Search - Chick Corea :: Where Have I Known You Before

Great Music...Poor Recording Quality

gork57 | Aurora, CO USA | 06/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been an RTF fan for more than 30 years. I first heard them when I was in a rock band in high school-I was about 17 at the time; other band members more music savvy than I was turned me on to them, and I remain an admirer of their music to this day. RTF really is/was a jazz rock fusion supergroup. Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, Al DiMeola, and Lenny White are each terrific musicians in their own right, and the years that have passed since the definitive RTF lineup broke up in 1976 have borne that out. Each member has produced excellent work in a variety of forms (Clarke, for example, has carved a niche for himself doing movie and tv scores in addition to his solo albums).



"Where Have I Known You Before" in particular has always been a favorite of mine, with signature tunes such as "Vulcan Worlds" (showcasing Clarke's fascination with the original Star Trek series), and the long musical trip known as "Song to the Pharaoh Kings". The album is indeed a classic, but the recording quality is less than stellar, with the sound being compressed and narrow. Corea's keyboards, his Fender Rhodes in particular, sound brassy, with quite a bit of the lower frequencies missing. I have always thought that "Romantic Warrior" (recorded for Columbia rather than Polydor) is by far the best work this RTF lineup produced in terms of recording quality.



Just this last Tuesday night I had the pleasure of seeing the classic RTF lineup back together again on their present reunion tour at the Paramount Theater in downtown Denver, Colorado. The band played both of the aforementioned songs in addition to others from "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior". Chick had some sound issues regarding his keyboards early on, but once this problem was rectified the band proceeded to blow the roof off the house. Everyone got the chance to do extended solos, which are a hallmark of RTF's music to begin with. It was an incredible concert-and the only time I have gotten to see this lineup live(I did get to see the final RTF lineup that recorded "Musicmagic" back in 1978). It was well worth the wait. One can only hope a concert DVD is created from this tour; RTF's fans will snap them up to be sure..."