I Sing the Body Electric (album)
I Sing the Body Electric is the second studio album released by the American jazz fusion band Weather Report in 1972.
| I Sing the Body Electric | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 26, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | November 1971 and January 13th, 1972 | |||
| Venue | Shibuya Kokaido Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |||
| Studio | Columbia Recording Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 46:28 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Robert Devere | |||
| Weather Report chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[2] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated)[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [5] |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.5/5[4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [6] |
Recording
The album includes two new members of the band: percussionist Dom Um Romão and drummer Eric Gravatt. The last three tracks were recorded live in concert in Tokyo, Japan on January 13, 1972. These tracks have been edited for this album and can be heard in their entirety on Weather Report's 1972 import album Live in Tokyo.
Title
The album takes its name from an 1855 poem by Walt Whitman and a 1969 short story by Ray Bradbury.
Critical reception
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Significantly less Milesian than their debut, which is impressive but not necessarily good—the difference is that this is neater, more antiseptic, its bottom less dirty and its top less sexy. I find myself interested but never engaged, and I'm sure one piece is a flop—'Crystal', described by the annotator as 'about' time. Sing the body electric and I'm with you. Sing the body short-circuited and you'd better turn me on."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unknown Soldier" | Josef Zawinul | 8:00 |
| 2. | "The Moors" | Wayne Shorter | 4:45 |
| 3. | "Crystal" | Miroslav Vitouš | 7:25 |
| 4. | "Second Sunday in August" | Zawinul | 4:13 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Medley: Vertical Invader / T.H. / Dr. Honoris Causa" | Zawinul, Vitouš | 10:40 |
| 6. | "Surucucú" | Shorter | 7:42 |
| 7. | "Directions" | Zawinul | 4:36 |
| Total length: | 46:28 | ||
Personnel
- Weather Report
- Josef Zawinul - electric & acoustic pianos, synthesizers (ARP 2600)
- Wayne Shorter - saxophones
- Miroslav Vitouš - bass
- Eric Gravatt - drums
- Dom Um Romão - percussions
- Special Guests
On "Unknown Soldier":
- Andrew White - cor anglais
- Hubert Laws, Jr. - flute
- Wilmer Wise - D & piccolo trumpets
- Yolande Bavan - vocals
- Joshie Armstrong - vocals
- Chapman Roberts - vocals
- Roger Powell - ARP programming
On "The Moors":
- Ralph Towner - 12-string guitar
- Technical
- Wayne Tarnowski, Susumu Satoh - engineers
- Robert Devere - executive producer
- Don Meehan - mixing
- Ed Lee - cover design
- Fred Swanson, Jack Trompetter - cover artwork
References
- ^ Ginell, Richard S. "I Sing the Body Electric - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Palmer, Bob. . web.archive.org. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ Campbell, Hernan M. (10 July 2012). "Review: Weather Report - I Sing The Body Electric | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1474. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
External links
- Weather Report Annotated Discography: I Sing the Body Electric