Mysterious Traveller

Mysterious Traveller
Studio album by Weather Report
Released March 24, 1974
Recorded November 1973 - March 1974
Studio Devonshire Sound, Los Angeles
Genre Jazz fusion
Length 48:17
Label Columbia
Producer Josef Zawinul, Wayne Shorter
Weather Report chronology
Sweetnighter
(1973)Sweetnighter1973		 Mysterious Traveller
(1974)		 Tale Spinnin'
(1975)Tale Spinnin'1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert Christgau(B)[2]
Sputnikmusic[3]
All About Jazz(favorable)[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[5]

Mysterious Traveller is the fourth studio album of Weather Report and was released in 1974. This album marked the end of bassist Miroslav Vitouš's tenure with the band. Vitouš was replaced by Alphonso Johnson. Another addition to the line-up is drummer Ishmael Wilburn. Greg Errico was the drummer for the tour between the previously released Sweetnighter and this album, but declined an invitation to be a permanent member of the band.

The record is the band's first that predominantly uses electric bass and incorporates liberal uses of funk, R&B grooves, and rock that would later be hallmarked as the band's "signature" sound. Also, the more restricted compositional format became evident on this album, replacing the more "open improvisation" formats used on the first three albums. It was voted as the album of the year by the readers of Down Beat for 1974, garnering their 2nd overall win in that category, also garnering a five-star review from that publication along the way.

The album peaked at #2 in the Billboard Jazz album chart, #31 in the R&B album chart, and #46 in the Billboard 200 chart.[6]

Track listing

  1. "Nubian Sundance" (Zawinul) – 10:40
  2. "American Tango" (Vitouš, Zawinul) – 3:40
  3. "Cucumber Slumber" (Johnson, Zawinul) – 8:22
  4. "Mysterious Traveller" (Shorter) – 7:21
  5. "Blackthorn Rose" (Shorter) – 5:03
  6. "Scarlet Woman" (Johnson, Shorter, Zawinul) – 5:46
  7. "Jungle Book" (Zawinul) – 7:25

Early copies of the album do not list "Cucumber Slumber" on the back cover or inner sleeve, and list "Jungle Book" as the final track of side one rather than side two. However, most known copies of the album include the seven tracks in the order listed above.[7] One exception is the cassette release, with "Blackthorn Rose" as the second track of side one and "American Tango" as the second track of side two.[8]

The Mastersound SBM edition of Mysterious Traveller includes a previously unreleased song, "Miroslav's Tune", as a bonus track at the end of the album.

Personnel

Weather Report

Guest musicians
  • Ray Barretto - Percussion (track 3 only)
  • Meruga Booker aka Muruga Booker - Percussion (track 1 only)
  • Steve Little - Timpani (track 6 only)
  • Don Ashworth - Ocarinas and woodwinds (track 7 only)
  • Isacoff - Tabla, finger cymbals (track 7 only)
  • Edna Wright - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • Marti McCall - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • Jessica Smith - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • James Gilstrap - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • Billie Barnum - Vocalists (track 1 only)
Technical
  • Ron Malo - sound engineer
  • Teresa Alfieri - cover design
  • Helmut K. Wimmer - cover artwork

Chart performance

Chart (1974) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[6] 46
US Jazz Albums[6] 2
US R&B Albums[6] 31
Canada RPM Top 100 Albums[9] 57

References

  1. ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011. Yanow
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: weather report". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Campbell, Hernan M. (20 August 2012). "Review: Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Jenkins, Todd S. (23 April 2002). "Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Discogs
  8. ↑ Discogs
  9. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5087b.pdf

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