This two-CD set is a bit of a mixed bag. It serves as a retrospective of the first two versions of
Chick Corea's Return to Forever, with three selections from
Light as a Feather (featuring saxophonist
Joe Farrell and singer
Flora Purim), three from Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (which has guitarist
Bill Connors), five selections from Where Have I Known You Before and four taken from
No Mystery; the latter two dates match keyboardist
Corea with guitarist
Al DiMeola, electric bassist
Stanley Clarke and drummer
Lenny White. However, the real reason for serious collectors to acquire this double-CD set is for the four previously unreleased selections (totaling 39 minutes), including three taken from 1973 and matching
Corea and
Clarke with guitarist
Connors, drummer
Steve Gadd and percussionist
Mingo Lewis (highlighted by a 14-minute rendition of "Spain"). Whether
RTF fans will want to duplicate the other performances to get these four is a bit debatable, making one wish that the "new" material had been released separately. ~ Scott Yanow