DOMINO THEORY

Re-visiting my old Weather Report LP's in recent weeks has been a refreshing experience. Things I thought were great aren't that spectacular anymore, and things I thought weren't that great turned out to be impressive. Yeah, it has been a few years since I've spun them. 'Tale Spinnin' will always get the highest recommendation from me though. 'Domino Theory' from 1984 is an album I thought was mediocre at best, but I've come to really appreciate it, now even more than the previous 'Procession'. Wayne Shorter's saxes haven't sounded so full and robust previously as they do here. Zawinul's keyboard sounds are unique and he really lets loose more often here, actually, this is quite a synth dominated WR album. Victor Bailey is the bassist at this stage, and I definately prefer his style and sound to Jaco Pastorius' - thick, rolling and heavy. Omar Hakim is on drums, and he too has a great, tight sound which just adds enjoyment to this release. Jose Rossy is the ever-important percussionist, adding the colourful, exotic textures this music so deserves. Opening the album with Willy Tee's 'Can It Be Done', a short vocal track (sung by Carl Anderson in jazz-crooner fashion) jolted me years ago, but the lyrics are meaningful, and Zawinul plays some deliberately obscure synth lines, again, something different from the guys. At 11+ minutes, 'Db Waltz' is a complex arrangement which cooks, every member of the band giving a top performance, Zawinul adding some vocalising and virtuosic synth solos, ever so brief, yet outstanding. This is practically a swingin', 'big- band' sounding piece with excellent dynamics and surely a highlight in their vast discography. 'The Peasant' is an 8min slow burner, heavy with percussion and a steady beat, sparse bass lines and lots of synths. Trance-jazz anyone ?? Flipside we get Shorter's 'Predator', a funky tune featuring some bass slapping from Bailey. 'Blue Sound - Note 3' is more experimental, builds into a full-sounding jazzy part, and tapers off. Another Shorter tune, 'Swamp Cabbage' (cool title) has a very interesting drum pattern from Hakim and Eastern styled synth motifs from Zawinul, another great track. 'Domino Theory' features busy percussive work and some truly insane bass-licks (very difficult to tell, it could be synth from Zawinul - Jaco's solo on 'Punk Jazz' (off their 1978 album Mr Gone) doesn't even come close... This one gets 4 stars from me.