Where Have I Known You Before
Encyclopedia
Where Have I Known You Before is the fourth album by Jazz-Rock Fusion
band Return to Forever
.
While the style of music has not changed much since the previous album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
, important changes have taken place in the band's sound and line-up. Both keyboardist Chick Corea
and bassist Stanley Clarke
have now found their own well known trademark sounds. Corea has started to use synthesizers (most notably the Moog Minimoog
and ARP Odyssey
synthesizers) and has developed his own distinctive sound and approach to them. Similarly, Clarke's bass playing now has the sound and feel which has cemented his position as one of the most world's most influential bass players. An equally important change in the band is the replacement of guitarist Bill Connors
with the then 19-year-old "boy wonder" Al Di Meola
. Connors left the band before the recording of this album to concentrate on his acoustic solo career. Di Meola's playing is not yet as adventurous and intense as it would become on later albums, but he has already been given lots of solo space to display his talent. Overall, the band have developed a clearer, more focused sound and style. This is due in part to the personnel changes, the implementation of new technology, and new playing techniques, but it is also a product of more careful recording and production in the studio.
Between the album's longer tracks are three of Corea's short piano improvisations that all bear a title that begins "Where Have I...". The first track is Stanley Clarke's "Vulcan Worlds", which features some melodic motifs that would also appear on Clarke's self titled solo album the same year. Each player except for drummer Lenny White
takes long solos. The next long track is Lenny White's composition "The Shadow of Lo", a complex piece with many changes in mood. The last track on Side A is Corea's "Beyond the Seventh Galaxy" which is clearly a sequel to his "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy", the title track from the group's previous album. Side B begins with the collective jam "Earth Juice". Most of Side B is taken up by Corea's 14-minute epic "Song to the Pharaoh Kings". The track has a long keyboard intro, after which Chick Corea is joined by the full band, and an "eastern" theme appears. During the piece each member of the band plays a long solo.
with
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
.
While the style of music has not changed much since the previous album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy is Return to Forever's third studio album.This was the group's first album with a rock influenced sound and without any vocals...
, important changes have taken place in the band's sound and line-up. Both keyboardist Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
and bassist Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
have now found their own well known trademark sounds. Corea has started to use synthesizers (most notably the Moog Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
and ARP Odyssey
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
synthesizers) and has developed his own distinctive sound and approach to them. Similarly, Clarke's bass playing now has the sound and feel which has cemented his position as one of the most world's most influential bass players. An equally important change in the band is the replacement of guitarist Bill Connors
Bill Connors
Bill Connors is a jazz musician notable for being a legato technique master, adept at both the acoustic and electric guitar, and successfully played jazz-rock, free and fusion material in the '70s and '80s. His best early solos were in the jazz-rock genre, where his use of distortion and...
with the then 19-year-old "boy wonder" Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
. Connors left the band before the recording of this album to concentrate on his acoustic solo career. Di Meola's playing is not yet as adventurous and intense as it would become on later albums, but he has already been given lots of solo space to display his talent. Overall, the band have developed a clearer, more focused sound and style. This is due in part to the personnel changes, the implementation of new technology, and new playing techniques, but it is also a product of more careful recording and production in the studio.
Between the album's longer tracks are three of Corea's short piano improvisations that all bear a title that begins "Where Have I...". The first track is Stanley Clarke's "Vulcan Worlds", which features some melodic motifs that would also appear on Clarke's self titled solo album the same year. Each player except for drummer Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
takes long solos. The next long track is Lenny White's composition "The Shadow of Lo", a complex piece with many changes in mood. The last track on Side A is Corea's "Beyond the Seventh Galaxy" which is clearly a sequel to his "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy", the title track from the group's previous album. Side B begins with the collective jam "Earth Juice". Most of Side B is taken up by Corea's 14-minute epic "Song to the Pharaoh Kings". The track has a long keyboard intro, after which Chick Corea is joined by the full band, and an "eastern" theme appears. During the piece each member of the band plays a long solo.
Track listing
- "Vulcan Worlds" (Clarke) – 7:51
- "Where Have I Loved You Before" (Corea) – 1:02
- "The Shadow of Lo" (White) – 7:32
- "Where Have I Danced with You Before" (Corea) – 1:14
- "Beyond the Seventh Galaxy" (Corea) – 3:13
- "Earth Juice" (Corea, Clarke, White, Di Meola) – 3:46
- "Where Have I Known You Before" (Corea) – 2:20
- "Song to the Pharaoh Kings" (Corea)* – 14:21
- *There is a typo on all original releases: Pharoah - corrected on the 2008 AnthologyReturn To Forever: The AnthologyReturn to Forever: The Anthology is a compilation of the "electric years" of jazz fusion band Return to Forever. The collection features newly remastered selections from Where Have I Known You Before and No Mystery, along with the entire Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy and Romantic Warrior albums...
: Pharaoh
Personnel
- Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
– Electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, Acoustic pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Yamaha organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Stanley ClarkeStanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
– Electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Yamaha organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, Bell treeBell treeA bell tree is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bowls. The bowls, placed on a vertical rod, are arranged in order of pitch . The number of bowls can vary between approximately 14 and 28...
, Chimes - Lenny WhiteLenny WhiteLeonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
– DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s & bongosBongo drumBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho... - Al Di MeolaAl Di MeolaAl Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
– Electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, Acoustic twelve-string guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
with
- Shelly Yakus – Engineer
- Tom Rabstenek – Mastering
- Herb Dreiwitz – Front cover photography