Weather Report – Heavy Weather (2LP, 45RPM, Number 00045)
Keyboards - Joe Zawinul
Saxophone - Wayne Shorter [click here to see more products featuring Wayne Shorter]
Bass - Jaco Pastorius [click here to see more products featuring Jaco Pastorius]
Drums - Manolo Badrena
Percussion - Alex Acuna
Orchestrated by Joe Zawinul
Written by Zawinul (A1-2, B3), Pastorius (A3, B4), Shorter (A4, B2), Badrena Acuna (B1)
2LP, gatefold sleeve
Numbered edition : Number 00045
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 45RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Record Technology Incorporated
Label : Original Recordings Group (ORG)
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded in December 1976–January 1977 at Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, California
Engineered by Ron Malo
Produced by Joe Zawinul, Jaco Pastorius
Mastered by Bernie Grundman
Design by Nancy Donald
Illustration by Lou Beach
Photography by Keith Williamson
Originally released in March, 1977
Reissued in 2011
Tracks:
Side A:
1. Birdland
2. A Remark You Made
3. Teen Town
4. Harlequin
Side B:
1. Rumba Mama
2. Palladium
3. The Juggler
4. Havona
Reviews :
“Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular and artistic success -- and for the same reasons. For one thing, Joe Zawinul revealed an unexpectedly potent commercial streak for the first time since his Cannonball Adderley days, contributing what has become a perennial hit, "Birdland." Indeed, "Birdland" is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band. The other factor is the full emergence of Jaco Pastorius as a co-leader; his dancing, staccato bass lifting itself out of the bass range as a third melodic voice, completely dominating his own ingenious "Teen Town" (where he also plays drums!). By now, Zawinul has become WR's de facto commander in the studio; his colorful synthesizers dictate the textures, his conceptions are carefully planned, with little of the freewheeling improvisation of only five years before. Wayne Shorter's saxophones are now reticent, if always eloquent, beams of light in Zawinul's general scheme while Alex Acuña shifts ably over to the drums and Manolo Badrena handles the percussion. Released just as the jazz-rock movement began to run out of steam, this landmark album proved that there was plenty of creative life left in the idiom.” AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.67 / 5 ; ARTISTdirect : 5 / 5 ; The Encyclopedia of Popular Music : 5 / 5 ; The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings : 3.5 / 4 ; The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide : 5 / 5