Columbia Albums 1971-1975

We tend to think of the '60's as the decade during which pop music exploded miles beyond past boundaries, beginning with The Beatles and (for some of us) ending with Hendrix's almost unfathomable stretch of the sound of an electric guitar in Machine Gun with the Band of Gypsies at the Fillmore East on New Year's Eve, 1969/70.This almost incredible burst of expansive creativity was also boiling up in the jazz world, to a large extent incubated in the studios and live with Miles Davis's seemingly almost traitorous (to traditionalists) embrace of electrified instruments in all their glory during the Bitches Brew period. Weather Report was one of the most significant bands that came out of this early '70's experimentation, and this box brings together their first 6 albums in one well-remastered package with an excellent essay by Bill Milkowski, and including some additional tracks not on the original albums.First, let's talk about the sound. I spent some close time with the first CD in the box, Weather Report's first release, called simply "Weather Report." It was first released on CD in the dark ages of digital, and it was not hard to tell the difference between the CD version and the LP (especially on more revealing gear such as is available now); by comparison, the CD sounded compressed or rolled off at both ends of the frequency range (much as was the early CD issue of Bitches Brew, which came out about the same time), and the result was an unsatisfactory listening situation except perhaps in the car. The remastering in this box represents a major improvement. (Strangely, vitually nothing is said on the box or in the booklet about this or any other remastering in this box; however, the Sony Legacy website mentions that the albums in the box have been remastered.)I thought back in the '70's, and still believe today, that this first album represents one of the great treasures of the jazz discography. Joe Zawinul figured out early on how to draw the most affecting sounds from a Fender Rhodes electric piano -- he did not treat it in any way as an "electrified" piano, but as a wholly new instrument from which he could paint with a broad palette, from simple and delicate ostinatos to dense washes of expansive harmonies. Wayne Shorter was in the process of moving from a virtuoso technician to a musician who could say a great deal with a few notes. But one of the real treats of this record is the bass playing of Miroslav Vitous. Later, Zawinul became somewhat critical of Vitous because Vitous could not (or would not) "play the grooves we wanted." Fair enough. But what Vitous did play was stunning -- his technical facility was daunting, his pitch dead on, and his note choice was often uniquely melodic -- and rather un-bass-like. The group improvisitory interplay -- which included first-rate fleet and light interaction from drummer Alphonse Mouzon and an assortment of colorful South American and African percussion instruments from Airto and others -- made this album an amazing crossover that included elements of fusion, free jazz, Brazilian jazz/pop, world music, and European influence (from Vitous and Zawinul).I Sing the Body Electric represents a broadening of the approach of the first album and, on its studio tracks, is somewhat less improvisational and includes additional wind players, vocalists, and a phenomenal (but brief) appearance of 12-string jazz guitarist Ralph Towner. Half of the album is live, and the next record (a 2-CD set called Live in Tokyo, originally released, as I recall, only in Japan) is more like the first album. (The live material on I Sing the Body Electric comes from Live in Tokyo.) Milkowski describes how the band during this period (except Vitous) was beginning to reach out to find a new approach, a funkier approach with broader appeal. (Given Zawinul's long apprenticeship with Cannonball Adderly, this seems hardly surprising.) In the fourth album, Sweetnighter, the somewhat conflicting direction is at times palpable. I Sing the Body Electric and Sweetnighter have their moments and are certainly worth the listener's time, but are transitional and, for me, don't hold together with consistency.However, Mysterious Traveler is a masterpiece, fully on par with the first album, but with a new feel. As I listen now, 37 (!?!) years later, I hear the first album as being almost dominated by Miroslav Vitous's magnificent but rarely settled bass-playing. Mysterious Traveler represented Zawinul's moment -- he finally got his funk feel, but then applied an extraordinary atmosphere over the rhythm: multicolored hues of synthesizer (Zawinul became an early master), motifs repeated, altered, reappearing, manipulated crowd noise (in Nubian Sundance), the world-music feel, voices singing wordless harmonies. I've mentioned in other reviews that I was in music school in the '70's, pursuing a never-fully-realized passion for electric jazz; Mysterious Traveler was a lightening jolt that reverbrated through our stereos and practice rooms in a way that left many of us forever changed. To hear it again now and find it so reinvigorating is such a pleasure.After Mysterious Traveler, the last album in this box, Tale Spinnin', almost couldn't be anything other than a bit of a let down. It's actually quite nice to listen to...sort of a Mysterious Traveler lite.If any of this sounds remotely interesting, I can only say, race out and pick up this box. For fans, it's worth it to replace the older CD remasters (though Mysterious Traveler was reissued in much better sound a few years back). For others, I'd be quite surprised if these 7 CDs (one album being a 2-CD set, remember!) didn't provide quite a bit of rewarding listening.

Re-mastered, excellent sounding, inexpensive Sony European Union box set of Weather Report’s 1st five studio albums, each w/bonus tracks, plus the Live in Tokyo double 3rd release. Each disc is in a cardboard sleeve replica of the original album, all housed in a side-flip-open 5” W x 5 ¼ H x 1 ¼ thick box. Comes w/a 23 page highly informative booklet chock full of band & individual song info (such as personnel on each song, recording date), album chart info, etc. As a bonus for me, the volume playback level between discs is quite even, so I was able to make a consistent sounding playlist w/only the songs I like… and even better, the next box set, “The Columbia Albums 1976-1982”, are also of the same volume level, so buy that one up too.

As with so many other jazz fans, I've dedicated a good part of this year to (re)discovering the works of Wayne Shorter. If you're doing the same, I highly recommend the first three titles in this box: Weather Report, I Sing the Body Electric, and Live in Tokyo. Lots of great Shorter compositions and performances. And frankly, I'm finding the energy of the straight-from-the-starting gate releases far more engaging and energizing than the rest of the set. All this said, this is a great way to build the Weather Report portion of your Shorter collection. A very good value. Play on, Wayne...

I'm not going to review the music here, I'll do that album by album. Suffice it to say that this is very good stuff, at or near the forefront of its era. The CDs here have very good sound quality.I like the packaging here, a lot. The whole thing's compact - and not expensive. Each disc has its own cover, a mini representation of the old LP cover. It's nice, it's attractive, it's functional. I'll admit that "Live in Tokyo" 2-CD sleeve presents a challenge to get the CDs out without tearing, but if you're careful it can be done. If like me you are interested in this music but don't own much of it yet, this is a sweet little package full of great music.

the surprise with this set is an "unreleased live version" of each CD's title cut. Nubian Sundance never sounded so good, although the recording was a little fuzzy. Great to listen to from the first CD to the last as you get to see how WR developed their sound....too bad that Wayne Shorter's talents got further and further reduced as they progessed in their sound...but I always loved how the keyboards and sax would hit the same note to conclude some of their songs.

You can not go wrong with this box set! As far as I know it is every recording from 1971 to 1975. I bought both box sets so I am pretty well up to date on my Weather Report. Now I can just close my eyes and remember a night in 1979 back in Norfolk, VA where I saw them live.

Same as my other review for the 1976-82 boxset: Money well spent. All those albums for the price paid for, and the sound quality. Hard to pass this up.

I have listened to My old Heavy Weather CD for Years.As a Musician Myself Always admired Zawinal,Joco,Wayne.This CD plays alot of the Stuff you've Never Heard Before,and You will Recognize all these Musicians Voices.On the other Hand it Lacks the Groove We all Have experiencedwith "Heavy Weather", No Continuity!

Esta caja contiene casi todas las grabaciones oficiales de Weather anteriores a la llegada de Jaco Pastorius. La grabación faltante es un concierto en Polonia archivado, rescatado no hace mucho por GAD records en CD pero bastante difícil de encontrar en nuestro continente. Por lo demás están los álbumes oficiales de CBS incluyendo el doble LP Live in Tokyo, en doble CD aquí editado, que había salido únicamente en Japón en la época de los discos de vinilo y que había sido reeditado algunas veces. Para los que ya saben Weather Report es un grupo clásico del jazz eléctrico/fusión de los 70 y 80 con Joe Zawinul y Wayne Shorter en todas las grabaciones + músicos maestros de sus instrumentos de talla internacional cambiando de disco en disco. Los discos suenan muy bien e incluyen excelentes bonus tracks. Para quien no conoce al grupo esta caja posee el atractivo de tener todos sus discos más creativos -desde mi punto de vista - en un solo lugar. Un grupo que hizo época, causó polémica y sigue influyendo a generaciones de músicos, artistas y público en general en todo el planeta. Si se puede criticar algo es el librillo algo parco y las portadas un tanto desangeladas en comparación con las de los LPs. Pero el precio, la remasterización, los bonus tracks y la inclusión del Live in Tokyo lo compensan con creces. Un grupo patrimonio cultural de la humanidad.

Everybody knows this music is great, so I'll just comment on the condition. I ordered Used, and it looks like that means only the shrink wrap was removed from the box. The CDs were maybe played once, if it all. This is Used as Mint. Major thanks to the seller!

Esta caja se incluye en el marco de la serie de discografías completas que Columbia está sacando de varios de sus artistas.Lo incomprensible de este caso (y es por lo que le quito una estrella) es porqué, cuando en casos más llamativos como el de Miles DAvis, Herbie hancock o Johnny CAsh (con discografías mucho más abultadas) se ha optado por una única caja, en el de Weather Report se ha optado por separar su discografía en varias cajas.Seguramente, persiguiendo el valor añadido de presentar en una caja separada los "años de Jaco", lo que ocurre en la siguiente caja, pero el problema es que los discos que sacaron a partir de la marcha de Jaco quedan fuera de cualquier caja, de modo que nos queda la discografía incompleta.en esta primera caja se incluyen sus primeros 6 discos. Aquellos que guardan una mayor vinculación con el "sonido matriz" del grupo de Miles Davis de quienes muchos formaron parte. Aunque, en realidad, bajo mi punto de vista, tan sólo el primero es auténticamente deudor del Bitches Brew sound, ya que la música de Weather Report, incluso en estos primeros discos, siempre ha sido más colorista y menos densa que la que Miles hizo en los 70.Un conjunto de discos clásicos dentro de eso que se denominó Fusion y pórtico a esa segunda fase del grupo que supuso la revolución Jaco Pastorius. Pero esa es otra historia.

I love Weather Report and had what I thought were the best of the available masters, but thought I would try the box set, if only to save on the space required to store the discs. These have been really well remastered the remastering adds to the clarity but adds nothing else, which all too often the engineers seem to think they have to do. So what you have here is the best sounding versions of the Wether Report classics in a very compact and affordable package

Les 6 cds (7 car le live in tokyo est double) comprennent un certains nombrs de bonus sauf le live at tokyo; par ailleurs la restitition sonore est remarquable; ce coffet peut-etre complété par le suivant "pastorius years" qui devrait paraitre bientot. Parmi les bonus, je signale qu'il y a des plages qui ont été éditées sur un doudle cd live and unrealized compilé par J.Zawinul il y a une dizaine d'années. PF92