The Rise & Fall of the Third Stream/Money in the Pocket

Joe Zawinul

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 17, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00000339Z
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,982 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zawinul's best solo LPs, by far, January 18, 2005

By	Craig Weatherby (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Zawinuo is one of those genius musicians whose creative output ranges wildly, from great to godawful. I'd put these two Atlantic sessions in the great category, along with the first 6-8 Weather Report albums.

While subsequent WR albums had flashes of greatness, they declined steadily in compositional quality and mostly sucked by comparison to those first 6-8 WR LPs--in part because of JZ's increasing dominance in the mix over Shorter, coupled with JZ's decreasing compositional/melodic inspiration.

As for JZ's post-WR albums, they reflect this declining compositional/melodic inspiration and his increasing affection for monochromatic, synthesizer-dominated sound that lacked warmth or variety. I stopped buying JZ's solo LPs after getting 4 that disappointed severely.

I've read that most musicians' melodic inspiriation declines after age 30, and JZ's ever-diminishing abilities would seem to fit that pattern. Or maybe, based on his truly stellar creations through the late WR period, he believes he's such a genius that anything he does is great.

Because he has given us such great music in the past, I hope we witness a return to creative form, perhaps through a collaboration with a true compostional peer like Shorter, and/or the guidance of a gifted producer.