Return to Forever (album)
| Return to Forever | ||||
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| Studio album by Chick Corea / Return to Forever | ||||
| Released | September 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 2 & 3 February 1972 | |||
| Studio | IBC Studios, 35 Portland Place, London, W1 | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 46:48 | |||
| Label | ECM | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Chick Corea / Return to Forever chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | |
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion album by Chick Corea, simultaneously functioning as the debut album by the band of the same name. Unlike later albums by the group, it was released by the ECM label and produced by Manfred Eicher. The album was not released in the USA until 1975. The record is often considered one of the classic albums in electric jazz.
At this stage, Corea's approach to jazz fusion was very different compared to other early fusion artists. Adventurous electric piano solos are backed with South American oriented rhythms of drummer Airto Moreira and the vocals and percussion of his wife Flora Purim. Stanley Clarke is the bassist of the group (playing electric bass on A-side and double bass on B-side) and Joe Farrell plays flute and saxophone. This first line-up of Return to Forever consists of musicians (excluding Joe Farrell and Flora Purim) that were also playing on Stan Getz's album Captain Marvel that was released in the same year.
The first track can be divided into five parts. There are three short parts in which Corea plays simple, haunting melodies with Purim doubling them with her voice. Between these three parts, there are two longer parts in which the whole band plays. These main parts are both based on their own riffs. Farrell plays a flute solo over the first main part and Corea plays a solo over the second. Moreira's drum pattern gives the composition an airy feeling of its own. Purim sings along with riffs, screaming a bit towards the end.
The second track, "Crystal Silence", is Corea's song. The track is played just by Corea and Farrell with some soft percussion in the background. Farrell performs a long saxophone solo. Third track, "What Game Shall We Play Today?", is another of Corea's songs. It has a very affectionate melody and Purim singing vocals. Farrell is now playing the flute. Corea and Farrell give short solos between the second and the third verse. The band would return to this song during the Light as a Feather sessions later in 1972 when they made four attempts with it; though the song did not make it to the album, all the takes appeared on the expanded edition of Light as a Feather.
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