Weather Report's fourth recording finds Wayne Shorter (on soprano and tenor) taking a lesser role as Joe Zawinul begins to really dominate the group's sound. Most selections also include bassist Alphonso Johnson and drummer Ishmael Wilburn although the personnel shifts from track to track. "Nubian Sundance" adds several vocalists while "Blackthorn Rose" is a Shorter-Zawinul duet. Overall the music is pretty stimulating and sometimes adventurous; high-quality fusion from 1974. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
This article is about the Weather Report album. For the System 7 compilation album, see System 7 (band). For the anthology radio series, see The Mysterious Traveler.
Mysterious Traveller is the fourth release of Weather Report. This album marked the end of bassist Miroslav Vitous's tenure with the band. Vitous was replaced by Alphonso Johnson. Another addition to the line-up is drummer Ishmael Wilburn. Greg Errico was the drummer for the tour between the previously released Sweetnighter and this album, but declined an invitation to be a permanent member of the band.
Track listing
Nubian Sundance (Zawinul)– 10:40
American Tango (Vitous, Zawinul)– 3:40
Cucumber Slumber (Johnson, Zawinul)– 8:22
Mysterious Traveller (Shorter)– 7:21
Blackthorn Rose (Shorter)– 5:03
Scarlet Woman (Johnson, Shorter, Zawinul)– 5:46
Jungle Book (Zawinul)– 7:25
Note: The Mastersound SBM edition of Mysterious Traveller includes a previously-unreleased song, Miroslav's Tune, as a bonus track at the end of the album.
