MR. GONE

The peak Weather Report lineup PLUS guest appearances from Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, Maurice Williams, Deniece Williams, John Lucien, and Manolo Badrena. Needless to say: Expectations are high!

1. "The Pursuit of the Woman With the Feathered Hat" (5:00) the Zawinul sound parade begins. They could do so much better than this! (8.6667/10)

2. "River People" (4:49) live or not, this just sounds like another of the band's endlessly-protracted themes to allow Joe to show off his keyboards' sound possibilities. Throw in the handclaps and disco drums and you get one boring song. (Can't imagine why Jaco would put up with this!) (8.6667/10)

3. "Young and Fine" (6:54) very repetitive, melodic in the quirky, upbeat way that only Weather Report (and maybe Jay Beckenstein's SPYRO GYRA) can be. At least the musicianship of the instrumentalists keep it interesting--on multiple levels. (13.5/15)

4. "The Elders" (4:20) another surprisingly insipid and bare-bones song construct on which the band's parade of "fresh" sounds gets put on display. (This song would seem to support the theory that by now all of the band members have caught M. Zawinul's "look at me" bug.) (8.6667/10)

5. "Mr. Gone" (5:20) the opening minute of this song sounds like something from the soundtrack of a 1970s Italian horror film. Then it turns to "bizarre circus environment" for the second and third minutes, using lots of "old" sounds and 1960s "robotic" sounds and noises to make their music. Interesting, entertaining, and laughable. (8.6667/10)

6. "Punk Jazz" (5:07) Finally! Jaco breaks free of his master's chains, leading Tony Williams on a journey worthy of his talents. But that's only the first minute, after that they break into an odd organ-backed sax solo like the femme fatale's theme in an old Guy Noir 1960s "Whodunnit?" film. The circus plodding that follows in the third and fourth minutes is unfortunate despite some nice play from Wayne and Jaco, but they've only gone and wasted the talents of one of the most skilled and dynamic drummers of all-time. (Twice in a row: two consecutive songs!) Still, it's kind of likable. (8.875/10)

7. "Pinocchio" (2:25) fade in fade out = a scrap of music from an extended jam that was deemed "worthy" of being included (to fill space). Steve Gadd's performance is amazing! (4.5/5)

8. "And Then" (3:20) like a gentle "good-bye" song--or even a lullaby. The contributions of EW&F's Maurice White and newcomer Deniece ("I've Just Got to Be Free") Williams seems totally wasted. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 37:15

Yeah, the fade in, fade out tactic only shows me that the band was just jamming, most likely exploring without structure, goals, or end in sight. Also, I fin myself annoyed and saddened that band-leader Joe Zawinul is still stuck in his "see what I can do" mode of changing the sound programs on his synthesizer keyboard every 20 seconds, trying to cram as many "new" and "unusual" sounds that he can into each and every song (without ever repeating them!) This tactic often serves only to make each song--or each section of a song--ridiculously drawn out. Two good songs in a band's prime years does not make for a great album. Making it through this album is like 37 minutes of waiting for a plane that's only later found out to have been cancelled. Mr. Gone! Too bad!

B-/3.5 stars; a disappointing collection of song offerings from a lineup of many Jazz-Rock Fusion all-stars--a lineup that seemed to promise something wonderful, could've been so much better.

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