Percussive fireworks and melodic fusion from Weather Report at the top of their game. In his only appearance with WR, Leon 'Ngudu' Chancler of Herbie Hancock/Santana/many others fame is the drummer, with Alyrio Lima handling percussion and the core trio of Zawinul, Shorter and Johnson carried over from the previous album. Tale Spinnin' gets off to a flying start with one of Weather Report's most memorable album openers, Man In The Green Shirt, and grooves onwards with a sublime Shorter composition and another lengthy Zawinul piece. It's not all funky fusion - the highly atmospheric Badia is a definite standout, with Zawinul's eerie electronics continuing the band's early experimental strand.
pw: sgtg