Mysterious Traveller
| Mysterious Traveller | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Weather Report | ||||
| Released | March 24, 1974 | |||
| Recorded |
February 1974 - May 1974 Devonshire Sound, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 48:17 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Wayne Shorter, Josef Zawinul | |||
| Weather Report chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (B)[2] |
| Sputnikmusic |  [3] |
| All About Jazz | (favorable)[4] |
Mysterious Traveller is the fifth album of Weather Report released in 1974. This album marked the end of bassist Miroslav Vitouš's tenure with the band. Vitouš was replaced by Alphonso Johnson. Another addition to the line-up is drummer Ishmael Wilburn. Greg Errico was the drummer for the tour between the previously released Sweetnighter and this album, but declined an invitation to be a permanent member of the band.
The record is the band's first that predominantly uses electric bass and incorporates liberal uses of funk, R&B grooves, and rock that would later be hallmarked as the band's "signature" sound. Also, the more restricted compositional format became evident on this album, replacing the more "open improvisation" formats used on the first three albums. It was voted as the album of the year by the readers of Down Beat for 1974, garnering their 2nd overall win in that category. Some consider this to be the band's best overall compositional effort.
The album peaked number two in the Jazz albums chart, number 46 in the Billboard 200 chart and 31 in the R&B album chart.[5]
Track listing
- "Nubian Sundance" (Zawinul) – 10:40
- "American Tango" (Vitouš, Zawinul) – 3:40
- "Cucumber Slumber" (Johnson, Zawinul) – 8:22
- "Mysterious Traveller" (Shorter) – 7:21
- "Blackthorn Rose" (Shorter) – 5:03
- "Scarlet Woman" (Johnson, Shorter, Zawinul) – 5:46
- "Jungle Book" (Zawinul) – 7:25
The Mastersound SBM edition of Mysterious Traveller includes a previously unreleased song, Miroslav's Tune, as a bonus track at the end of the album.
Personnel
Weather Report:
- Josef Zawinul - Electric and acoustic piano, synthesizer, guitar, kalimba, organ, tamboura, clay drum, tack piano, melodica
- Wayne Shorter - Soprano and tenor saxophone, tack piano
- Miroslav Vitouš - Upright bass (track 2 only)
- Alphonso Johnson - Bass guitar
- Ishmael Wilburn - Drums
- Skip Hadden - Drums (tracks 1 and 4 only)
- Dom Um Romão - Percussion, drums
Guests:
- Ray Barretto - Percussion (track 3 only)
- Meruga - Percussion (track 1 only)
- Steve Little - Timpani (track 6 only)
- Don Ashworth - Ocarinas and woodwinds (track 7 only)
- Isacoff - Tabla, finger cymbals (track 7 only)
- Edna Wright - Vocalists (track 1 only)
- Marti McCall - Vocalists (track 1 only)
- Jessica Smith - Vocalists (track 1 only)
- James Gilstrad - Vocalists (track 1 only)
- Billie Barnum - Vocalists (track 1 only)
Chart performance
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Jazz Albums | 2[5] |
| R&B Albums | 31[5] |
| Billboard 200 | 46[5] |
References
- ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
Yanow
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: weather report". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Campbell, Hernan M. (20 August 2012). "Review: Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ↑ Jenkins, Todd S. (23 April 2002). "Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
External links
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