I came across this clip on Youtube.com of RTF at their prime with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Lenny White. Truly awsome players plus Chick showing how to really work a synthesizer.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sBNN92bKuPE&search=%22Return%20To%20Forever%22

It's hard to make bass player jokes after watching Stanley play like he does. Whew !!!! I wouldn't want to have to play his part with my left hand.

Nigel, I was lucky enough (although a little impaired at the time) to be at the last Return To Forever performance. It was here in Lexington, Kentucky at the old Memorial Coleseum on the UK campus (University of Kentucky, Craig-UK) about 1975. Ramsey Lewis was the warm up act, which was sad, because he was trying to use synths and was plagued by feedback, misteps when trying to access pedals...pretty terrible. I'm glad he is finally back to recording what he does best.

Stanley and his Alembic were awsome. The early ones had some sort of onboard AC and wouldn't stay up more than 2 hours on a 9v. battery. The best part of the show was the switch to a total acoustic second set. Participation in indulging in a certain herb was rampant, so the entire croud just went into a sort of delicious coma.


I left early to go to my after hours job, and some of the techs and roadies showed up there.

The next time I saw Chick was in early 1990's at the Singletary Center for the Arts at the University of Kentucky (see, rednecks really DON'T control everything at UK, Craig)...totally acoustic...again blew my socks off.

I was lucky to have been there...


Good taste, as always, Nigel.

Russ

PS. Craig-UK, you absolutely must know, I'm just poking fun! People from Kentucky get ridden pretty hard, including serious slams from OTHER Kentuckians...usually, pretty funny stuff!

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 07-24-2006).]

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 07-24-2006).]