MUSIC MAGIC

Ugh. I love most of the "electric period" RTF ("No Mystery" probably being the weakest of the bunch, but still worthy of three stars at least), but this one is, to say the least, disappointing in the wake of that fine material.

Of course, it goes without saying that it sounds *nothing* like its four predecessors. I suppose the argument can be made that if Chick Corea should have changed the name of the group after "Romantic Warrior", he should have done it after "Light as a Feather" as well, due to major personnel and stylistic changes in both cases, and I wouldn't disagree. So maybe it's truly not fair to evaluate this album compared to what came before - but it's under the same name, so (fairly or unfairly) it has to be compared.

I honestly have no idea what Corea was trying to achieve here. The music here sounds like rejects from the "Hair" soundtrack - schmaltzy, gutless, showy stuff augmented by syrupy, largely pointless lyrics. I couldn't trade this disc in to save my life (not necessarily a reflection of quality, I realize, but still), so I ended up tossing it. Hearing this in the wake of "Romantic Warrior" (my first RTF purchase) was one of the biggest disappointments of my life musically. The music overall certainly was memorable, but in a bad way. This may be just your cup of tea for some of you out there (not sure whom, if you're truly into prog or jazz-fusion), but for anyone expecting anything reminiscent of "Romantic Warrior", you're going to be sorely disappointed.

One star. You have been warned.