TALE SPINNIN'

"Tale Spinnin'" is the 5th full-length studio album by US jazz rock/fusion act Weather Report. The album was released through Columbia/CBS in May 1975. Bassist Alphonso Johnson, keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter are left from the lineup that recorded "Mysterious Traveller (1974)" while Leon Ndugu Chancler is new behind the drums and Alyrio Lima is the new percussionist.

Ultimately "Tale Spinnin'" comes off as a very different album compared to it´s predecessors. The style is still jazz rock/fusion but the tracks are more tightly structured with memorable themes and a more funky rythmic feeling. One of the things I noticed right away, compared to previous releases, is the less adventurous rythm playing. Where earlier rythm sections in Weather Report were wild and adventurous this new rythm section generally seem content with being a backing group for Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul. I miss the sound on the early albums where all instruments duelled for a place in the spotlight. There´re also much more focus on latin and African ethnic influences on "Tale Spinnin'" than ever before and even though such influences can work wonders in some cases, they take away some of the band´s otherwise furious edge. Those influences provide the music a kind of holiday easy listening atmosphere, that generally doesn´t suit Weather Report well.

The musicianship is of course on a high level even though the rythm section sounds really subdued compared to earlier rythm sections in Weather Report. They are still incredibly skilled though. Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul steals the spotlight completely on this album and their contributions are as usual also of a very high quality. Joe Zawinul´s tasteful use of various acoustic & electric pianos and keyboards/synths is stunning to say the least and Wayne Shorter´s more and more melodic and theme based playing is enjoyable too.

"Tale Spinnin'" is not what I expected after listening to albums like "I Sing The Body Electric (1972)", "Sweetnighter (1973)" and "Mysterious Traveller (1974)", which were all incredible albums. It´s not that it´s a bad album but compared to earlier output it´s simply a bit tame. When you start your album with a theme that sounds like the main theme from "M.A.S.H", you just know that something isn´t right. With that said "Tale Spinnin'" is still an enjoyable and technically strong album (well written if you enjoy the new musical direction, well produced and very well played) by Weather Report and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.