Scooter Chronicles

Return to Forever - “Romantic Warrior”

Tracks:

1. Medieval Overture
2. Sorceress
3. The Romantic Warrior
4. Majestic Dance
5. The Magician
6. The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant (Part I & II)

The very first time I came across the name of Return to Forever was in some lists I had read in a music magazine. The editors had asked famous rock musicians to list some of their favorite albums. Return to Forever’s albums showed up on Geddy Lee’s list (Geddy being the bassist, keyboardist, and lead singer of Rush, for those of you that didn’t know). So I hunted out info, and of course was happy to find out that I immediately knew three of the four members of the band based on their solo projects.

(From left): Lenny White (drums), Chick Corea (keys, piano), Al DiMeola (guitar), and Stanley Clarke (bass).

The best way to describe this album is fun. All the songs, on some level or another, have an aura about them that sounds fun. The melodies are catchy and playful, and sometimes very much in the vein of the songs title (which make them more significant, even though instrumentals are fun to name with totally inane phrases).

The undisputed leader of the band is Corea. But this album, the with this line-up (and the one before the last RtF album), features a song written by each of the other three members.

“The Sorceress” I think is the best song to demonstrate the great work between Corea and DiMeola. They play very well together, running through different sounds (funk, rock, jazz), while still keeping the basic theme of the song. Ironically the song was written by White.

The title track is another great song, quite possibly the one with the least amount of “fun factor” to it. It starts very quietly, but then features some great acoustic guitar from DiMeola. The pinnacle moments of the song through is Clarke’s solo, which include some bowed acoustic bass and then finger-picked acoustic bass (not an upright). DiMeola then adds some more great acoustic guitar work with a lengthy solo, followed by Corea on piano. An excellent acoustic song that doesn’t really sound acoustic.

DiMeola’s “Majestic Dance” has some great playing from both him and Corea as they double runs. “Duel …”, the 11 and a half minute album closer is a incredible display of musicianship. Corea displays some incredible speed during the first section, then DiMeola tries to outdo him during the second part. Meanwhile Clarke and White turn in great performances, keeping the other end moving.

As I mentioned, this album is a lot of fun to listen to, since it sounds like the musicians had fun writing and recording it.