Return to Forever - Returns
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Free Music Notes for Returns
Free Music Review: Great sound
Hit: 5 Stars
Nice addition to other similar RTF material that I already have. Great performance. Happy to own it.Free Music Review: the best
Hit: 5 Stars
great great music, highly recommend it to peeps who like fusion-ish jazz, what a fun listen !Free Music Review: geart muzik
Hit: 5 Stars
buy this cd you will like it alot very good muzik for a live cdFree Music Review: A return, indeed
Hit: 4 Stars
I have to say that I bought this with some trepidation. I loved the first (Flora era) and second (Bill Connors) versions of the band, when they played with real fire and pushed the edge of things. But like too many fusion bands, they quickly settled into sterile, perfect performances of calculated compositions. Al Di Meola, for all his considerable technical facility, was a letdown after Bill Connors (who has become a letdown of himself over the years), and contributed to the sterilization of the band. So when they announced they were reforming for a reunion tour, I did not have high expectations. But I must say this CD set is a very pleasant surprise. The band doesn't quite recapture the original passion of Senor Mouse or Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, but they play with much more fire than I ever expected, including Al, who plays with more passion than I knew he had. There are some advantages to the now-older band, too. There's more textural and stylistic variety, including a straightahead jazz reading of Solar that's a breath of fresh air. Unlike rock players, who tend to get more flaccid with age, jazz musicians tend to get deeper and richer and more proficient. That certainly is the case here--everyone plays with much greater range and depth than they ever did before, and that makes for an acceptable tradeoff for some loss of youthful reckless abandon. Stanley Clarke focuses a lot on the acoustic bass here, which is most welcome--I always found his upright playing much more interesting and effective than his electric technique, which was thin sounding and over-plucked. His upright playing here is still flashy, but it's mixed with some exploratory techniques and some real expression. Everyone else displays the same kind of maturity in their playing. It also helps that this is a superlative live recording. Every instrument is full and natural sounding and beautifully balanced--one of the best live recordings I've heard. So all in all a very pleasant surprise. Well worth buying.Free Music Review: Great, but...
Hit: 4 Stars
The reforming of RTF was much heralded and much appreciated. I didn't attend any of the concerts but just had to buy this recording. It is 2 CDs full of RTF classics, plus a little solo showcase of each. The band has not tried to faithfully recreate the originals but has taken them, expanded them and had a little fun. All of this becomes a bit self indulgent but these talented guys, playing to an adoring audience, can afford some self indulgence.
Turning to the musicianship, Al is on fire throughout.
If you are an RTF fan, like me, then you have to have this recording. The question that lingers though is, in a few months time, when I want to listen to some RTF, will I select this one - or go back to the originals?