WHERE HAVE I KNOWN YOU BEFORE

From the exciting (and VERY '70's sounding) opener to the dramatically composed closer Pharaoh Kings, Where Have I Known You Before is a creative, energetic showcase of great playing and songwriting. The four players deliver the goods instrumentally (as one might expect), with Corea's layered synthesizers giving the album a heavy sci-fi'ish '70's funk feel; listening to this album is like stepping into a time warp!

The songs feature a broad mix of sounds and moods, with an emphasis on the above mentioned, and as a whole are not as polished sounding as on Romantic Warrior, in part due to the production quality. There is also more of a frantic feel here, giving many of the tunes a heavy-handed tone, but not detracting from their quality. My second choice Return to Forever album, but still a winner in all regards, and one of the more enjoyable fusion albums in my library.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: NA Style/Emotion/Replay: 3