Romantic Warrior (1976) is the sixth studio album of fusion band Return to Forever.
Romantic Warrior is the band's best selling record reaching eventually sales of 500,000 copies. It was the group's first album made for Columbia Records, which may have had a positive effect on sales. This is also the first jazz-rock album by Return to Forever that was not recorded at New York's Record Plant Studios, as well as the first to be credited solely to Return to Forever, removing the "featuring Chick Corea" moniker. The album is a bit more avant-garde and less funky than the band's previous album, No Mystery.
The medieval theme of the album was perhaps inspired by similar themes being used by some leading progressive rock bands of the time. The album is famous for its technically demanding playing. Fast, unison lines can be heard on many tracks.
Chick Corea contributed the longest compositions and the other members each composed one piece. The first track, Corea's "Medieval Overture", with its distinctive melodic motifs, sets the mood for the rest of the album. Lenny White's "Sorceress" starts with a funky riff and is distinguished by Corea's synthesizers. The title track is fully acoustic. It has a long intro, which is followed by a short theme consisting of one riff. Each group member (excluding White) plays a long solo. In the end, an extended outro follows, during which fast unison patterns are heard. Al Di Meola's and Stanley Clarke's songs on side two are notable for their humorous qualities. Al Di Meola's song, "Majestic Dance", relies on rock riffs and distorted lead guitar sound, but features also fast harpsichord-like synth figures. Clarke's "The Magician" is a very complex composition, featuring playful melodies, and again, rapid unison lines. The last track of the album is Corea's "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant", which is the longest song of the album. It has a more conventional melody as a main theme, but otherwise it follows the style of previous tracks. Notable is the intense keyboard solo showcasing Corea.
After this album Corea decided that the group's time had come to an end and he continued with another wholly new Return to Forever line-up with Clarke.
Corea dedicated the album to the founder of the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.
Track listing
1. "Medieval Overture" (Corea) – 5:14
2. "Sorceress" (White) – 7:34
3. "The Romantic Warrior" (Corea) – 10:52
4. "Majestic Dance" (Di Meola) – 5:01
5. "The Magician" (Clarke) – 5:29
6. "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" (Part I & Part II) (Corea) – 11:26
"The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" is possibly the most well-known of all Return to Forever tracks and incorporates many progressive rock themes: rapid-fast guitar playing, a conventional and catchy synth theme, and breakdowns. The song is frequently added to lists of the greatest progressive rock songs as well as jazz fusion songs.
Personnel
▪ Chick Corea – Keyboards
▪ Stanley Clarke – Electric bass, Acoustic bass
▪ Lenny White – Drums, Percussion
▪ Al Di Meola – Electric guitar, Acoustic guitarwith
▪ Dennis MacKay – Engineer & Remixing
▪ Wilson McLean – Cover art
