MR. GONE

Compared to albums like Mysterious traveller and Tale Spinnin', Weather Report modernized their keyboards here. They get a real urban sound. The sound is more nervous and clinical. The keyboards are less often floating and they participate more to give some colour to the rhythms. The legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius vibrates at high intensity on couples of bits: his fretless bass will not leave you indifferent. The drums and percussions also merge more with the overall music. The songs also seem fresher and more accessible. However, I find most of the compositions less substantial than on their previous albums. The saxes are more conventional: the music often approaches more the conventional Spyro Gyra of the early 80's, mixed with Dave Stewart's or even Uzeb's keyboards of the early 80's.

Rating: 3.5 stars