The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981

The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981
Live album by Weather Report
Released	November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)
Recorded	June 1, 1978 June 23 and 28, 1978 October 1978 November 1978 January 1980 June 24, 1980 November 14, 1980 June 1, 1980 June 1981
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	Total: 247:35 Disc one: 61:16 Disc two: 60:45 Disc three: 63:02 Disc four: 62:32
Label	Columbia Sony Legacy
Producer	Peter Erskine
Weather Report chronology
Forecast: Tomorrow (2006) The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981 (2015)

The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981 is a four-CD live recording of Weather Report on Columbia, Sony, released on November 20, 2015. Discs one and three are quintet recordings from 1980 to 1981, while discs two and four are quartet recordings from 1978. Most of the music was recorded on analog tape by the band's then drummer (and producer of this live album) Peter Erskine and front of house mixing engineer Brian Risner. In the liner notes, Erskine provides insight into Weather Report's live performances and life on tour via a song by song discussion.

Track listing

The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981 track listing

Disc one
Track title	Composer	Track length	Date recorded	Lineup	Venue
1) "8:30"	Joe Zawinul	2:19	June, 1980	Joe Zawinul, Jaco Pastorius	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
2) "Sightseeing"	Wayne Shorter	7:34	June, 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
3) "Brown Street"	Shorter, Zawinul	11:17	1 June 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
4) "The Orphan"	Zawinul	1:51	unknown	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	unknown
5) "Forlorn"	Zawinul	4:11	June, 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
6) "Three Views of a Secret"	Jaco Pastorius	7:33	24 June 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan
7) "Badia / Boogie Woogie Waltz"	Zawinul	10:58	14 November 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
8) "Wayne Solo"	Shorter	7:34	June, 1981[1] (1 July[2][3])	Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul	Eastman Theatre, Rochester, New York, USA
9) "Jaco Solo (Osaka 1980)"	Pastorius	7:59	1 June 1980	Jaco Pastorius	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
Disc two
Track title	Composer	Track length	Date recorded	Lineup	Venue
1) "Joe and Wayne Duet"	Duke Ellington	8:40	28 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter	Tokyo, Japan
2) "Birdland"	Zawinul	6:18	28 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Tokyo, Japan
3) "Peter's Solo ("Drum Solo")"	Peter Erskine	4:43	November, 1978	Peter Erskine	either Long Beach, Santa Monica, Berkeley or Phoenix (24, 25, 26, 28 November[3])
4) "A Remark You Made"	Zawinul	7:34	28 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Tokyo, Japan
5) "Continuum / River People"	Pastorius	12:22	1978 (10 November[2][3])	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA, USA
6) "Gibraltar"	Zawinul	21:08	23 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
Disc three
Track title	Composer	Track length	Date recorded	Lineup	Venue
1) "Fast City"	Zawinul	8:38	June/July 1980[3]	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Japan[4][a]
2) "Madagascar"	Zawinul	17:44	14 November 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
3) "Night Passage"	Zawinul	10:07	14 November 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
4) "Dream Clock"	Zawinul	9:37	14 November 1980	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
5) "Rockin' in Rhythm"	Ellington, Harry Carney, Irving Mills	4:21	14 November 1980[4]	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Robert Thomas Jr.	Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK[4]
6) "Port of Entry"	Shorter	12:35	January 1980[4] (17, 18, 19 or 20th)[3]	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine[4]	[b]
Disc four
Track title	Composer	Track length	Date recorded	Lineup	Venue
1) "Elegant People"	Shorter	9:18	23 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
2) "Scarlet Woman"	Zawinul, Shorter, Alphonso Johnson	11:53	23 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
3) "Black Market"	Zawinul	13:14	28 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4) "Jaco Solo"	Pastorius	8:19	23 June 1978	Jaco Pastorius	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
5) "Teen Town"	Pastorius	8:59	1978 (29 October[2][3])	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Reading, PA, USA (Astor Theater[2][3])
6) "Peter's Drum Solo"	Erskine	3:59	23 June 1978	Peter Erskine	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
7) "Directions"	Zawinul	6:50	23 June 1978	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine	Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan

1. on Disc Three the information in the liner notes are different from the cover's Date/Location/Lineup credits, but the recordings make it clear that the liner notes are correct
2. the possible venues by date: January 17: Premier Theater, Norfolk, VA. January 18: Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ. January 19: Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh January 20: Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Pa.[3]

Personnel

• Joe Zawinul – keyboards; ARP Quadra synthesizer bass (Disc 1 / tracks 1, 3); acoustic piano (Disc 2 / track 1); "Chicken Neck" (Disc 1 / track 8)
• Wayne Shorter – saxophones
• Jaco Pastorius – fretless bass; drums (Disc 1 / track 1)
• Peter Erskine – drums, timpani (Disc 2 / track 3)
• Robert Thomas Jr. – hand drums (Discs 1 and 3)

Technical

• Peter Erskine – producer
• Tony Zawinul – executive producer
• Brian Risner – live engineer / editing
• Rich Breen – mastering
• Jim Lane – product direction
• Tara Master – project direction
• Jeff Gilligan – art direction, design
• Shigeru Uchiyama – cover photo

Chart performance

Chart performance for The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981

Chart (2015)	Peak position
US Jazz Albums (Billboard)[5]	7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[6]	50

References

1. as on album cover
2. "Weather Report Tourography". Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
3. "COME ON COME OVER! With your help I will... - The Jaco Pastorius Gig List". Retrieved 30 October 2017.
4. as in the liner notes
5. "Jazz Chart: The week of December 12, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
6. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: The week of December 12, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2021.

External links

• Weather Report - The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981 (2015) album releases & credits at Discogs