Light As A Feather Chick Corea and Return to Forever

• 1 You're Everything 05:12
• 2 Light As A Feather 10:57
• 3 Captain Marvel 04:53
• 4 500 Miles High 09:14
• 5 Children's Song 02:55
• 6 Spain 09:49
• Total Runtime 43:00

Info for Light As A Feather

This is the second of two albums released by Return to Forever's first lineup and it provides no hints at all as to the rock-fusion direction they would take when Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke reconfigured the band later in the year. If anything, it leans even more toward a Latin jazz sound than its predecessor. I think it's very nearly as great and I consider these to be among the best electric jazz albums that I've heard. Light as a Feather has the exact same personnel, instrumentation and sound as the previous album, except that Joe Farrell switches from soprano sax to tenor and Corea utilizes a wah-wah pedal here and there. Stylistically it is a bit jazzier and has more of Flora Purim's vocals than the debut; only 'Children's Song' — the shortest track — has no vocals at all, although the vocals are of the wordless variety on 'Captain Marvel' and the majestic 'Spain.' The increased amount of singing does draw attention to the fact that Flora Purim frequently sings out of tune. I find that this can add to the charm — and I did once read somewhere that this is an actual style of Brazilian singing — but I suppose that some listeners could have a problem with it.

Anyway, I think that every song on this album is pretty great. At about ten minutes each, 'Light as a Feather,' '500 Miles High' and 'Spain' take up the bulk of the running time. 'Light as a Feather' and '500 Miles High' have vocals and long instrumental middles; 'Spain' is instrumental save for some wordless vocals. The music is often both faster and a bit lighter on these tracks than on much of the debut album but the songs are as melodically rich and the improvisations are just as interesting. Corea's playing is a bit closer to conventional post-bop jazz (fewer drones, no minimalist repetitions), and Stanley Clarke's is as well — there aren't any proggish bass patterns here like the one on the previous album's title cut. Clarke does it all, too, moving from electric bass to upright and occasionally even using a bow. 'Spain' is my favorite track on the album and its legendary status in the Corea repertoire is justified, but the other long pieces are nearly as good. Of the shorter tracks, 'You're Everything' is a jazz-pop song, comparable to 'What Games Shall We Play Today' from the first album. 'Captain Marvel' is an energetic instrumental and the short 'Children's Song' has a slow, clockwork melody that I find entrancing but which nevertheless probably would have fit in better on the previous album than this one.

In my opinion, Light as a Feather is an essential Return to Forever album. It probably requires an interest in jazz and the textures do tend to stay true to the record's title, but I think the music is excellent. Corea's peers apparently do too, as every track on Light As a Feather has been covered by prominent artists throughout the years. 'Captain Marvel,' for example, was a favorite of Stan Getz and 'Spain' has become a standard. Light as a Feather was remastered in 2003 with a second disc of alternate takes, but I have not heard it. (Matt P., www.progreviews.com)

Chick Corea, Piano & Keyboards
Joe Farrell, Tenor Saxophone & Flute
Stanley Clarke, Acoustic & Electric Bass
Airto Moreira, Drums & Percussion
Flora Purim, Vocal

Remastered in 96kHz/24bit

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