CHICK COREA: RETURN TO FOREVER

Like a lot of veteran progheads I was exposed at an early age to the album "Romantic Warrior", attracted no doubt either by the cool medieval cover art or by the presence of AL DI MEOLA on electric guitar ("Elegant Gypsy" being a de rigueur addition to any decent record collection at the time). But it obviously didn't leave any lasting impression, maybe because to my immature ears the genre known as jazz-rock fusion was only a high priority when the music rocked a lot more than it jazzed.

But my interest in fusion has been rekindled ever since I began exploring the style at its source, from the pioneering efforts of MILES DAVIS to JOHN McLAUGHLIN to, most recently, a (re) discovery of Chick Corea's RETURN TO FOREVER. I was hoping to see how the aforementioned "Romantic Warrior" measured up to my now older and wiser musical appetites, but the Erie County public library system only had a CD copy of this, their first album, dating from way back to early 1972. There may not even have been a band by that name at the time: it looks more like a Chick Corea album whose title was attached to the group only afterwards.

A moot point, once I settled in between the headphones. My initial reaction was one of curiosity, then excitement, and finally a sort of stunned bewilderment: where the hell have I been all these years?

It's amost impossible not to respond to the pure organic warmth of the music: the sunny tempos and relaxed tropical rhythms, all of it the sum of a near-magical combination of talents, led by Corea on a simple electric piano (no RICK WAKEMAN keyboard overkill here). The 12-minute title track begins and ends, for example, with a modest but haunting little theme, sandwiching a pair of energetic jams propelled by Stan Clark's busy, aggressive basslines and the controlled mayhem of Airto Moriera's percussion.

The aptly titled "Crystal Silence" is, again, a showplace for the rich, lambent tones of Corea's piano, colored by Airto's percussive allsorts and with spare saxophone accompaniment, courtesy of Joe Farrell. "What Game Shall We Play Today" is an easy- on-the-ears jazz pop song highlighting the golden soprano of Flora Purim, the vocal equivalent of a clear blue sky in summer.

All of which is only a warm-up to "Sometime Ago-La Fiesta", an ambitious 23-minute tour-de-force that must have taken up an entire side of the original vinyl. Listen to the astonishing 7+ minute introduction, with Corea setting up the Spanish melody, eventually giving way to a nimble-fingered but ferocious solo by Clarke on acoustic double-bass. Clarke then locks onto a toe-tapping groove for another 7 or 8 minutes, underneath another gorgeous Flora Purim vocal performance and some nervous flute arabesques from Farrell.

There's a quiet point midway into the song when the band cools its collective energy, reminding me in moments of the more airy passages from KING CRIMSON's "Islands" LP ("Formentera Lady" and the long title track in particular). Okay, that's an unfair comparison for easy reference only: the music was clearly drawn from the same well, but Corea's compositions are more relaxed and looser, deriving from a more genuine jazz sensibility (the man played with MILES, keep in mind).

"La Fiesta" ends the album with a pulse-quickening flamenco jam (castanets included!), showcasing Farrell's virtuoso chops in a stunning free-form sax solo, over another grungy Stan Clarke double-bass workout.

It's an album of infectious optimism and light, and a godsend in digital format, without the distraction of vinyl pops and scratches to mar the more subtle interludes. The only reason I'm resisting the temptation to award it five stars is because I've only just heard it for the first time. But if it sounds this fresh after more than thirty years I don't doubt it will soon pass my own personal test of time to become a classic with full honors.

This is one of the top ten greatest fusion albums of all time up there with "bitches brew", "Birds of Fire", "We'll talk about it later", "mysterious traveller" and "Rischkas Soul" by wolfgang dauner (who still needs to be added). This is precision playing with chick corea's trademark input. he played with miles davis and its easy to see why on this album with the trademark piano...so very talented, he is the heart of this album with the sax, amazing bass (the ancor if you will) and frentic (at times) flute surrounding him...the flute reminds me of a free spirited teen age hippie. and ohhh those easy going melodies! Please pick up this classic!

3.9/5.0

This is a great fusion album, yet I do not believe it deserves 5 stars because it is inconsistent. The theme song "Return to Forever" is obviously the best on this one, but unfortunately (and with all my apologies to those who believe this is one of the best fusion album ever) at some point I think even this one lacks the emotion I would like to hear from a true masterpiece. Sure, it is technically advanced but I felt a bit annoyed by the experimentations in some places.

That said, on the positive side the tempo counter-tempo from percussion is absolutely fantastic and what about the bass... marvelous! The bass solo on "Return to Forever" is one of the best I listened to. Another great moment of this album is that spanish- style rhythm on " Sometime Ago/La Fiesta"; it is absolutely gourgeous. Great imagination and really there is a lot of emotion in that part.

Adding the pluses and minuses, this is a great album and an excellent addition to any collection. 3.9/5.0

This album wanders in occult, sad, groovy and moody. Return To Forever's debut effort is drenched with latin and hispanic styles (and particularly brazilian and spanish rhythms). The title track starts with an eerie effect, as Stanley Clarke sets the groove, the song proceeds to adapt a more bluesy format with syncopated rhythm, whilst the spooky feel remains in Corea's synth notes and Flora Purim imitating; then comes a 4/4 part again with syncopated rhythm and groovy bass lines; the song ends with the coda, reprising the intro. Cristal Silence is a more free-tempo piece which features Corea exercising with diminished chords and Joe Farrell blowing soulful notes on Soprano Sax; Corea starts setting the main score in which the rest of the instruments will play along, and the sax sets the tempo in which Corea will follow; it's a beautiful piece and also haunting at times, when Corea hits some dissonant intervals. What Games Shall We Play Today? has Flora Purim on soprano vocals singing lyrics, and delivers quite nicely amidst a brazilian mood, probably bossa nova. Sometime Ago/La Fiesta starts with a flawless solo spot delivered by Stanley Clarke and proceeds with a very South American style, approaching a very colombian sort of "cumbia" rhythm; followed by a moody segment full of spanish charm (I think I'd heard that ditty before, it sounds traditional).

Dissapointing perhaps for the ones who seek more "rock" in their purchases (absence of guitars could easily give a clue; but not the only valid argument). I would recommend albums like "Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy" or "Romantic Warrior" to more "rock" oriented progressive fans. Enthusiasts of a more pure jazz approach to "fusion" could give this a very high rating; and since I go in both ways, I'd give it 4.5 stars, rounded to a big 5!! one of the great masterpieces of "fusion".

This has to be the best cover ever ! I wish the music was as good. Actually check that, the title track is that good ! No electric lead guitar on this one either.

"Return To Forever" sounds incredible 1 1/2 minutes in with Corea's liquid electric piano sounds and the beautiful percussion by Airto Moreira. Female vocal melodies follow from Flora Purim the partner of Airto. They are a Brazilian couple by the way. I have to tell you I was shocked when I first heard her vocal melodies because they sounded so much like the female vocal melodies in ESKATON and even KULTIVATOR, both Zeuhl bands. Flute comes in with an extended solo.The song almost stops and starts again with the same melody of percussion, electric piano and bass, only this time Clarke's bass playing is more prominant. This melody is truly remarkable ! Flora's back with her vocal melodies and before 9 1/2 minutes Corea's on fire ! Like I said in the intro this song is a masterpiece that I wish every prog fan could hear.

"Crystal Silence" features a piano and sax melody that is both played slowly and gently. It's ok. "What Games Shall We Play Today? " is the hardest for me to digest. It sounds like a corny seventies song due mainly to the vocals and flute. This song makes me cringe. "Sometime Ago / La Fiesta" is a side long suite that has Corea's piano all over it to begin with. Clarke reveals how skilled he is with his bass playing before Corea comes back after 5 minutes. Flute melodies come and go as we get a real groove going before 8 minutes. Vocals follow. The Brazilian influence comes to the fore 15 1/2 minutes in before we get some sax and later more great bass. This song is a ride.

3.5 stars. Although for the title track alone I urge you to seek this record out. If you can't find it under RETURN TO FOREVER than look under Chick Corea.

This is definitely a solid intro for any fusion band, but it's particularly impressive for Return to Forever, given the extent to which their style (and lineup) would change over the years. Compared to Hymn from the Seventh Galaxy, this is jazz light, though upon careful listening, it's clear that this bunch is far from the easy-listening realm. Corea on simple keys (imagine that!) is featured prominently, driven by the consistenly interesting Clarke on bass. The percussion is tasteful, but is mixed quietly and at times is an afterthought (fortunately this allows you to hear almost everything Clarke is doing clearly). You'll also find a good deal of pleasant flute, as well as the (mostly) refreshing female vocals of Purim. It all adds up to a simultaneously captivating and relaxing sound.

Return to Forever. The title track does not disappoint: a determined melody pushes through the first third of the tune, dies down, and things are kicked up a notch for the second half. Here you'll find some awesome improvisation and dueling between Corea and Clarke. There is also some rather maniacal vocals from Purim at the end that I could take or leave. It's possibly a bit overlong, but that's part of the fusion process I suppose.

Crystal Silence, What Game Shall We Play Today. The former is a melancholy, low tempo piece with some pleasant, longing sax, and the latter is a rather poppy, formulaic number featuring Purim. Neither is terribly memorable.

Sometime Ago, La Fiesta. With a decent amount of patience, you'll be well-rewarded for your time with this 23 minute gem. For me, this is jazz fusion at some of its best. The first third of the song is mostly mellow and brooding, hinting briefly at later themes. Clarke finds time for some notably tasteful double bass groans. Then the tempo picks up and is maintained through the end, with great melodies and some fantastic interplay. The lively final 8 minutes are particularly good: you'll want to get up and cha-cha yourself! Just a very solid piece overall.

There is no guitar here (particularly no di Meola), and the instrumentation is fairly simple and non-bombastic. This has an intensity and delicateness that you may need to work to appreciate and find the right mood for. You won't find comparable music many other places in prog, and for that I'm quite glad to have it in my collection.

3.5 stars really...

A US-based band led by keyboardist Chick Corea,RETURN TO FOREVER were formed in New York in 1972.Corea had been playing next to Miles Davis,before forming a avant-jazz group called ''Circle''.Their sound was quite difficult,so Corea decided to form another band with an aim of playing a more accesible form of jazz music.RETURN TO FOREVER debuted the same year of their formation with their eponymous album.As three out of five members had Latin-roots,their music was unsurprisingly deeply rooted in Latin-American tradition.The band combines succesfully the energy and jamming of jazz/fusion music (through the electric piano and the groovy bass lines) with ethnic (mostly) spanish and brazilian rhythms (great female vocals,flutes and percussion).The overall atmosphere is quite mellow for a jazz rock band,supported by the ethereal voice of Flora Purim.Check out the fantastic electric piano work of Chick Corea,that made RETURN TO FOREVER famous worldwide and support their well-performed sound by adding work in your collection!

It has been a long time coming but I can thankfully say after listening to RTF's debut album I can say it was well worth the wait. Chick Corea in many respects bridged the gap between chaotic jazz and melodic prog jazz with his fusion input. I often listen to Bitches Brew and other Miles Davis albums and as much as I enjoy them there is this mad edge to the sound. When CC decided to go another route with RTF he established a rich vein of sound more in a melodic jazz fusion envrionment. People like Jean Luc Ponty, Weather Report and even Daryl Stuermer benefitted immensley by these influences. Even John Mclaughlin!! The title track on this album is by far the most rewarding but overall the sound is richly textured and even the progressive offbeat elements sometimes construed as 'weird' hold true witha firm message that CC was one of the finest prog jazz fusion artists outthere. A fine album, much admired and an even finer cover. Four solid stars.

I knew this album very lately after my journey with other excellent albums like "Romantic Warrior" and "Music Magic". Well, I kew the band from the song "The Endless Night" which was part from "Music Magic" album and after that I chased any single release of Return to Forever. Unfortunately I only could get the CD of this debut album only couple of months ago. It's worth searching, really.

Return to Forever is for me the best jazz rock fusion band with great components of Chic Corea inventive keyboard and piano work which is very unique and identifiable. The debut album has not included the great guitar player Al Di Meola but the music is really packed with creative notes and chords.

The opening track "Return to Forever" has excellent melody which moves the music in natural flow with great combination of Chick Corea's keyboard and Stanley Clarke bass guitar. The vocal of Flora Purim is also excellent. Crystal Silence is a showcase on how creative Corea is in playing his inventive notes and chords through his piano, combined with Airto's percussive, plus saxophone work by Joe Farrell. What Game Shall We Play Today is an easy listening music featuring a nice vocal line by Flora Purim.

I consider this debut album by Chick Corea is an excellent addition to any prog rock collection. It will serve well for those of you who love jazz influenced compositions. There is no wonder that the next album by Return to Forever is also excellent. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

3.5 stars really!!!

After leaving Miles Davis's group (he participated to Miles's most important electric group being one of two keyboardists along with Weather Report's Joe Zawinul), Chick Corea formed his own band called Return To Forever. Much like WR, RTF's early albums contains few electric instruments and featured no guitarists (acoustic or electric), and their music was an excellent fusion of jazz and rock that was derived from Davis' Miles In The Sky to Jack Johnson era. Corea recruited the superb sax-flutist Joe Farrell, the awesome Airto Moreira on drums and brought in young bassist extraordinaire Stanley Clarke. Rounding up the quintet was the then-very-in-vogue Fiona Purim (heard on Santana, McLaughlin and many other's albums), but here she's more than guest, she's a full-blown member of RTF (as well as Airto's Wife), which might cause a few cringes among those not being fans of her (my case), but rest assured that her RTF contributions are the best she made in her career.

The jazz crowds were always difficult to satisfy and once their ire for Miles' electric treason, part f the opinion turned onto Chick's desire to found his own group that would be primarily acoustic and thought to be traditional jazz given the presence of the Brazilian couple of Moreira-Purim. If indeed the mood is acoustic, and there are the obvious bossa nova beats in RTF's debut album, the least we can say is that the album two long tracks out of a total of four and representing ¾ of the album's total time) are deeply adventurous and not commercial at all, even if the sheer beauty of these two adventures makes the music very accessible. Of course, it didn't help that Chick chose to sign with the erman ECM label, seen as a sign of treason by many US patriots. Graced with a superb aerial photo of an albatross over a clam sea, it fit the music perfectly too.

Slowly rising from the dawn, the 12-mins eponymous track is a stunning statement on which one of the best JR/F group can easily rest its foundations. The track builds slowly on Chick's Rhodes, Flora's aerial scat vocalizing and Farrell's delightful flute, while Clarke's steady bass and Airto's splendid drumming provide an hypnotic background. The middle section is a bit less smooth, as the tracks stops then pick up a tad funkier (Stanley gets a real spotlight for a few minutes), more frantic mood with Flora screeching wildly (think of a female Careful With That Axe , Eugenia), while the climax reaches almost dissonance through Farrell's flute. The track then resumes a bit as it had started. The aptly-titled 7- mins Crystal Silence (Corea-penned like the rest of the album) is an escapade for Chick's crystal-clear Rhodes playing, while Farrell adds some soppy/cheesy sax. Closing the A-side is the almost straight bossa jazz What Game, where Flora sprawls her singing over a boring lounge jazz music. Both shorter tracks are best forgotten, IMHO.

The flipside belongs to the awesome 23-mins+ Sometime Ago, where RTF makes another splendid statement of intention. Rarely has a jazz track taken such a long time to rise , but then again Sometime Ago is a torrid sun-soaked Spanish-drenched piece, where Clarke takes the lead stand-up bass role over Chick's rhythmic Rhodes, and the mood hits Flamenco. (We'll hear more of these Spanish influence throughout RTF's career, notably on the Spain track on the following album, but Connors and DiMeola are both Spanish-prone in their playing.) As soon as you think Clarke reinstate the group, he pulls out a bow and gives more drama with his contrabass. Then Flora and Farrell get into the dance and the track gains even more intensity. Castanetta, flamenco bass lines, alto sax lead lines fill up the space, even if at times the music lacks a little je-ne-sai-quoi (a guitar actually) to give it that little extra oomph to go over the top and forget the trad jazz twist remaining here and there. Nothing to be .

RTF's debut album is a stunning start to one of the most prestigious JR/F groups ever, even if this first phase is often wrongly disregarded by some closed-minded electric fusion freaks. Definitely worth a few spins as is the second album LAAF, to understand RTF's roots, I can only urge most fusionheads to rethink their opinions about these two albums. .

|B| A beautiful debut by Chick Corea's fusion powerhouse group, Return to Forever.

This was the first fusion album for me to ever own, which probably wasn't really the best to start with, in all honesty. It took quite a while to really grow on me, probably because it is pretty obscure and relatively thinly scored compared to a lot of fusion out there, and based mostly on delicate keyboard work with jamming that is very much in the vain of fusion era Miles Davis. For a while I thought of it as just another nice fusion recording, but as I became more familiar with the genre of fusion itself, I came to really appreciate this album and its overall uniqueness later on. This is probably unlike anything you've ever heard before, even if you're a staunch fusion listener.

What strikes me as most interesting about this album is how heavily it relies and atmosphere and soundscapes, especially compared to most fusion counterparts such as Mahavishnu Orchestra and Herbie Hancock. In fact I'd venture to say this album is very much the antithesis of Inner Mounting Flame in that the band juices out the essence of every single note to its fullest extent, concentrating more on the actual space between beats rather than filling it up with crazy and frantic musicianship. Not that the latter is bad, it's just a different style of writing. Thus overall we have a very soft and relaxing mood throughout most of the album, one that is almost intoxicating and very blissful at times. It's more about painting a picture in the listener's mind than anything else, and a very whimsical and wondrous picture it is.

Other unique nuances in the album is the use of a vocalist, something seldom heard in any highly regarded fusion out there. Come to think of it, a vocalist would probably clutter up most fusion albums out there, but in this one I couldn't think of a better, more fitting addition to the sound of the album. Flora Purim's voice it just absolutely stunning, with a tone and style that blends wonderfully with the other instruments, especially in the playful track What Games Shall We Play Today?, though she has her pitchy notes here and there. Crystal Silence has, instead of vocals, saxophonist Farrell soloing on the soprano, and this track is probably some of Chick Corea's best work in his lifetime, and bold statement in itself. I think it's one of the most beautiful jazz tracks I've yet heard actually, it should be considered a jazz fusion standard, period. The epic is almost as great, with some fun bossa nova percussion, but it takes several listens to fully appreciate, as does the first track.

Return to Forever seems an album that transcends categorization, for it doesn't even really sound like fusion in a sense, a style with enough distinctions between individual groups as it is. I haven't heard anything that sounds at all similar to it, and I doubt I ever will. I highly recommend this excellent debut of one fusion's most prominent groups to any respectable prog collector, and if you happen to like jazz fusion, this is an album you must have.

I wouldn't say this is one of the greatest fusion albums ever. I'm not even totally convinced that it's fusion. And, while this group did continue and record "Light As A Feather" as Return To Forever, this album appears to have been marketed as "Return To Forever" by Chick Corea. No matter. It's not a bad album. The title tune, in fact is fantastic. Corea's electric piano playing is superb, as is Clarke's bass playing.

The rest of the album, save for an amazing acoustic bass solo in "Sometime Ago - La Fiesta", the obligatory Spanish flavored tune that appears on a large number of Corea albums (maybe I should paraphrase FZ and call it "The Chick Corea Secret Chord Progression"), leaves me somewhat bored.

And the mix of the album is just odd. Chick is way over to one side, Airto's drums are off to the other, and the bass and sax seem to float around.

This is a good jazz album, but not anything special as a fusion album.

Debut RTF album ( formally still Chick Corea solo album) is EXCELLENT Latin jazz-fusion work. Even if RTF is better known by it's later, much more rock-oriented and guitar led works, for me this album is their absolutely best work ever.

Corea's electric piano sound based album has unbelievable atmosphere. Airto Moreira, great Latin American percussionist and his wife Brazil jazz-singer Flora Purim both bring excellent warm Latin feeling. All sound is very atmospheric (what is characteristic for ECM recordings) and very warm ( what isn't usual for the same label).Stanley Clarke bass is great addition to sound, but is never too underlined. Joe Farrell's brass sounds gave many of tasteful accents to very elegant music.

It's even difficult to say by word, why this album's music sounds so great - I believe it is one of very rare cases, when all the sound, composition, common atmosphere and performers build mystic unity, you can call it magic.

Just for composition on this album, but it is a monumental work. You can know nothing about Latin jazz or Chick Corea, but after you will hear this album, your musical world will never be the same. Just open your ears wide!

By the way, two great musicians , participated on this album, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, have some interesting solo albums as well ( mostly in Latin jazz territory). Whenever after one more album of similar music Corea radically changed RTF line-up and musical style, you can search there some perfect music in Flora's albums ( Airto is more known as session musician, his solo works aren't so strong).

Back in the day I had a rather short but intense flirtation with fusion. Due to the more commercial direction that I heard on some late-70's albums, I quickly lost sight of my jazz vaults. The regular fusion reviews from a certain member here made me explore my early love again. So it's about time to blow off the dust of some early favourites.

RTF's first line-up mainly revolved around percussion, bass and keyboards, with a minor contribution from flutes, saxophone and vocals. With the guitar vacancy still open, this album is very different from RTF's later albums. And I believe it works in their advantage, especially on the stunning opening track.

When I first heard this I thought I had found me a new favourite band, such a rich and emotional piece of music this is. All instruments get a lot of breathing space, and the emphasis is more on creating a beautiful mood, varying between sad, dreamy and mellow. This track has some interesting wordless female jazz vocals, but it's Stanley Clarke's bass and Chick Corea's keyboards that take the spotlight. The dominance of the jazzy keyboards lends this album more atmosphere then later RTF albums.

Crystal Silence features Joe Farrell on saxophone and it makes RTF almost sound like an mellow version of Weather Report. Very classical mood jazz, it's a delightful piece but not really RTF's core-business.

If the opener had made me believe I had found me a new favourite fusion band, the folksy easy-listening jazz-pop of What Game Shall We Play Today quickly brought my feet back on the ground. Not bad probably but it will rather appeal to fans of light folksy jazz like Harmonium.

The 23 minute Sometime Ago - La Fiesta could have lifted the album to excellence, but while it has a couple of great sections, the bulk of it is rather poppy and the ending part, La Fiesta, doesn't appeal to me at all with its exotic cocktail party music.

I would almost give it 4 stars for the strong start but it's a bit of a downward slope from then on. If you like Latin fusion a lot this will probably highly appeal.

Return to Forever's first album - originally presented as a Chick Corea solo album, establishes the band's sound as something quite distinct from the Mahavishnu Orchestra or Weather Report's efforts from the same era (those two bands being close siblings to RtF, since all three groups were led by veterans of Miles Davis' groundbreaking In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew sessions). The album's sound is distinguished mainly by the husband and wife percussion team of Airto Moreira and Flora Purim - with Purim's vocals generally being light and airy, though showing a bit more range in her wordless wails accompanying the opening self-titled song.

The Latin rhythms laid down by Moreira and Purim dominate the album's sound for much of the full fusion sections, though of course Corea's electric piano textures and Stanley Clarke's capable bass work is never far away. Joe Farrell, the group's wind instrument master, gets a nice chance to take the spotlight in Crystal Silence, more of a pure jazz track than a fusion track, which is focused on a gorgeous saxophone performance from him.

On the whole, this is an album which manages to be consistently pleasant but not much more than that; there's nothing mindblowing on here, and whilst the group is technically competent and more than capable of playing some fast and furious fusion - as the La Fiesta section of the sidelong Somewhere Ago/La Fiesta suite neatly demonstrates - it feels here as though they are making preliminary sketches rather than creating any truly tight and top-flight compositions. Three stars.

It says CHICK COREA on the cover as the artist and RETURN TO FOREVER as the album title, yet this is RETURN TO FOREVER and all sites that categorize music include it under the band name as the first album, but yet when I look up on my shelf and see it in the Rs when it starts with a C is just plain drives me craaaaazy! Enough ranting about my idiosyncrasies, onto the music!

After the hugely successful sessions with "Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew" with Miles Davis, CHICK COREA briefly formed an avant-garde jazz band called CIRCLE but because he wanted a more accessible sound that would garner slightly more popularity, he scrapped that idea and started RETURN TO FOREVER.

I have been wafering on whether to rate this a 3 or a 4 star album for some time as I came to this debut album from the perspective of having heard ROMANTIC WARRIOR first and this is absolutely nothing like it. This debut album is mostly a light ethereal subdued jazz fusion affair. It is technically proficient but the main focus is to conjure up certain emotional states that take you on a nice floaty ride instead of the intensity married with medieval images that later albums would evoke.

"Return To Forever" is the first and the masterpiece track which is the one I loved from the first listen and still do. It is so deep and mysterious and haunting and just plain good. This track alone is worth the price of admission and at over 12 minutes long a very demanding piece.

"Crystal Silence" is an ok track but doesn't live up to the magnitude of the album's first and last tracks. It is pleasant enough and doesn't subtract too much from the overall goal of the album.

"What Games Shall We Play Today?" is an upbeat little number that makes me wanna dress up like Shirley Temple and jump on a table and start twirling around with a psychedelic lollipop in my hand. Once again it is ok but certainly not the reason to buy this album.

"Sometime Ago / La Fiesta" was the one that took a while to really sink again. Maybe I just wasn't listening attentively enough? Maybe it just took umpteen listens to get. Whatever the reason I finally find this a very rewarding piece and ultimately the reason I can unequivocally give this album 4 stars after putting off rating this album for so long because of my indecisiveness. It is as the title suggests a jazzy fusiony piece that incorporates Latin percussion to the mix. At 23 minutes plus you certainly get your money's worth with this one but like I said it took me a while to appreciate but after the effort to penetrate its worthiness I have finally been rewarded by a very pleasant track and now I can associate this album on a completely different playing field than the later releases. Really now. Anything by Chic Corea is well worth having and this is hardly the exception.