If Joe Zawinul was out to prove that he didn't need Weather Report anymore, he succeeded spectacularly in this virtual one-man show.
Zawinul recorded many of the vocals (assisted now and then by Bobby McFerrin and a vocal trio) and all of the synthesizer and rhythm machine tracks himself in his Pasadena home studio, yet the results are anything but mechanical.
Zawinul in fact achieves a rare thing: He manages to get his stacks of electronics to swing like mad in these pan-global grooves that pick up where WR was about to leave off.
"Waiting for the Rain" generates a ribbon of tension and anticipation, while "Zeebop" is a noisy rush of pure adrenaline.
And "Carnivalito" is a total gas, a percolating, outrageously joyous evocation of a carnival that would put the world's best percussion players out of business if Zawinul's swinging talent could be bottled and sold.
This is an important, overlooked album because it proves that electronic instruments can reach your emotions and shake your body when played by someone who has bothered to learn how to master them.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The HarvestJoe Zawinul | Joe Zawinul | Play | 06:02 | 13 MB | 42 MB |
| 2 | Waiting for the RainJoe Zawinul | Joe Zawinul | Play | 07:35 | 17 MB | 52 MB |
| 3 | ZeebopJoe Zawinul | Joe Zawinul | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 38 MB |
| 4 | The Great EmpireJoe Zawinul | Joe Zawinul | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | PeaceJoe Zawinul | Joe Zawinul | Play | 06:48 | 15 MB | 36 MB |
| 29 mins | 66 MB | |||||
| 29 mins | 189 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Anderson | Ensemble, Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | Bob Belden | Reissue Producer |
| 3 | Dee Dee Bellson | Ensemble, Voices |
| 4 | Steven Berkowitz | A&R |
| 5 | Dr. George Butler | Executive Producer |
| 6 | Sam Emerson | Photography |
| 7 | Paul Erickson | Engineer |
| 8 | Seth Foster | Mastering |
| 9 | Howard Fritzson | Art Direction |
| 10 | David Gahr | Photography |
| 11 | Peter Kelsey | Engineer |
| 12 | Peter R. Kelsey | Engineer |
| 13 | Randall Martin | Design |
| 14 | Bobby McFerrin | Guest Artist, Improvisation, Vocals |
| 15 | Bill Milkowski | Liner Notes |
| 16 | Richie Powell | Art Direction |
| 17 | Seth Rothstein | Project Director |
| 18 | Darren Salmieri | A&R |
| 19 | Norman Seeff | Photography |
| 20 | Alfie Silas | Voices |
| 21 | Abe Vélez | Packaging Manager |
| 22 | Mark Wilder | Mastering |
| 23 | Joe Zawinul | Composer, Cover Art Concept, Multi Instruments, Primary Artist, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |