Romantic Warrior
Encyclopedia
Romantic Warrior is the sixth studio album of fusion
band Return to Forever
.
Romantic Warrior is the band's best selling record reaching eventual sales of 500,000 copies. It was the group's first album made for Columbia Records
, which may have had a positive effect on sales. This is also the first jazz-rock album by Return to Forever that was not recorded at New York
's Record Plant Studios
(instead it was recorded entirely at Caribou Ranch
), as well as the first to be credited solely to Return to Forever, removing the "featuring Chick Corea" moniker. The album is more avant-garde and less funky than the band's previous album, No Mystery
.
The medieval theme of the album was perhaps inspired by similar themes being used by some leading progressive rock
bands of the time. The album is famous for its technically demanding playing. Fast, unison lines can be heard on many tracks.
Chick Corea contributed the longest compositions and the other members each composed one piece. The first track, Corea's "Medieval Overture", with its distinctive melodic motifs, sets the mood for the rest of the album. Lenny White
's "Sorceress" starts with a funky riff and is distinguished by Corea's synthesizers. The title track is fully acoustic. It has a long intro, which is followed by a short theme consisting of one riff. Each group member (excluding White) plays a long solo. In the end, an extended outro follows, during which fast unison patterns are heard. Al Di Meola
's and Stanley Clarke
's songs on side two are notable for their humorous qualities. Al Di Meola's song, "Majestic Dance", relies on rock riffs and distorted lead guitar sound, but features also fast harpsichord-like synth figures. Clarke's "The Magician" is a very complex composition, featuring playful melodies, and again, rapid unison lines. The last track of the album is Corea's "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant", which is the longest song of the album. It has a more conventional melody as a main theme, but otherwise it follows the style of previous tracks. Notable is the intense keyboard solo showcasing Corea.
After this album Corea decided that the group's time had come to an end and he continued with another wholly new Return to Forever line-up with Clarke.
Corea dedicated the album to the founder of the Church of Scientology
, L. Ron Hubbard
.
with
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
.
Romantic Warrior is the band's best selling record reaching eventual sales of 500,000 copies. It was the group's first album made for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, which may have had a positive effect on sales. This is also the first jazz-rock album by Return to Forever that was not recorded at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Record Plant Studios
Record Plant Studios
The Record Plant was a series of three famous recording studios which were founded by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone, beginning in New York City in 1968. The next year, Kellgren and Stone opened a second studio in Los Angeles. In 1972, the company expanded again with a third location in Sausalito,...
(instead it was recorded entirely at Caribou Ranch
Caribou Ranch
Caribou Ranch was a recording studio built by producer James William Guercio in 1972 in a converted barn on ranch property in the Rocky Mountains near Nederland, Colorado, on the road that leads to the ghost town of Caribou...
), as well as the first to be credited solely to Return to Forever, removing the "featuring Chick Corea" moniker. The album is more avant-garde and less funky than the band's previous album, No Mystery
No Mystery
No Mystery is the fifth studio album by influential jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever.Return to Forever's fifth album is their most varied. While the production is similar to the album's predecessor, Where Have I Known You Before, the sheer variety of compositions gives this record a...
.
The medieval theme of the album was perhaps inspired by similar themes being used by some leading progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
bands of the time. The album is famous for its technically demanding playing. Fast, unison lines can be heard on many tracks.
Chick Corea contributed the longest compositions and the other members each composed one piece. The first track, Corea's "Medieval Overture", with its distinctive melodic motifs, sets the mood for the rest of the album. Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
's "Sorceress" starts with a funky riff and is distinguished by Corea's synthesizers. The title track is fully acoustic. It has a long intro, which is followed by a short theme consisting of one riff. Each group member (excluding White) plays a long solo. In the end, an extended outro follows, during which fast unison patterns are heard. Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
's and Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
's songs on side two are notable for their humorous qualities. Al Di Meola's song, "Majestic Dance", relies on rock riffs and distorted lead guitar sound, but features also fast harpsichord-like synth figures. Clarke's "The Magician" is a very complex composition, featuring playful melodies, and again, rapid unison lines. The last track of the album is Corea's "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant", which is the longest song of the album. It has a more conventional melody as a main theme, but otherwise it follows the style of previous tracks. Notable is the intense keyboard solo showcasing Corea.
After this album Corea decided that the group's time had come to an end and he continued with another wholly new Return to Forever line-up with Clarke.
Corea dedicated the album to the founder of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
.
Track listing
- "Medieval Overture" (Corea) – 5:14
- "Sorceress" (White) – 7:34
- "The Romantic Warrior" (Corea) – 10:52
- "Majestic Dance" (Di Meola) – 5:01
- "The Magician" (Clarke) – 5:29
- "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" (Part I & Part II) (Corea) – 11:26
Personnel
- Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
– KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Stanley ClarkeStanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
– Electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Acoustic bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Lenny WhiteLenny WhiteLeonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
– DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Al Di MeolaAl Di MeolaAl Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
– Electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, Acoustic guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
with
- Dennis MacKay – Engineer & Remixing
- Wilson McLeanWilson McLeanWilson McLean is a Scottish illustrator and artist. He has illustrated primarily in the field of advertising, but has also provided cover art for music albums, sports magazines , novels , and other commercial endeavours.His art, often in the surreal vein, has won him several awards, including...
– Cover art