WEATHER REPORT — Sportin' Life (review)

WEATHER REPORT — Sportin' Life album cover Album · 1985 · Post-Fusion Contemporary Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
Sean Trane
Exactly why the WR duo of Shorter Zawinul tried another album so late in the 780’s is a bit beyond me. Contractual reasons, sheer stubbornness, lack of hindsight? The only thing this album achieved is to dismantle a bit more WR’s legend. With an average stylised artwork, the group has a quartet vocal section (including McFerrin) that is supposed to illuminate the album, but is not used wisely and is present on four of the 8 tracks, plus more of the singers on the other tracks.

This album is an atrocious blend of funk and Caribbean music, mixed with some of the decade’s bad ideas in terms of musical habits, although they avoid the worst like those ugly drum machines. But some tracks approach the muzak-level, and when WR dares to have a sung track (Confians), it sounds like a bad joke! And unfortunately, it isn’t the only bad one as Pearl On The Half Shelf is atrocious with those synthesized percussions, and if it wasn’t for the closing Barroom Floor (the only track not affected by this decade’s flaws), the album would be simply atrocious.

Although this album does remain a WR album, (it probably isn’t as bad as I tend to describe it), but it is disgraceful compared with the rest of their discography, with the time/era context most likely the prime responsible for such a poor effort. As far as I know, this is their last WR album. Best avoided, really!!
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