Return to Forever: Returns - Live at Montreux 2008
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DVD details
Actor: Al Di Meola, Chick Corea, Lenny White, Stanley ClarkeBrand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 149 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-05-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Eagle Rock Ent
DVD Reviews of Return to Forever: Returns - Live at Montreux 2008
DVD Review: Essential
Summary: 5 Stars
My perspective on this is that I grew up listening to RTF and the rest of the fusion crowd. I had an older brother that got me into it when I was in junior high and not a friend in sight could tolerate what I was listening to. "Fusion" wasn't a bad word back then. Now, some 3 decades later, after getting disillusioned with how so many of the fusion masters got lured into crappy disco-flavoured stuff or the accessible pop-jazz fusion that became, ugh, smooth jazz, and then rediscovering the new fusion masters again - like Tribal Tech, Greg Howe, Uncle Moe's Space Ranch - and coming around to the joys of DVD music concerts on large flatscreens with 5.1 sound - I then wanted to relive those old junior and high school years.
But alas, I've been quite disappointed by what's available on DVD now, of the stuff I liked back then. They weren't making high def 5.1 recordings in the 70s, folks. So no time capsules you can open to transport you back there. I know others have had similar experiences to mine - you see people grousing about the Mahavishnu DVD that was recorded in that era, but wasn't the right band configuration, or was just audio and not video recording. Or you get something recorded when the fusion master is no longer that amazing star you thought they were (a la recent Billy Cobham or Jean-Luc Ponty fare). The new DVDs are okay, but it wasn't what you were trying to recapture. And hey, it's not like the musicians were stuck in a time capsule - they've grown and changed as artists. They don't want to rehash the same old stuff over and over again just because there's a new medium to record in.
But this. This is awesome! Holy cow! My face hurt after watching it the first time - I was grinning like a fool the whole way through. It really did take me back to those formative years. The playlist is fantastic. Romantic Warrior was my favourite of this line-up's 3 albums and they did it justice. The guys have all matured, of course, done their own thing for years. But you can see that they are just lovin' going back to this stuff. And it's like they've played together for years. In the scheme of things, this configuration only recorded three times and in about as many years. Yet they made such an impact on the fusion scene.
This date could have been just a ho-hum, we've go some old fans that will like that we're back together - and we'll pocket some more money. But just look at them (if you buy this, that is)! They're playing for each other, for the sheer joy of it. When have you ever seen a drum kit set up so that it is facing one of the other players (Chick, in this case), and not the audience. Heck, they almost never take their eyes off of each other. Al, who certainly doesn't object to audience adoration - just check out his very good Speak a Volcano DVD - almost doesn't seem to take in that the audience is there, he's so focused on the interaction with Lenny, Stanley, and Chick.
I think it must be something about Chick, that these efforts come across as so representative of why you liked the original performances. I followed the Elektric Band for a few albums after having seen them perform live shortly after they first formed. They started the decline into GRP cross-over mediocrity and I gave up on them after a while. But the 2004 Montreux Elektric Band DVD performance with the original band members is also - like this RTF one - absolutely top notch. Chick has also done the Rendezvous in New York DVD series - bringing various other bandmates together - and the couple of those I've got are also uniformly excellent.
So if you are looking to relive some old memories, revisit your early influences - this will do it. Clear out anyone in the family that will not be able to appreciate it, crank it up, and immerse yourself. If you're unfamiliar with RTF, or from a younger generation, this may be one of the finest examples of 70s fusion you will be able to lay your hands on in modern video and sound quality. So it's a timepiece, a classic. A marker in the history of music. Yet, other than Chick's glorious Rhodes (where have they been all these years), none of this sounds the least bit dated. It's as entrancing today as it was in those vinyl days. It will have your face hurting from grinning so hard! Guaranteed.
Description of Return to Forever: Returns - Live at Montreux 2008
LIVE AT MONTREUX 2008 - DVD MovieRock Music CDs
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