Weather Report's second album was another small step towards becoming a fusion juggernaut, and does fill out the rhythmic/percussive base more, helped in no small part by Dom Um Romão. For the most part though, it was still pretty off-beam and experimental, even more so than their debut (link below), and swims nicely in the primoridal soup emanated from the big bang of Bitches Brew.
The album opener Unknown Soldier displays both Zawinul's increasingly complex compositional skill, and his first use of synthesiser, having just bought an ARP 2600. Wordless voices and guest brass arrangements fill out the evocation of Zawinul's memories of the end of WWII. Next up, on The Moors, is a sound unusual for any WR record - 12 string acoustic guitar, in a guest spot from Ralph Towner - before the track starts to groove. A more obtuse composition from Miroslav Vitouš and another great Zawinul tune fill out the album's first half.
The rest of I Sing The Body Electric is recorded live, in excerpts from a January 1972 concert in Tokyo (the Japanese market also got a double-LP's worth, called Live In Tokyo). The edits here just hint at the complex firepower that this lineup were capable of on stage, but it's enough to still be very impressive. This was clearly a group that could take the experimental ethos of electric Miles Davis and run with it in their own unique style.
pw: sgtg
Previously posted at SGTG: s/t debut
This is my favorite WR album.
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