected friend and pal of mine -- if he reads this review, he will know exactly who he is -- doesn't enjoy this album for the exact reasons listed above, and it's safe to say that I fully understand why. Only difference between us regarding our opinion of the album? He still doesn't enjoy the album, while my opinion has changed, and I now enjoy it.

One thing I like to think that I've learned is that you shouldn't always place expectations on what should be, and what shouldn't. If you place a great deal of expectation on things, you are more than likely setting yourself up for disappointment. Sometimes it's best to leave your preconceptions and expectations behind, and be prepared for anything.

Now, shouldn't I be trying to describe the music on here? Yes! That's right!

Musicians Chick Corea (keyboards), Al DiMeola (guitars), Lenny White (drums) and Stanley Clarke (basses) create some highly enjoyable, utterly infectious music, which is also quite fun to listen to as well. The music still has a certain slickness to it, but this one-time aggravating aspect has dissolved into an indescribable charm, albeit a quirky one.

"Medieval Overture" starts off with some twinkling synthesizer taps, which combine with other synth textures to create an ethereal, spiraling, and seemingly labyrinthine atmosphere. It propels forth an ambience: at once encircling, while penetrating the mind; in both peripheral and primal areas. Lenny White in particular shows off his flamboyant drumming, and you get the sense that Lenny was quite a flamboyant character when listening to this. The title of this song resembles that of a classic progressive rock track, and while many mention that this offering shares much in common with bands like Yes, ELP and King Crimson -- and in some ways, it does -- it doesn't necessarily sound too much like either of those bands to me, nor does it sound much like prog-rock in general.

"Sorceress" is a funkified jam written by drummer Lenny White. It doesn't mix things up too much in the rhythm for the duration of the track, which is sometimes frustrating. This bothered me on the first few listens, but, now, I've come to appreciate the extended grooves. The jazzy piano chords, and their elegant-sounding arpeggios, the multi-dimensional basslines, and the drumming; particularly in the way the cymbals are used here. Utterly romantic and sensual.

The title track shares a kinship with the previous track; in the sense that the rhythm stays pretty much the same throughout. Mid-tempo and relatively relaxed, the seemingly straightforward rhythm kept by Lenny White on the drums is something of a container for the other musicians to exhibit their respective strengths: Al DiMeola gives us some lightning-fast, yet polished and seemingly effortless soloing, Chick Corea gives us elaborate, yet restrained and atmospheric sprinkles of piano, and Clarke, as usual delivers some impressive basslines.

"Majestic Dance" is the closest thing to a typical hard rock song on this album - excepting the quirky, virtuosic instrumental passages played in unison. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise, since it was written by guitarist Al DiMeola. Features melodic, yet fiery solos, and virtuosic flights between guitars, bass and keys that are very precise and impressive.

"The Magician" is my favorite track on here. This track features elements that resemble prog-rock more closely than any other track on the album. Written by Stanley Clarke, the dynamics and motifs are quite mercurial and chameleonic; even including Renaissance and Baroque elements (which resemble Gentle Giant a bit.) A quirky mixture of impressive virtuosic flights (the bass playing on here impresses me the most), utter bombast, and whimsy: there's even the sound of an alarm clock going off to close out the song, which is credited under one of Lenny White's instrumental contributions.

"Duel of The Jester and The Tyrant" may run in a close second to the previous track in resembling the attributes of classic *prog* rock. The first part features chord phrasing which impressed me highly, and the virtuosic basslines from Clarke are what I soak up the most here. The second half is probably my favorite part of the track: features a main descending line which exhibits galactic, skyscraping bombast which perfectly evokes the image of an arena battle, so to speak. The synthesizer lines in particular, take this image even further, to evoke that of a video game.

Give this one a shot if you have any interest in fusion. Skilled musicianship combines with accessibility, infectiousness and quirkiness. Sounds like a great combination to me.

While riding in a van one day in the later '70s, a bandmate stuck in an 8-track tape and said,"Hey nate, listen to this guitar player". After about 10 minutes, I was finally able to close my frozen jaw and wipe the drool from my shirt, and asked him if I could borrow it. He didn't get it back until I bought the album.
It wasn't just the guitarist - the bassist blew me away! And all those synthesizer sounds that complimented everything perfectly. I didn't even LIKE synthesizers! It wasn't just the musicianship and cool sounds either. Even today when I plug in the remastered CD, I still feel like I'm sitting in front of an old console stereo. You know, the wooden box that had funky colored fabric speaker grille cloth on each side of the front, and had a flip top center that exposed the record player, 8 track player and radio tuner. Those things sounded SSSOOOO warm.
That clear, warm production drew me in as much as anything, and that feeling didn't get lost on the remastered CD. I've been a musician for 30 years and have listened to much music, but nothing has grabbed me like that day in the van. Romantic Warrior was the reason I bought so many Stanley Clarke albums and took me on a musical journey that I'm much the richer for.
In a time when disco ruled, what a dramatic departure to discover a collection of Baroque tunes played at breakneck speed on rock n' roll instruments full of funk and experimentation. A huge chunk of great music from the last 30 years exists because of this album. And most people don't even know that RTF ever existed.
This ain't just a cool album, it changed my musical life!

I was just listening to this album for the first time in a long while, and confirmed it as one of my all time favorite records; one broadened my musical life. For me, this was the ideal blend of Jazz and Rock music - plenty of energy and fire, along with subtely, innovation and dynamics.

I like the production on this album - it is big and bold, like the band, and suits the performances well.

Along with his first solo album, "Land of the Midnight Sun", Romatic Warrior showed the great promise of Al Dimeola; unfortunately, I don't think his later work ever came close to matching the exuberant playing on this record - on this album, he took chances, and (gasp) even made a mistake or two!

Lenny White is a standout on this album - his dynamics, taste and powerful driving style gives this record its energy and joy.

Chick is a master, and I think his synth solo on "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" is one of the best ever recorded - I especially like the few bars at the end where he really takes it outside, and climbs back into a wonderful climax - I never tire of listening to it. His phrasing and touch on acoustic piano and Rhodes are superlative, and he plays a mean clavinet too.

I saw RTF on tour for this album when I was in my teens, and I can tell you that the live show was even more jaw-dropping than the records. The stage had two huge mirrors suspended over Lenny White and Chick Corea, so that you could watch their hands as they played. This was back in the 70's, so Chick sat in the middle of a huge array of keyboards - it was an impressive physical as well as musical performance. One of the things I remember was that Lenny White, after doing an amazing drum solo, held up a hand-lettered sign on a piece of cardboard that said "thank you!" it was funny and charming, and I think that it is the sense of humor and fun that really comes through on this album that has helped make it stand the test of time for me.

If you haven't bought this record, I can't recommend it highly enough. In particular, if you love hard rock / metal but are curious about jazz, this is a good entry point (as it was for me - my favorite album prior to hearing this one for the first time was Nazareth's "Razzamanazz" - another favorite!)

I found a tape of Return to Forever seventeen years ago in a cutout bin. I had no idea who or what they were; I liked the cover and the price was cheap. I'm still listening, only updated on cd. You can't get better playing than on this album. Lenny White is worth the price alone. Stanley Clarke holds down the bottom end and intertwines with everyone. Chick Corea, who was the impetous for the band, keeps everything cohesive. Even Al DiMeola-who's solo projects and other band projects I do not like-maintains my interest unfledgingly. This is great instrumental fusion that is made better because of the remastered cd.

Out of all of RTF's albums', "Romantic Warrior" in my humble option is one of the best fusion jazz albums ever made. Putting such great musicians as keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White, and then 21 year-old guitarist Al Di Meola in the same room, something magical was bound to happen, and it did. Fusing together jazz and rock, subtle touches of baroque music, with the virtuoso musicianship featured here this album is still awe-inspiring nearly 25 years later. Stand out tracks include the title track, "Sorceress", and the 11 and a half minute opus, "Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant(part 1 and part 2)", which features Di Meola and Clarke trading off incredible solos that never seem overdone or showy. This album is fusion jazz before it got too pompous and overblown. Required listening for anyone who loves music that takes chances.

Romantic Warrior, for me, is THE fusion masterpiece. I can't see how it wouldn't appeal to any rock or jazz fan; take one listen and you'll be hooked --- it really doesn't take any warming up to. Every second of this compilation is great, and in my opinion RTF never before or again lived up to this one. Chick Corea - Lenny White - Al Dimeola - Stanley Clark; they ought to be household names. Every one who knows fusion knows the greatness of each of those guys individually. On Romantic Warrior, they used the Vulcan mind-meld to produce the most intricate of music, and yet tight, coherent, and flowing. Popular jazz press often cites Miles Davis as the fusion originator --- that may be true, but Davis never approached the heights of this group. It is too bad that this ought to be some of the defining music of the '70's, but I fear that it will be lost to obscurity one day.

The intensity and speed with which these guys play is simply frightening - it's inhuman actually and there are moments in the recording where I literally have to press stop and catch my breath. OK, so that is overly dramatic but not too far from the truth. The virtuosity on this 1976 album is mind-numbing and I personally feel that this album may be the high point of RTF's output - although I do like all of their albums and could easily be swayed one way or the other.

The musicians on Romantic Warrior include former Miles Davis keyboardist Chick Corea (acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner clavinet, Mini-moog, Moog 15, micro mini-moog, ARP Odyssey, Yamaha organ, Polymoog, marimba, and percussion); the fastest bass player on Earth, Stanley Clarke (Alembic bass w/flanger, piccolo bass, acoustic bass, bell tree, and hand bells); shredder Al DiMeola (electric/acoustic guitars, soprano guitar, hand bell, and slide whistle); and the thunderous Lenny White (drums/percussion).

The six tracks range in length from 5'01" to 11'26", with another track reaching 10'52". The longer pieces consist of excellent ensemble work interspersed with incredible solos. Fortunately the solos do not go on for too long - then again these guys are top shelf and I could listen to Al DiMeola play scales at light speed all day long. In general though, the music is an interesting blend of prog, some classical, straight jazz and jazz rock, with loads of synthesizers (that sometimes get incredibly spacey) and some searing and occasionally heavily distorted guitar playing (Al DiMeola's track Majestic Dance amply demonstrates this). I think that it is interesting that the album liner notes point out that Chick's "flights from his multi-keyboard post, more than took care of the Yes/King Crimson art rock flank". As a prog fan I definitely agree and was more than wowed by Chick's playing. In addition to the rock elements, of which there are a lot, there are some shorter moments where things get slightly jazzy and Chick's acoustic piano and Stanleys' acoustic bass work can be heard (The Romantic Warrior). For the most part though, these moments are far and few between and this is pretty much a rock record.

This remastered album is OK and features good sound quality and restored album cover art, with some informative liner notes.

As a fan of both prog and jazz rock, this album works for me on a number of levels. I suppose though, that the blinding virtuosity may turn some folks off (along with the fleeting silly bits), although I can say that they do back off here and there so it is not completely insane. Highly recommended to prog fans and fans of jazz rock.

After producing the funky 'No Mystery', it seems that Corea's boys spent some time listening to ELP's 'Tarkus' or Yes's 'Topographic Oceans'. Whatever the influences, the result was a masterpiece. The utter tragedy was that soon after producing this, one of my top ten albums of all time, the band broke up and Corea produced the utterly dire 'Musicmagic'.

Not only is this 1976 release one of the defining studio albums in fusion, the album art was produced during the heady times of the music industry when the visual appeal through beautiful paintings also took center stage.

Chick Corea (k) shows the influences from Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, without the overbearing pretentiousness that plagued the dynamic duo during the height of their careers. Al DiMeola (g) is only 21 years old at the time of the session and the rhythm section can't get much better with Stanley Clarke (b) & Lenny White (d).

Corea leads the group with some of his best work on Medieval Overture, with DiMeola showing amazing technical prowess during Sorceress. The title track sets the foundation for the best cut, the Yes-inspired Majestic Dance. The band performs some quiky tricks in The Magician and The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant (Part I and Part II) - a great example of an arty 1970s song title - allows Clarke & White to get down with a funky sound.

Corea learned his musical lessons well as a member of several groups that Miles Davis used to define the new frontier of fusion. And that Return to Forever took the musical experience to another level makes Romantic Warrior a classic.