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 with 3 live recordings by | ||||
| Released | May 26, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | November 1971; January 13, 1972 | |||
| Venue | Shibuya Kokaido Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |||
| Studio | Columbia Recording Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 46:28 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Shoviza Productions | |||
| 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
editThe 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
editThe album takes its name from an 1855 poem by Walt Whitman and a 1969 short story by Ray Bradbury.
Critical reception
editReviewing 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
edit| 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
editWeather Report
- Joe Zawinul - electric & acoustic pianos, synthesizers (ARP 2600)
- Wayne Shorter - saxophones
- Miroslav Vitouš - bass
- Eric Gravatt - drums
- Dom Um Romão - percussion
Guest musicians
- Andrew White - english horn (track A1)
- Hubert Laws, Jr. - flute (track A1)
- Wilmer Wise - D & piccolo trumpets (track A1)
- Yolande Bavan - vocals (track A1)
- Joshie Armstrong - vocals (track A1)
- Chapman Roberts - vocals (track A1)
- Roger Powell - ARP programming (track A1)
- Ralph Towner - 12-string guitar (track A2)
Production
- Robert Devere - executive producer
- Wayne Tarnowski - engineer
- Susumu Satoh - engineer
- Don Meehan - mixing
- Ed Lee - cover design
- Fred Swanson - cover artwork
- Jack Trompetter - cover artwork
References
edit- ^ 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. "Weather Report: I Sing The Body Electric : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 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.