Sportin' Life

Sportin' Life Artist: Weather Report
Label: Sony
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 074643990820
EAN: 0074643990820
ASIN: B000002635


Release Date: 1989-08-02

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Listmania:

  1. Weather Report-Clear Skies With A Chance Of A Groove

Tracks:

  1. Corner Pocket
  2. Indiscretions
  3. Hot Cargo
  4. Confians
  5. Pearl On The Half-Shell
  6. What's Going On
  7. Face On The Barroom Floor
  8. Ice-Pick Willy

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Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Worth it? .......2006-10-04

If you come to this album wanting the same, wonderfully eccentric, invention of early WR (and the great Jaco in particular) you will probably be disappointed. If you want some pretty cool music, played with a funky, laid back groove, I don't think you can go far wrong. There are 4 or 5 WR albums I would grab first from the burning house, but I'm very fond of Sportin Life. Yes, Shorter generally takes the 'less is more' approach to extremes, but his solo on the beautiful Confians is gorgeous. Loved Marvin, love the fact that WR let 'What's going on' breath. I often wonder what the point of cover versions is, but they show a new angle. Corner Pocket is a frisky opener, Indescretions is a creeper which has grown on me over the years, Hot Cargo not one of my favourites , Pearl is a great groove and tune, Face on the Bathroom Floor is an interesting Shorter excercise, and Ice Pick Willy a joyous larf. Enough? Enough! Give it a chance.

5 out of 5 stars Weather Report Hit It In The Corner Pocket!.......2005-04-13

The Zawinul Shorter fusion carnival is back in town and is running on high octane on this 1985 date,ending up as the next to last Weather Report album ever made.From the synclaviar bursts opening the festive groove opener of 'Corner Pocket' you already know your getting a great set of tunes.The great part is the "Hot Cargo","Face The Bareoom Floor" and "Ice Pick Willey" all have the same feel and vibrance."Confians" does too only it's one of only two Weather Report songs with vocals on it,heard here in Spanish I believe.
The song that stands out to me is "What's Going On"-Marvin Gaye's deserved classic that's oft covered by now.But Weather Report's music actually addresses the issues that Marvin's lyircs spoke about,only in the context of this instrumental cover expressing the bands musical virtues of an all world electronic fusion sound.Wayne Shorter's expressive solo backed by the ominous synth work of Zawinul conveys the need for beauty in the tortured,urban nightmare the original song depicts-it's perhapes the best version of the song.So if it can be found I highly recommend 'Sportin' Life' to any Weather Report fan-the songs are full of life and excitment and the pace quickens too often to mention.

2 out of 5 stars Too Laid Back.......2002-03-20

There are some good funky tunes here, with excellent rhythmic underpinnings, but overall everything is fairly forgettable. Everything seems to lack intensity and drive, and the music often loses its sense of direction. Standout tracks include Corner Pocket, Pearl on the Half-Shell, and Ice-Pick Willy, but even these tunes lack a certain drive. Where's Wayne Shorter's wailing saxophone?

The group sorely misses Jaco Pastorius on this album. Victor Bailey is a formidable player, but lacks the imagination that Jaco brought to the group(at least he did when this was recorded).

Not a complete waste, but not worth your money unless you are a real Weather Report/Zwainul/Shorter fan.

3 out of 5 stars An interesting collection of world music and jazz.......2002-02-27

This album is quite a departure for Weather Report. It is a foray into "World Music" (mostly African influenced) and vocals. I think it is great when groups push the extremes and experiment into musical styles.

This adventure is fairly successful. Some of the tracks are excellent. Hot Cargo and Ice-Pick Willy are great. Confians is more like a progressive rock song, than a jazz number. I don't like the way the album opens with Corner Pocket.

The biggest problem is that this album is a mixture of "World Music" and jazz. While the World Music tracks are what's good, the traditional jazz tracks are not up to par. The jazz tracks have none of that spark that Weather Report usually has and almost border on being boring. It is as if the jazz tracks were added in just for filler or to placate the old Weather Report fans.

This album would have been better if they had kept the World Music theme going throughout. This album isn't bad, it just doesn't keep a high level throughout. It almost rates 4 stars, except for a few slow spots.

3 out of 5 stars Only for those who have to have every WR album..........2001-12-30

This album starts out promisingly via Zawinul's CORNER POCKET, with its trademark third-world theme and a quartet of vocalists including Bobby McFerrin. However, from there the results do not compare favorably with WR's best work. INDISCRETIONS offers a mid-slow groove and little else of interest, and while Cinelu's CONFIANS is a fine feature for its composer, it lacks any distinction as a Weather Report vehicle. Outside of some fine work behind Cinelu on CONFIANS and on his own FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR, Shorter's contributions are negligible, living down to the cliche that he is present in name only during this era, and McFerrin's appearance is hardly a vocal showcase. Marvin Gaye's WHAT'S GOING ON is an intriguing choice, yet Zawinul and Shorter rarely take command of the melody, leaving somewhat of a sterile emotive atmosphere that negates its other interpretive benefits. Pass on this one unless you're a completist.

Music CD:

  1. Hecho a Mano ~ Chano Dominguez
  2. After the Rain ~ John McLaughlin, Elvin Jones, Joey DeFrancesca
  3. Live at the Village Vanguard ~ Junko Onishi Trio
  4. Perception ~ Connie Crothers
  5. Los Ritmos Calientes ~ Cal Tjader
  6. The Complete Savoy Sessions ~ Wilbur Harden, John Coltrane
  7. Blue Tres ~ Sonido Isle%C3%B1o
  8. On Fire ~ Michel Camilo
  9. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues ~ Jack Teagarden
  10. The Best of Horace Silver, Vol. 1 ~ Horace Silver

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