Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Weather Report Available Now
Heavy Weather has some of the biggest, boldest sound we’ve ever heard.
It’s clearly a big speaker Demo Disc. Play this one as loud as you can. The louder you play it, the better it will sound.
The commentary below contains track-by-track advice on what to listen for when auditioning the album.
Side One
Birdland
Not an easy track to get right; there’s so much upper midrange and high frequency information to deal with. If the synthesizers and horns are too much, the effect is exciting but won’t wear well. Too much 6k is the problem on most copies, along with not enough above 10. That is a deadly combination.
A Remark You Made
Such an original composition. This is the band at their unconventional, uncommercial best.
Teen Town
Harlequin
Side Two
Rumba Mama
A Key Track for side two — the drumming and the yelling should sound really alive and powerful, almost shocking. Also, as this is a live performance, the applause is rich and tonally correct on the best pressings, bright, edgy and gritty on lesser ones.
Palladium
The heart of side two is right here.
This track has deep synthesizer bass, lots of airy percussion, with Shorter’s saxophone solidly planted in the mix, all surrounded by tons of ambience. When I listen to a track like this, I picture myself at the mixing console, trying to decide whether all the elements are in balance. That’s the ultimate test — does everything sound balanced and correct. Is everything working together? Or do some instruments or elements of the recording call attention to themselves unnaturally?
The best copies are balanced. All the elements of the recording work together, just as all the members of the band work together. With a balanced copy you find yourself enjoying the music, not listening to the sound.
It should be noted that on the best copies — the copies with the most extended top end — there will be places on this song that may sound bright. Shorter’s sax can be a bit much in places as well. But there is no alternative, no cure, because the copies with less top end cause the percussion to sound muted, and the quality of the percussion on this album is critical to both the music and the sound.
In other words, the music doesn’t work without the percussion, and the sound doesn’t work unless you can hear the percussion properly.
The Juggler
Pretty much the same story applies. This song lives and dies by its driving percussion. Also, the cymbals have a lovely shimmer on the best copies. Most of the time they sound dull and smeary, and that ruins everything. (More records that are good for testing percussion can be found here.)
Havona
Heavy Weather checks off a number of boxes for us here at Better Records
- It’s a jazz Demo Disc, especially when played on big speakers at loud levels
- It’s a personal favorite and part of our core jazz collection
- For fans of funky jazz fusion, this is a must own jazz title from 1977
Want to find your own top quality copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that tend to win our shootouts.
Based on our experience, Romantic Warrior sounds its best: