The fourth edition of
Return to Forever was a band that emphasized the screaming wah-wah guitar of
Al Di Meola and every electric keyboard
Chick Corea could get his hands on to play furiously fast runs. Where the initial, airy
Flora Purim/
Airto/
Joe Farrell edition gave way to the second undocumented group featuring
Earl Klugh, and the third band with electric guitarist
Bill Connors, this
RTF was resplendently and unapologetically indulgent, ripping through riffs and charted, rehearsed melodies, and polyrhythms like a circular saw through a thin tree branch. Their immediacy and visceral power is why rock audiences were drawn to them, impressed by their speed-demon vagaries as much as their concern for musicality. Thank goodness
No Mystery had more than its share of toned-down acoustic moments, as well as the powerhouse fighter jet stance that most of their fans craved. It's not nearly as balanced as the previous album
Where Have I Known You Before?, but expounds on those themes -- inspired by
Neville not Harry Potter -- in a more progressive though louder manner. The bold, dancing, and funky "Dayride" in a higher octave and vocal-type keyboard range perfectly identifies the group sound in a scant three-plus minutes. The two-part, 14-minute "Celebration Suite" gives you a larger view of the classical
Bartok/
Chopin influence of
Corea, and the dramatic medieval or regal stance they alchemized with so many keyboard sounds. It's pseudo-funky, Spanish in a 6/8 rhythm, wailing with
Di Meola leaping forth in true guitar hero form, with some group-oriented perfunctory subtleties and complex lines. The title track is the jewel, an acoustic romp through fields of flowers with
Lenny White on marimba buoyed by a beautiful, lilting, memorable melody and shifting loud and soft dynamics -- a classic in the repertoire and a fan favorite. The tromping beat of "Jungle Waterfall" supersedes
Stanley Clarke's lithe lines, while noise keyboards dominate the silly "Sofistifunk."
Corea's acoustic piano is featured on the chordal, grandiose solo "Excerpt from the First Movement of Heavy Metal," and in duet with
Clarke. the improvised "Interplay" shows a more spontaneous rather than rehearsed side of these brilliant musicians. Over time,
No Mystery yields mixed results, where initially they were viscerally driven and ultimately impressive. The next phase of the group, as indicated by this recording, would take them into even more technologically dominated music. ~ Michael G. Nastos