Return to Forever (album)

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Return to Forever chronology
Return to Forever

Studio album by Return to Forever
Released	1972
Recorded	February 2, February 3, 1972
Genre	Jazz fusion, Latin Jazz, Post-bop
Length	46:48
Label	ECM
Producer(s)	Manfred Eicher
	Return to Forever (1972)	Light as a Feather (1972)

Return to Forever (1972) is a jazz fusion album by Chick Corea and Return to Forever, and the group's debut album. Unlike later albums by the group, it was released by theECM label and produced by Manfred Eicher. The album was not released in the USA until 1975. The record is often considered one of the classic albums in electric jazz.

The album was composed by Corea and sold as his solo work though the title of the album is also the name of the band. At this stage Corea's approach to jazz fusion was very different compared to other early fusion artists. Adventurous electric piano solos are backed with South American oriented rhythms of drummer Airto Moreira and the vocals and percussion of his wife Flora Purim. Stanley Clarke is the bassist of the group (playing electric bass on A-side and double bass on B-side) and Joe Farrell plays flute and saxophone. This first line-up of Return to Forever consists of musicians (excluding Joe Farrell) that were also playing on Stan Getz's album Captain Marvel that was released in the same year.

The first track can be divided into five parts. There are three short parts in which Corea plays simple, haunting melodies with Purim doubling them with her voice. Between these three parts there are two longer parts in which the whole band plays. These main parts are both based on their own riffs. Farrell plays a flute solo over the first main part and Corea plays solo over the second. Moreira's drum pattern gives the composition an airy feeling of its own. Purim sings along with riffs, screaming a bit towards the end. The overall mood of the composition is mysterious.

The second track, "Crystal Silence", is Corea's song. It has lyrics but this time a vocalist is not used at all and the track is played just by Corea and Farrell with some silent percussion on a background. Farrell performs a long saxophone solo. Third track, "What Game Shall We Play Today?", is another of Corea's songs. It has a very affectionate melody and Purim singing vocals. Farrell plays now a flute. Corea and Farrell give short solos between the second and the third verse.

The B-side of the album has only one track which consists of three different pieces of music. Probably they have been recorded without breaks and this is the reason why they are not separated on three individual tracks. The first seven minutes of the track consist of an improvised introduction featuring Corea and Clark. After this section ends the piece makes a transition into Sometime Ago. It is a latin flavored piece with Purim's vocals and Farrell's flute solo. After that song Farrell switches to a saxophone and the band plays "La Fiesta" which is one of the Corea's jazz standards. Corea has written that most of Spanish songs deal about matters such as misery or torture but "La Fiesta", however, is about celebration. The song is an instrumental piece that relies on flamenco modes. Corea, Farrell and Clarke play all their own solos while Purim takes a percussionist's role.