ROMANTIC WARRIOR

Return to Forever's "Romantic Warrior" is one of the first fusion albums I sought and I was initially pretty impressed. The virtuosity of Al DiMeola, the literally unbelievable bass talent of Stanley Clarke and Chick Corea's light handed lightning fast keyboard playing would be an excellent match, and they certainly are!

The song structure of this album is a bit different from others I know of, it isn't a complete aimless jam like Mahavishnu Orchestra can sometimes sound like, it's a little more symphonic and coherently structured, with re-occurring themes and some really great songs. "Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant" is the best, excellent contributions from all members and great symphonic-jazz passages.

There are a few things that annoy me about this album. The most prevalent and irritating aspect of it is the types of keyboard sounds used by Chick. They sound very dated and thin, the plastic fiddly kind which I suppose is a product of the time. He does use some good voicing though, so it balanced out. The rest of the record is quite excellent, though it does have the trademark coldness of Fusion, but it is slightly justified by the use of structure and creative writing.

Not an overly attaching album emotionally, but if you're in need of a speed rush but appreciate the cohesion normally unusual in fusion, this is your album.

3.5 Stars