Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy

Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy is the third studio album by American jazz fusion band Return to Forever. It was released in October 1973 by Polydor. Flora Purim, Joe Farrell, and Airto Moreira were replaced by drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors.

Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Studio album by
Return to Forever
ReleasedOctober 1973
RecordedAugust 1973
StudioRecord Plant Studios, New York City
GenreJazz fusion
Length42:14
LabelPolydor
ProducerChick Corea
Return to Forever chronology
Light as a Feather
(1973)		 Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
(1973)		 Where Have I Known You Before
(1974)
Alternative cover
Non-US version of cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]
CreemB[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[4]

Music

Drawing on rock and funk, the album emphasized electric instruments more than Return to Forever's previous albums. Clarke contributed one song for the album while Corea wrote the rest of the material.[1] Corea relied mostly on electric piano and organ.[5]

Critical reception

Daniel Gioffre for Allmusic wrote, "it is the quality of the compositions that marks Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy as an indispensable disc of '70s fusion".[1]

Robert Christgau wrote of Return to Forever in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981):

"The futuristic, Mahavishnu-style jazz-rock gets hot enough at times to make you believe in spirit energy. But Corea's themes lack the grandeur of McLaughlin's, and what good is God without grandeur? Part of the problem is technical—when you articulate fast runs cleanly on an electric piano you sound precious almost automatically. Too often, though, I suspect that's what Corea wants. Better he should try for the cosmic joke—like when "Captain Senor Mouse" breaks into "La Cucaracha."[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chick Corea except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy"3:31
2."After the Cosmic Rain" (Stanley Clarke)8:25
3."Captain Señor Mouse"9:01
Side two
No.TitleLength
4."Theme to the Mothership"8:49
5."Space Circus, parts 1-2"5:42
6."The Game Maker"6:46
Total length:42:14

Personnel

Chart performance
YearChartPosition
1973 Billboard 200 124 [6]
1974 Billboard Jazz Albums 7 [6]
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References
  1. Gioffre, Daniel. "Return to Forever - Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973) album review | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Christgau, Robert (June 1974). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  4. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1 ed.). U.S.: Rolling Stone. p. 50. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. Yurochko, Bob (1993). A Short History of Jazz. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 191. ISBN 9780830415953. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  6. "Return to Forever - Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973) | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
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