Russia

A MYSTERY bass-wielder goes solo and the Pilgrim progress his is.

He is a secret weapon: a musician, a producer, an arranger of high calibre, Canadian Richard Addison is perhaps most known for his stint with proggers MYSTERY than for all the other work, the experience packed into this punch of an album. Looking on its title and expecting something woozy would be a mistake, as the wandering spirit's mood can't be light, though there's enough bliss in crystal fusion of "Sleepwalking", keyboards rolling over bass riffs before sax peeps into the smooth edges and the piano shows what the real swing is. Factor in even more brass and guitars, as in "After All", and think WEATHER REPORT is exploring the easy listening niche; melodies flow from one cut to the other, the pieces fall into places for a whole picture to appear out of Eastern-flavoured. Enigmatic yet wonderful tornado swirls like "Montee de Lait" and violin-led swath of the title track.

All reined in, serene, sublime and subliminal "Controlled Freedom" frames it well.

Dmitry M. Epstein / DMME.NET  (August 2003)

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