I Sing the Body Electric
Studio album with 3 live recordings
by
Weather Report
ReleasedMay 26, 1972
RecordedNovember 1971;
January 13, 1972
VenueShibuya Kokaido Hall, Tokyo, Japan
StudioColumbia Recording Studios, New York City
GenreJazz fusion
Length46:28
LabelColumbia
ProducerShoviza Productions
Weather Report chronology
Live in Tokyo
(1971) 		I Sing the Body Electric
(1972) 		Sweetnighter
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[5]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[6]

I Sing the Body Electric is the second studio album released by the American jazz fusion band Weather Report in 1972.

Recording

The album includes two new members of the band: percussionist Dom Um Romão and drummer Eric Gravatt. The last three tracks were recorded live in concert in Tokyo, Japan on January 13, 1972. These tracks have been edited for this album and can be heard in their entirety on Weather Report's 1972 import album Live in Tokyo.

Title

The album takes its name from an 1855 poem by Walt Whitman and a 1969 short story by Ray Bradbury.

Critical reception

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Significantly less Milesian than their debut, which is impressive but not necessarily good—the difference is that this is neater, more antiseptic, its bottom less dirty and its top less sexy. I find myself interested but never engaged, and I'm sure one piece is a flop—'Crystal', described by the annotator as 'about' time. Sing the body electric and I'm with you. Sing the body short-circuited and you'd better turn me on."[2]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Unknown Soldier"Josef Zawinul8:00
2."The Moors"Wayne Shorter4:45
3."Crystal"Miroslav Vitouš7:25
4."Second Sunday in August"Zawinul4:13
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Medley: Vertical Invader / T.H. / Dr. Honoris Causa"Zawinul, Vitouš10:40
6."Surucucú"Shorter7:42
7."Directions"Zawinul4:36
Total length:46:28

Personnel

Weather Report

Guest musicians

Production

References

  1. ^ Ginell, Richard S. "I Sing the Body Electric - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ Palmer, Bob. "Weather Report: I Sing The Body Electric : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  4. ^ Campbell, Hernan M. (10 July 2012). "Review: Weather Report - I Sing The Body Electric | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  5. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  6. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1474. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

External links

Weather Report
Authority control databases
Categories