Redundancy indeed. There are 3 new tracks, none of which feature Jaco. Who are they trying to appeal to with this set? Hardcore fans have practically everything on here, and people that don’t own a lot of Weather Report stuff are unlikely to lay out 60 or 70 bucks for a four disc set. This will be released and no one will buy it, and then the record company can say “We knew it. There’s no market for this stuff”.
Sounds pretty bleak. "There are 3 new tracks, none of which feature Jaco." - I'd be considered a hardcore fan, and that doesn't sound too promising. As for the record companies, they've been 'confused' forever, as far as I can see. I don't see that part as changing much, but we're used to it, right?
I can't say that i totally agree with the above statements. Granted, these songs may not have Jaco on them, but has ANYONE stopped to think that maybe there are hardcore Weather Report fans out there that have been listening to them since "I Sing the Body Electric"? I mean, Jaco IS (not was!) the man but, i think it would be healthy to think about the other musicians too. Though Jaco was a musician in his own right, Weather Report was his main outlet, and one of his most stable forms of income during those years. Still, Jaco gave Weather Report that flair that even made men go wild! LOL (just kidding!) But seriously, i understand the points made, but thats probably why they listed it as a WEATHER REPORT compilation and not THE JACO YEARS or something like that. Either way, i think Weather Report was good in its own right with Zawinul and Shorter by themselves already, so they should get their props too.
Peace and Love, to EVERYONE!