Mysterious Traveller

Mysterious Traveller is the fourth studio album by the jazz ensemble Weather Report and was released in 1974. This was their final recording with founding bassist Miroslav Vitouš, who left due to creative differences. Vitouš was replaced by Alphonso Johnson. Another addition to the line-up is drummer Ishmael Wilburn. Greg Errico was the drummer for the tour between the previously released Sweetnighter and this album, but declined an invitation to be a permanent member of the band.

This article is about the Weather Report album. For the System 7 compilation album, see System 7 (band). For the anthology radio series, see The Mysterious Traveler.
Mysterious Traveller
Studio album by
Weather Report
ReleasedMarch 24, 1974
RecordedNovember 1973 - March 1974
StudioDevonshire Sound, Los Angeles
GenreJazz fusion
Length48:17
LabelColumbia
ProducerJosef Zawinul, Wayne Shorter
Weather Report chronology
Sweetnighter
(1973)		 Mysterious Traveller
(1974)		 Tale Spinnin'
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]
Sputnikmusic[3]
All About Jazz(favorable)[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[5]

The record is the band's first that predominantly uses electric bass and incorporates liberal uses of funk, R&B grooves, and rock that would later be hallmarked as the band's "signature" sound. Also, the more restricted compositional format became evident on this album, replacing the more "open improvisation" formats used on the first three albums. It was voted as the album of the year by the readers of Down Beat for 1974, garnering Weather Report's second overall win in that category, also garnering a five-star review from that publication along the way.

The album peaked at #2 in the Billboard Jazz album chart, #31 in the R&B album chart, and #46 in the Billboard 200 chart.[6]

Track listing
  1. "Nubian Sundance" (Zawinul) – 10:40
  2. "American Tango" (Vitouš, Zawinul) – 3:40
  3. "Cucumber Slumber" (Johnson, Zawinul) – 8:22
  4. "Mysterious Traveller" (Shorter) – 7:21
  5. "Blackthorn Rose" (Shorter) – 5:03
  6. "Scarlet Woman" (Johnson, Shorter, Zawinul) – 5:46
  7. "Jungle Book" (Zawinul) – 7:25

Early copies of the album do not list "Cucumber Slumber" on the back cover or inner sleeve, and list "Jungle Book" as the final track of side one rather than side two. However, most known copies of the album include the seven tracks in the order listed above.[7] One exception is the cassette release, with "Blackthorn Rose" as the second track of side one and "American Tango" as the second track of side two.[8]

The Mastersound SBM edition of Mysterious Traveller includes a previously unreleased song, "Miroslav's Tune", as a bonus track at the end of the album.

Personnel

Weather Report
Guest musicians
  • Ray Barretto - Percussion (track 3 only)
  • Meruga Booker aka Muruga Booker - Percussion (track 1 only)
  • Steve Little - Timpani (track 6 only)
  • Don Ashworth - Ocarinas and woodwinds (track 7 only)
  • Isacoff - Tabla, finger cymbals (track 7 only)
  • Edna Wright - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • Marti McCall - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • Jessica Smith - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • James Gilstrap - Vocalists (track 1 only)
  • Billie Barnum - Vocalists (track 1 only)
Technical
  • Ron Malo - sound engineer
  • Teresa Alfieri - cover design
  • Helmut K. Wimmer - cover artwork

Chart performance
Chart (1974) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[6] 46
US Jazz Albums[6] 2
US R&B Albums[6] 31
Canada RPM Top 100 Albums[9] 57
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References
  1. Yanow, Scott. "Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011. Yanow
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Campbell, Hernan M. (20 August 2012). "Review: Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  4. Jenkins, Todd S. (23 April 2002). "Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  6. "Mysterious Traveller - Weather Report | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  7. Discogs
  8. Discogs
  9. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5087b.pdf
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