The Anthology

This collection of songs is from the electric days (1973 - 1976) of RTF. Nothing is presented from their first two albums or final release. Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke personally selected the songs for this 2-disc anthology, two hours and twenty-nine minutes of music presented in chronological order, and it is spectacular. "Romantic Warrior" is one of my favorite fusion albums and on this collection it is presented in its entirety, as well as the entire "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy", another killer album that I haven't listened to in a long time. "Where Have I Known You Before" and "No Mystery" each have four of the best songs pulled from them.

Everything has been remixed and remastered and it sounds killer. I was worried the sound would be butchered like it has been for a lot of remastered discs. But this was done with care. The muddiness has been reduced but the lows are still punchy, and the overall volume and highs are not cranked to the point of insanity. Well done! The liner notes include a history of RTF, each band member provides some insights, and there are some cool photos. Highly recommended, and I hope they film some of the 2008 shows and release a DVD.

I have most if not all of these tracks already but will be ordering this disc soon. I have a ticket to see the band in August. I have already seen this lineup 5 times back in their heyday. This is the classic RTF lineup, at least for most people. This is the band that opened my eyes to the great world of fusion music with their superb Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy album back in the day. If you don't have any of their music this is quite a good place to start. For me (and many others) these guys were one of the seminal fusion bands of their day. Real musicians playing intelligent, well crafted and executed compositions. I realize fusion is not everyone's cup of tea but in a music world filled with simplistic loop driven 'music' I will gladly take this every time. Get this and enjoy some of the best musicians around and challenge the musical side of your brain.
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A great collection of RTF, but its missing the first incarnation of the band, making it not quite an Anthology, more like a "Best of the Later Years". Still some awesome Fusion/Jazz veering towards Rock. But skipping "Light as A Feather" (IMO their best album) makes this a tad misleading. 3 STARS but get Light as A Feather for full effect.

I don't mean to dump all over these guys since they're on tour and all that, but I was hoping someday to see a collection from the earlier, more acoustic version of this band.

If you're looking for Airto, Flora Purim, and tunes like "Spain", "La Fiesta", and "500 Miles High" you won't find any of that here. This "definitive collection" is only the later, more electric fusion stuff with Al DiMeola and Lenny White.

The earlier Return To Forever recordings are scattered on several different labels. If you're looking for that, check out Chick Corea's "Return To Forever" on ECM, Return To Forever's "Light As A Feather" on Polydor, and Airto's "Free" on CTI (which may only be available as a vinyl LP). I'd love to see a box set or live recordings of the original version of the band.

I received my CDs the day before I left for a 3 city, 4 day RTF road trip. The sound quality is amazing, the track selection and placement on the CD flows beautifully. After 700 miles in the car listening to the CDs and 4 days of 3 hour concerts, I still can't get enough!