RETURN TO FOREVER: LIVE

I can remember my brother (the one that introduced me to SO MANY rock classics in the early 1970s) owning this album in its three-disc vinyl form and playing it to death on his audiophile stereo system around 1981. Man! hearing Chick and new-found phenom drummer Gerry Brown on those huge Polk Audio speakers was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget! And my brother, himself an accomplished drummer, loved Gerry Brown unlike I'd ever seen or heard him love a drummer before or since (while I was not quite ready to let go of my Lenny White worship). Unlike many reviewers, the singing of artists like Gayle Moran, Annette Peacock, Dagmar Krause, and Nina Hagen never bothered me; as a matter of fact, I like/love all four of these unusual vocal stylists, so liking Chick's solo or last RTF work with his wife Gayle singing never hurt. Actually, my favorite Chick/RTF album of all-time is his 1978 "solo" release, The Mad Hatter, on which Gayle plays a wonderfully integral part. Such is the case with MusicMagic and this live album. It's just full of great music with peak performances from some of the 1970s best jazz-rock fusion instrumentalists--all of which is presented in quite listenable, even enjoyable forms, with incredible sound rendering-- even for a live album. Though I don't listen to this or MusicMagic much any more (perhaps once in the last ten years), I can relay the fact that I held both in pretty high esteem back in the day. In terms of how fortunate we are to have such a record of such incredible artists all playing at the very top of their games, I cannot help but think this album as nothing but essential listening to any so-called prog lover.

P.S. I don't know why this is only listed in its 2-CD release format: we were owners and avid listeners of the 3-CD vinyl form during the last years of the 1970s decade. Something that needs to be rectified.