Weather Report - Complete Columbia Studio & Live Recordings

[mjzee]

Release date November 3:

[CJ Shearn]

Even though I need the last 4 studio recordings, I will most likely pass b/c I have the 1971-75 and 1976-82, and Legendary Live Tapes boxes.  I used to have Live And Unreleased which is great, but half of it is on the individual albums as bonus tracks on the '76-82 Columbia Album Collection set.  Will this set be brand new mastering wise or use the DSD masters from 2007 or earlier?  Also the bonus  tracks that appear for the first time on those Columbia Album Collection sets, will they be included?  If it's anything like the massive Herbie Columbia set it may be worth getting but IDK.  Where are unreleased live recordings of the Vitous-Mouzon edition? That'd make the set worth it.

[felser]

On 10/6/2017 at 4:28 AM, CJ Shearn said:

Even though I need the last 4 studio recordings, I will most likely pass b/c I have the 1971-75 and 1976-82, and Legendary Live Tapes boxes.  I used to have Live And Unreleased which is great, but half of it is on the individual albums as bonus tracks on the '76-82 Columbia Album Collection set.  Will this set be brand new mastering wise or use the DSD masters from 2007 or earlier?  Also the bonus  tracks that appear for the first time on those Columbia Album Collection sets, will they be included?  If it's anything like the massive Herbie Columbia set it may be worth getting but IDK.  Where are unreleased live recordings of the Vitous-Mouzon edition? That'd make the set worth it.

Same  thoughts here.  I am very happy with the two previous sets, this would have to include something really meaningful from the 71-75 period to get me to even consider it, let alone pull the trigger.

[jazzbo]

My guess is this will be the same Wilder/Trania mastering and mixes as the previous releases. No need for this if you've been a fan and collector of the clan for some time.

[jazzbo]

Disco: 1

  1. Milky Way

  2. Umbrellas

  3. Seventh Arrow

  4. Orange Lady

  5. Morning Lake

  6. Waterfall

  7. Tears

  8. Eurydice

 

Disco: 2

  1. Unknown Soldier

  2. The Moors

  3. Crystal

  4. Second Day In August

  5. Vertical Invader/ T. H./ Dr. Honoris Causa

  6. Surucucu

  7. Directions

 

Disco: 3

  1. Medley: Vertical Invader / Seventh Arrow / T.H. / Doctor Honoris Causa

  2. Medley: Surucucu / Lost / Early Minor / Direction

 

Disco: 4

  1. Orange Lady

  2. Medley: Eurydice / The Moors

  3. Medley: Tears / Umbrellas

 

Disco: 5

  1. Boogie Woogie Waltz

  2. Manolete

  3. Adios

  4. 125th Street Congress

  5. Will

  6. Non-Stop Home

 

Disco: 6

  1. Nubian Sundance

  2. American Tango

  3. Cucumber Slumber

  4. Mysterious Traveler

  5. Blackthorn Rose

  6. Scarlet Woman

  7. Jungle Book

 

Disco: 7

  1. Man In the Green Shirt

  2. Lusitanos

  3. Between the Thighs

  4. Badia

  5. Freezing Fire

  6. Five Short Stories

 

Disco: 8

  1. Black Market

  2. Cannon Ball

  3. Gibraltar

  4. Elegant People

  5. Three Clowns

  6. Barbary Coast

  7. Herandu

 

Disco: 9

  1. Birdland

  2. A Remark You Made

  3. Teen Town

  4. Harlequin

  5. Rumba Mama

  6. Palladium

  7. The Juggler

  8. Havona

 

Disco: 10

  1. The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat

  2. River People

  3. Young and Fine

  4. The Elders

  5. Mr. Gone

  6. Punk Jazz

  7. Pinocchio

  8. And Then

 

Disco: 11

  1. Black Market

  2. Scarlet Woman

  3. Teen Town

  4. A Remark You Made

  5. Slang (Bass Solo)

  6. In a Silent Way

 

Disco: 12

  1. Birdland

  2. Thanks for the Memory (Tenor Sax Solo)

  3. Badia / Boodie Woogie Waltz

  4. 8:30

  5. Brown Street

  6. The Orphan

  7. Sightseeing

 

Disco: 13

  1. Night Passage

  2. Dream Clock

  3. Port of Entry

  4. Forlorn

  5. Rockin' in Rhythm

  6. Fast City

  7. Three Views of a Secret

  8. Madagascar

 

Disco: 14

  1. Volcano for Hire

  2. Current Affairs

  3. N.Y.C.

  4. Dara Factor One

  5. When It Was Now

  6. Speechless

  7. Dara Factor Two

 

Disco: 15

  1. Procession

  2. Plaza Real

  3. Two Lines

  4. Where the Moon Goes

  5. The Well

  6. Molasses Run

 

Disco: 16

  1. Can It Be Done

  2. D-Flat Waltz

  3. The Peasant

  4. Predator

  5. Blue Sound - Note 3

  6. Swamp Cabbage

  7. Domino Theory

 

Disco: 17

  1. Corner Pocket

  2. Indiscretions

  3. Hot Cargo

  4. Confians

  5. Pearl on the Half-Shell

  6. What's Going On

  7. Face on the Barroom Floor

  8. Ice-Pick Willy

 

Disco: 18

  1. This Is This

  2. Face the Face

  3. I'll Never Forget You (Dedicated to the Memory of My Parents)

  4. Jungle Stuff Part I

  5. Man with the Copper Fingers

  6. Consequently

  7. Update

  8. China Blues

 

Disco: 19

  1. Freezing Fire

  2. Plaza Real

  3. Fast City

  4. Portrait of Tracy

  5. Elegant People

  6. Cucumber Slumber

  7. Teen Town

  8. Man In the Green Shirt

 

Disco: 20

  1. Black Market

  2. Where the Moon Goes

  3. River People

  4. Two Lines

  5. Cigano

  6. In a Silent Way / Waterfall

  7. Night Passage

  8. Port of Entry

  9. Rumba Mama

  10. Directions / Dr. Honoris Causa

 

Disco: 21

  1. 8:30

  2. Sightseeing

  3. Brown Street

  4. The Orphan

  5. Forlorn

  6. Three Views of a Secret

  7. Medley: Badia / Boogie Woogie Waltz

  8. Wayne Solo

  9. Jaco Solo (Osaka 1980)

 

Disco: 22

  1. Joe and Wayne Duet (Tokyo 1978)

  2. Birdland

  3. Peter's Solo

  4. A Remark You Made

  5. Continuum / River People

  6. Gibraltar

 

Disco: 23

  1. Fast City

  2. Madagascar

  3. Night Passage

  4. Dream Clock

  5. Rockin' In Rhythm

  6. Port of Entry

 

Disco: 24

  1. Elegant People

  2. Scarlet Woman

  3. Black Market

  4. Jaco Solo (Osaka 1978)

  5. Teen Town

  6. Peter's Drum Solo (Osaka 1978)

  7. Directions

[Guy Berger]

So here's a serious question.

35 years ago, maybe even as recently as 20 years ago, the audience of people defined by "I like Weather Report" preferred the group's Jaco Pastorius period.  People that preferred earlier work were almost certainly a minority.  A WR archival release program, if it had been around then, would have thought the 1978-81 "legendary live tapes" to be a no-brainer.

As the group fades into history, is that still be the case?  Or does whoever is in charge of the WR reissue program have a misconceived notion of what the fanbase looks like?  Maybe the fanbase has atrophied/matured into "music geeks who like esoteric, retro music + people who like flashy bass players"

[felser]

2 hours ago, Guy Berger said:

So here's a serious question.

35 years ago, maybe even as recently as 20 years ago, the audience of people defined by "I like Weather Report" preferred the group's Jaco Pastorius period.  People that preferred earlier work were almost certainly a minority.  A WR archival release program, if it had been around then, would have thought the 1978-81 "legendary live tapes" to be a no-brainer.

As the group fades into history, is that still be the case?  Or does whoever is in charge of the WR reissue program have a misconceived notion of what the fanbase looks like?  Maybe the fanbase has atrophied/matured into "music geeks who like esoteric, retro music + people who like flashy bass players"

I've finally found a description of a group in life where I comfortably fit - "music geeks who like esoteric, retro music".  Thank you!

[JSngry]

I'd say that as time passes, it becomes easier to see how truly innovative the band was, although after Jaco left, the output did become,uh...patchier. The music stands up as music, as composition, as improvisation, as orchestration, the whole thing. "Fusaion" ultimately fias as a descrtion, at least the term as it is generally perpetrated today. This was not some jazz-rock "hybrid", this was great musical minds making frequently great music.

Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinlul did not "need" Jaco Pastorius, although once they got him, they certainly knew what to do with him, which as it turns out, is more than he knew what to do with himself after it was all over. Jaco changed bass playing, but he did not particularly/fundamentally change Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter.

[felser]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

I'd say that as time passes, it becomes easier to see how truly innovative the band was, although after Jaco left, the output did become,uh...patchier. The music stands up as music, as composition, as improvisation, as orchestration, the whole thing. "Fusaion" ultimately fias as a descrtion, at least the term as it is generally perpetrated today. This was not some jazz-rock "hybrid", this was great musical minds making frequently great music.

Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinlul did not "need" Jaco Pastorius, although once they got him, they certainly knew what to do with him, which as it turns out, is more than he knew what to do with himself after it was all over. Jaco changed bass playing, but he did not particularly/fundamentally change Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter.

Honest question - did Joe Zawinul fundamentally change Wayne Shorter?

[JSngry]

Oh hell no!

He might have provided some new/different/stimulating(or not) settings, but Wayne has always been Wayne.

By that I mean, where is a Wayne Shorter performance that does not sound exactly like Wayne Shorter?

[bertrand]

Well put!

There are several out-takes they have appeared elsewhere which are not in this set, which is stupid.

There is a recording from Berlin 1971 which is amazing, some tracks are octet. Set list includes Moto Grosso Feio. This should be legally issued.

Bertrand.

[Guy Berger]

Let me reword my question -

If you were going to invest record company $$$ in more WR reissues with an eye to maximize ROI, is this box set what it would look like?  Is there still a lot of demand for recordings from the MR GONE or NIGHT PASSAGE period?  I have no idea, but one thing for sure, that demand has shrunk a lot more than demand for recordings from the SWEETNIGHTER or BODY ELECTRIC periods (though given a higher base, maybe there's still more hunger for live versions of "Young and Fine").

Edited November 1, 2017 by Guy Berger

[mandrill]

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 9:19 PM, mjzee said:

Release date November 3:

This thing looks scary. Massive. Monolithic. The Kaaba of fusion?

[BFrank]

On 11/1/2017 at 11:35 AM, felser said:

I've finally found a description of a group in life where I comfortably fit - "music geeks who like esoteric, retro music".  Thank you!

I belong in that group, too. I'll take pre-Jaco any day. His contribution to the band wore out quickly for me.

[HutchFan]

1 hour ago, BFrank said:

I belong in that group, too. I'll take pre-Jaco any day.

Me too.  Live in Tokyo is the WR record that I enjoy most -- by a considerable margin. 

I don't dislike the Jaco-period band.  I just like the Zawinul-Shorter-Vitous group much more.

If I want to hear Jaco, I'm more likely to turn to these:

  

 

[xybert]

Overall i like all of it (some albums more than others), there's a nice arc there, i'll go through phases of listening to the different eras. 

Always bugs me when they say that Vitous couldn't play funk. I mean i *get* it, it wasn't the type of funk they were after but i love his unconventional funk on those early albums, think he would have added flavour to subsequent albums (much as i like the flavour as it stands).

[jazzbo]

I'm in the same boat, I like it all but I think I prefer Miroslav to Jaco, those albums with Miroslav keep reeling me in more than the later ones do. . . .

What a band. Weather Report and the Pretenders were the two bands that I saw the most times in my life. Great shows.

[greggery peccary]

Box set it now showing as unavailable on Amazon. Gone is the release date of 11/3 info and the price of $89.99. Hmmm...

[mjzee]

Still listed on Amazon UK, but it says "temporarily out of stock": https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Columbia-Studio-Live-Recordings/dp/B075G46S8K/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1509680313&sr=8-8&keywords=weather+report+box+set

[bertrand]

They must have read my post and decided to go back and add the bonus tracks, as well as the 1971 Berlin concert.

I have always been curious: The Shorter composition Cigano only appears on Live and Unreleased. From what I can tell from that secret site that shoes setlists, it does not look like they played it anywhere else. Thoughts? It's a great piece.

Bertrand.

[jazzbo]

I ordered it. My order says both that it is arriving today, and that it is preparing for shipment. There's been some delay but I expect it will be released just as originally planned soon.

[JSngry]

On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 6:04 PM, Guy Berger said:

Let me reword my question -

If you were going to invest record company $$$ in more WR reissues with an eye to maximize ROI, is this box set what it would look like?  Is there still a lot of demand for recordings from the MR GONE or NIGHT PASSAGE period?  I have no idea, but one thing for sure, that demand has shrunk a lot more than demand for recordings from the SWEETNIGHTER or BODY ELECTRIC periods (though given a higher base, maybe there's still more hunger for live versions of "Young and Fine").

Truthfully, I think the strategy now is to do this "big box" kind of thing to give newcomers the strategy of getting the whole thing at once at a price they can pay. The existing market pretty much has all of this already, and there will always be a few who upgrade for packaging or collectorism (a condition which I fully appreciate but can no longer afford), but really, the band is over, and they have a finite officially released legacy. So, just like you can now buy mega boxes of legendary conductors, soloists, and composers, you can now get a mega box of some of the more serious historical jazz artists. Younger people of the future, if they are engaged in the process enough to buy anything, are just as likely to buy this as they are a buttload of individual albums.

And in that sense, history definitely has the effect of compressing time. You can literally live, what, not even two full decades in a matter of days, in or out of actual order.

[mjzee]

And it's perfect for a Christmas gift.

[bertrand]

An 18-year old getting into 'jazz' who receives this for Xmas will have his/her mind blown, life changed etc. Bargain. There's new people born every day who might want that Kind of Blue reissue.

Yes, this group will never go in the studio again, but I will happy to buy a few more live dates of the Berlin 1971 caliber. There is also some good never-officially issued video. This is one group for which two different live shows are not the same, at least in the early days. I could use more material from the 1972 Japanese tour.

Bertrand.

[JSngry]

Yeah, I've heard all sorts of live shows, and as far as different versions of "Young and Fine", point taken, but on those gigs also comes different versions of "Elegant People" and oh hell yeah, I'm find with that. So for future market, yeah, please keep doing that, get the tapes, clean them up, and put them out.