I Sing the Body Electric

Weather Report

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 20, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000273B
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,071 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this album...you might not, March 4, 2006

By	Michael Hardin (South Duxbury, Vermont United States) - See all my reviews

Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul were arguably the two geniuses most responsible for Miles Davis's development from the mid-sixties into his electric period that revolutionized jazz in the seventies. Shorter constantly pushed the music forward with his adventurous compositions for Davis's "second great quintet" (some fantastic music there) and participated in "In a Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew" which launched fusion. Zawinul was the mastermind behind many compositions in the electric Miles period and helped define the different sounds that were to come from keyboardists in this style. Then the two left Miles to do things their own way, and thus they started Weather Report. Their first album, self-titled, was filled with fascinating quick sketches of new musical ideas capitalizing on the new palette of sounds that came from electronics. This album continued those experiments, but in a more developed and profound way. "Unknown Soldier" in particular is a masterpiece in angular, unconventional composition that manages to be beautiful and very challenging. "The Moors" features an appearance by guitarist Ralph Towner who plays an improvised introduction filled with ideas and lines nobody had ever thought of before, while managing to be extremely funky in some spots. I read that Towner was practicing some ideas for his intro, and Zawinul was concerned that he would be overly self-conscious when actually being recorded, so they recorded Towner practicing for the intro without his knowledge. It was good enough that they actually used his run-through, and when he finally said "okay, I'm ready," they told him he was already done.

The second half of the album is edited down from a performance in Tokyo, and the energy of the band in a live setting is astounding. They do an electrifying version of "Directions," the tune Zawinul wrote for Miles which became Miles's signature piece during his electric period. There's something angularly funky and otherworldly about this very simple melody and the way they play it.

The unfortunate thing about this album is expectations after the fact. Weather Report had only a cult following at this time, so the sound associated with this band from their later recordings is nowhere near what this album sounds like. This music is a lot closer to electric Miles, though it backs off a bit from the rock rhythms and focuses more on the headier aspects of the electronics. As a result, the music is very esoteric and difficult to approach even from familiarity with later Weather Report. If you find the description of this album interesting and want to appreciate it, explore Miles in the late sixties up through "In a Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew," and then get the first Weather Report album, the self-titled one. This is very deep, exploratory music that is completely enthralling for those people who know how to listen to it. Become one of those people.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Weather Report Sings The Body Electric., December 26, 2003

By	Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Weather Report's second album "I Sing The Body Electric" is quite different from anything else the band released in their entire career. Released in 1972, the album is probably the most experimental and varied of all the Weather Report releases. The style is not neccesarily Jazz nor is it Fusion. It would even be a stretch to categorize it as a Rock album. Above all, "I Sing The Body Electric" is can definitely be categorized as a Music album for the album indeed contains some great music.
The first half of the album contains four studio pieces. "Unknown Soldier" (composed by keyboardist Joe Zawinul) opens the album with a haunting choir of vocalists and an eerie sci-fi-like theme performed by sax player Wayne Shorter and guests Hubert Laws on flute, Andrew White on English horn and Wilmer Wise on trumpet. The overall arrangement is similar to that of Big Band music only the feeling is definitely close to psychedelic with the addition of alien-like sounds coming from Zawinul's newly acquired ARP synthesizer.
"The Moors" (composed by saxophonist Wayne Shorter) once again features the talents of guest musicians. This time, it's from guitarist Ralph Towner from the band Oregon. The sound of the guitar is rare in Weather Report's music since the band itself did not have a guitarist. After a slightly blues-based intro from Towner, the music shifts gears with a pounding tribal drumbeat with a sax melody that is definitely Middle Eastern-influenced. There is also some great drum and percussion work from band members Eric Gravatt and Dom Um Romao here.
"Crystal" (composed by bassist Miroslav Vitous) is an etherial piece of music with a wandering sax-line from Shorter along with Zawinul's spaced-out keyboards and a droning low-end/whining high-end bass part by Vitous. This is definitely a highly improvisational piece that shows of Weather Report's experimental side.
The studio material finishes off with another Joe Zawinul original "Second Sunday In August". This is a loosely-played tone poem which features Zawinul on Hammond organ as well as acoustic piano. The overall structure of the piece is based on simplicity and has patterns of long-held lead lines from Shorter's sax and Vitous's bass.
The second half of the album was recorded live in January 1972 in Tokyo. This is a heavily edited version of the first half of the band's Japanese-only release "Live In Tokyo". The music in its original context ran for 45-minutes and is edited down to 23 for this album. This Tokyo performance captured the band at their most fierce and at their rawest. Joe Zawinul's keyboard work was especially experimental as he used a distortion box, ring modulator and wah-wah pedal on his electric piano. Miroslav Vitous's bass work is also quite unique as he amplifies his acoustic bass using a wah-wah while playing with with a bow.
The second half of this album is just a brief sampling of what is on the Japanese "Tokyo" release and with its obvious and somewhat abrupt edits on the this album, this gives all the more reason to buy "Live In Tokyo" in addition to "I Sing The Body Electric".
This album has since gone on to become a well-appreciated work in Weather Report's large catalog. No other Weather Report sounds as spaced-out, experimental, raw or raucous as this one. From the varied stylings of its studio recordings to its free-form no-holds-barred live half, "I Sing The Body Electric" is an early definitive Weather Report masterwork. Fans who are familiar with the band's later work (ie: Heavy Weather, Night Passage etc.) may want to test this album before buying it. This music is definitely not for everyone. However, if you're one who can appreciate a pioneering band who recorded themselves while trying to find their musical niche, this is definitely an album of high interest.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Half studio, half live, 100% awesome, April 3, 2001

By	G B (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

The first half of this 1972 album consists of studio recordings that continue the collective approach of the self-titled debut, but the arrangements are better developed and the amount of loose collective improvisation is more restricted. Zawinul's genius as an arranger becomes more apparent on his compositions; he uses three vocalists and three additional horns on the ominous "Unknown Soldier" to brilliant effect. "Second Sunday in August" uses a more pared back arrangement but a memorable melody and driving rhythm make this one of their best early tunes. Wayne Shorter, not to be outdone, contributes "The Moors" -- a great eerie piece featuring Ralph Towner on 12 string guitar. (And his fierce tenor sax blowing on "Unknown Soldier" is outstanding -- he would never sound this good in Weather Report again.) The rhythm section of Gravatt/Vitous/Romao is incredible. The second half of the album features an edited 20 minute excerpt from Live in Tokyo; though the music is fantastic, you should try to pick up the imported, unedited copy. This is one of the group's best albums, though it may not be the Heavy Weather fan's cup of tea.