Search - Return to Forever :: Light as a Feather

Free Floating Feather

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 11/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Got to agree with everyone here that this is a very very special album. It's hard to believe also this music was made by a quartet featuring such musical heavyweights as Stanley Clarke,Airto and Flora Purim. One of the things that makes this album so wonderful is,that while their are more than one tune here that could be singled out as especially excellent this is an album that is sort of a hidden suite;each song flows into the other with musical ideas extending strongly into the other. Joe Farrell is particularly energetic throughout,building carefully in romantic intensity along with the rest of the music. And romantically energetic is exactly the word I'd use to describe this album: between the lovely and picturesque Brazillian style poetry sung by Flora on "You're My Everything" and the majesty of "500 Miles High" this is an incredible album where the parts are important but again serve to add to the whole. Stanley Clarke is not as noticable on this edition of Return To Forever because he's primarily vamping on acoustic bass here and doesn't take all that many significant solo spots on this album. That is sort of the point;much as with Return to Forever this album is all about collective improvisation in the context of a breezy style of electric Brazillian fusion and here the band do that even more so than before. It's a little sad that this particular version of Return To Forever didn't produce anymore music in the studio. A year after this came out the band changed hands and released Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy,beginning a string of albums that had a completely different and often harsher sound than what was to be found here. Sure change can be a very good thing but sometimes what you started out with just doesn't go much further than the kickoff before it can really get going to it's peak. And that in a word is what kind of happened here. The bands rather abrupt change in direction,while I like both versions of RTF,took just a bit of focus of the dreamy and romantic flavors featured on albums like this and went more for the sound of different virtuoso's soloing in,over and around eachother. Great album and paints a very compelling musical picture."

Light as a Feather by Chick Corea

Joseph Mattern | Omro, WI | 12/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Chick Corea's best. It's got it all. The flute and tenor work by Joe Farrell is exceptional - will live forever. That man died too young."

Beautiful, ethereal, perfect....

Grigory's Girl | NYC | 01/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of my favorite sounds ever is the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and here Chick Corea plays it like no one else. I don't have much by Corea (in fact, I have only this album, an acoustic album he did in the 80's called Three Quartets, and he played on Chuck Mangione's Tarantella, another 80's album), but this album is so ethereal and beautiful. The piano solos are absolutely lovely, especially the extended one on the title track, which is one of the most beautiful, precise piano I've ever heard. Some have disliked Flora Purim's vocals, but I find them perfect for the material. Some say she sings a little flat, but I found her enchanting. It reminds me a little of Nico's vocals on the first Velvet's album. Flora sings better than Nico, but Nico, despite her limited vocal range, still managed to make her vocals memorable, as does Flora. I should really get some more of Corea's material."