Black Market

by

Weather Report

Edit

Weather Report's second "phase" (1973-76) established its (now famous) sound, variously characterized by:

1. Mysterious and ethereal compositions

2. Funky rhythm & blues "grooves"

3. Elaborate electronic textures

4. Virtuoso supporting musicians

5. Influence of diverse musical cultures

"BLACK MARKET" (1976) evinces a maturity of approach, the band consolidating artistic gains from previous years by constructing a unified group of suite-like musical landscapes that draw on elements of jazz, funk and "world music".

The opener ( "Black Market" ), with its infectious melodic "hook", radiates a positive, life-affirming warmth (nice solos and firm, funky rhythmic support) while the closing moments provide a sobering contrast: synthesized imitations of gun and artillery fire reflecting the tragedy of strife endemic (then and now) in many parts of the war-torn "third world".

"Cannonball" is a tribute to (then recently deceased) Julian Adderley, the famous alto saxophonist/bandleader who was Joe Zawinul's former employer. The tune, while pleasant enough, is somewhat lightweight: its streamlined style and overtly sentimental melody presage similar material to follow on their next ( and most famous ) album "Heavy Weather" ( note that Jaco Pastorius' recorded debut with WR took place on "Cannonball" ).

"Gibraltar" opens to sounds of the portside city (waves & foghorns) and softly evocative soprano sax before giving way to a prototypical Weather Report groove superbly laid down by bassist Alphonso Johnson.

Wayne Shorter's "Elegant People" is one of the perennial Weather Report favorites with its feeling of romantic intrigue and flamenco influenced (Phrygian) cadences (yet another infectious thematic "hook" and some impassioned tenor sax by Shorter).

The other Shorter tune on the album ("Three Clowns") is a bizarre "funhouse" ballad, with the composer playing a synthesized wind instrument ("Lyricon").

The final two pieces are both composed by bassists:

Jaco Pastorius' "Barbary Coast" is a brief, funky and somewhat meandering piece.

Alphonso Johnson's "Herandnu" is an interesting tune; a rolling, calliope-sounding theme in alternating time signatures morphing into an up-tempo fusion feature for some keyboard improv by Zawinul (who paraphrases his own "Black Market" at one point). The theme briefly returns before the ghostly eeriness of a 45 second coda.

"BLACK MARKET" was the summation of a musical path established in the 3 preceding albums, which while exhibiting many traits from the previous period also pointed towards the more streamlined direction they would take in their most popular phase (w/ Jaco Pastorius as a dynamic influence). While the group recorded a lot of good music and gained a much-deserved fame in the following years, the 4 albums Weather Report recorded from 1973 to 1976 stand as their most consistently creative efforts.

Addendum 1: The advertising sticker put by Columbia Records on the latest version of "BLACK MARKET" claims that it features Jaco Pastorius. While this is true, it should be noted that Alphonso Johnson plays bass on 4 of the 6 tracks.

Addendum 2: The 24-bit remastered sound is superb. WR fans should strongly consider replacing the older versions with these new editions, which are definite improvements.

In 2007, the main 16 Weather Report Columbia titles were re-released in Japan with new DSD remastering in mini-sleeve format. From an audio quality standpoint, the DSD versions now supercede all the earlier standard-CD-audio U.S. releases (some of the WR catalog are available as SACD's).

Additionally, the Japan editions feature a welcome 2CD restoration of "8:30" to the original 13-track double-LP album configuration, with the proper inclusion of "Scarlet Woman", which had been edited off all domestic editions to allow for a cheaper, single-disc release.

So far, the WR DSD catalog is only available in mini-sleeve format, and all `sleeves are limited edition. If it is your desire to own the latest/greatest audio, then don't delay in picking these up, although it is always possible that Sony Japan will release them again as less expensive jewel case editions somewhere down the road. However, for the true WR fan and vinyl nut, it's great to have the wonderful mini-LP replicas of the original LP covers!

I wanted to provide links for each 2007 `sleeve edition, but unfortunately, Amazon only allows 10 per review. But, by linking to the 2007 DSD remaster of the first Weather Report album, you should be able to use the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" tool to locate the rest of the 2007 DSD titles (just make sure you verify the release date and Product Description).

Also, of note: In this same release were updated DSD remasters of the following WR-member solo albums, also as mini-sleeves:

Jaco Pastorius (1st album)

Wayne Shorter "Native Dancer"

Joe Zawinul "Di-a-lects"

And, the two Havana Jam albums, both where WR appeared live, also as `sleeves:

Havana Jam 1

Havana Jam 2

And, FINALLY: 2007 witnessed John McLaughlin finally relenting to release the full Trio Of Doom studio & live recordings, the awesome line-up of McLaughlin, Pastorius and Tony Williams, which could only be found previously on the Havana Jam albums, albeit in edited form.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.