Return To Forever IV PRO Shot Clip!

Check out this pro shot live clip of Return to Forever IV in France July 7, 2011..
anyone have this whole show??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GA3KrRlUhI

Something good to say.... Hmmmmm....

Got it!!!! That's the baddest single note bass solo I've ever heard!

Something about a drummer that is chewing gum while he plays that really irks me!!!

You know what, Woody?! Me too! It's like they're not really taking
what they're doing seriously. Dennis does that a lot and it just doesn't
look right... Quite frankly, Lenny's performance in this clip is pretty weak
IMHO...

But that's just my take.

D. Slam wrote:Something good to say.... Hmmmmm....

Got it!!!! That's the baddest single note bass solo I've ever heard!

Ya Killin' me Nephew! That's Stanley though. The guy plays and uses that technique to the hilt! Ya Killin' me Nephew!

Woody wrote:Something about a drummer that is chewing gum while he plays that really irks me!!!

What can I say apart from what Don is about to:

D. Slam wrote:You know what, Woody?! Me too! It's like they're not really taking
what they're doing seriously. Dennis does that a lot and it just doesn't
look right... Quite frankly, Lenny's performance in this clip is pretty weak
IMHO... But that's just my take.

Count me in boys... I couldn't possibly chew gum and perform @ the same time! I'd wind up needing a Heimlich Maneuver done on me because it went down the wrong wind pipe. Don't imagine that! It ain't gonna happen.

I got your point(s) fellas... and totally agree. I'd rather chew on Sheila E when she was in Paris recently. Oh my God... I did say that = I'm single (a drummer; can relate) and be so appreciative of a Diva when she doesn't want to where the pants. I just posted her here on the Dave Letterman Show in June of this year. She's fine -
and in the tradition of Donna Summer's "workin' hard for the money," Sheila ain't chewing no gum! She's serious!

In the meantime - is anyone sure that's not my Nephew SLAM on drums with Stanley?

There seems to come a point and time when some of these greats stop evolving.
Uncle. That's basically the same stuff he was doing back in the 70's. Even less so
now... I mean, really... Click the cursor around on the progress bar while the clip is
playing and you'll see that he plays that ONE note throughout the entire solo.

Give me a break, dude! You're a world class player for cryin out loud! What the
heck is that??!!! And then you have Lenny back there chewin gum and soft-shoein
on the drums....??? What, and I'm supposed to pay $100.00 plus to go see that?!
"I don't think so, Tim......" Man, I'm Thu!!!

D. Slam wrote:There seems to come a point and time when some of these greats stop evolving.
Uncle. That's basically the same stuff he was doing back in the 70's. Even less so
now... I mean, really... Click the cursor around on the progress bar while the clip is
playing and you'll see that he plays that ONE note throughout the entire solo.

Give me a break, dude! You're a world class player for cryin out loud! What the
heck is that??!!! And then you have Lenny back there chewin gum and soft-shoein
on the drums....??? What, and I'm supposed to pay $100.00 plus to go see that?!
"I don't think so, Tim......" Man, I'm Thu!!!

Obee Kaybee NepWhoee! I got it! Lenny White must have gained a lot of weight then. If that's the case, then I wonder why?

I already agreed with you! You sound angry though: calm down... it was neither you or I on the stage with Stanley Clarke. From what I heard, that stuff could be played in my sleep. I'm with ya Nephew D! ...

... and in the same vein, there's no way I would have paid $100 here in the USA to see that show. Yet think in this artery: in Europe/abroad, there's much more appreciation for the roots of anything. Actually, it's an collage of many cultures - an amalgamation even of ethnicities. Nuff said from me on that score.

And no, you ain't Thu! Neither are you ever silent!

It's all good Don. Leave some from the harvest to glean what they get... and certainly don't muzzle the Ox who treads out the corn... and I ain't Santa Claus nor one of his reindeers. Neither is anyone on here.

The gum to bother me none and I'm really excited in seeing them for the first time. I'm always into Lenny's playing and greatful that I can actually do this. And that's it for me. Is this simply wonderful the entitlement we have to the freedom of opinion in this country!

Gotta be agape and...aloha guys

rac

Just voicing my opinion.... I have no need to be angry.
Though I'm very passionate when it comes to both playing
and listening to music.... And I expect more from world class
players.

So no, uncle, it's NOT "all good". My hope is that a time will
come when you will again find yourself involved in the process of
music making... Maybe then you'll have a better and renewed
understanding. It's amazing how perspective fades and/or
changes with the absence of the applied action.

These views are by way of MY "glean"... And I'm entitled to them as
well as my right to express them. Whatever anyone else thinks is their
own business and prerogative.

and I ain't Santa Claus nor one of his reindeers. Neither is anyone on here.

Uhhh, you're rambling again...... "Reindeers"?????

Rac,

Do your thing! I hope it's an honest to goodness good show
though and you don't allow yourself to get caught up in the
"emperor's new clothes" syndrome... In other words, its RTF,
therefore it's automatically good.

I gotta have more than that. Spit out the gum and hit the drums
with meaning and conviction... That's the way Billy does it every
time I see him... I cannot and will not accept less from anyone!

Never was a star struck kinda guy.

I do have to agree with D. Slam, Lenny has lately been a bit subdued in his playing, even on the
first Return to Forever reunion a few years ago.

I think this happens when you get a bit older, you have to work harder to do the things you did with
ease when you were in your 20's. Also, it has to be a conscience effort as well, if Lenny thinks he has nothing
left to prove on the instrument, that would account for the laid back performance as well.

If you lose that desire, that "Fire and Ice" so to speak, your energy will be greatly decreased.
Lenny used to play with a lot of energy in the 70's and he seemed to maintain that for a lot of years.
He also may not practice all that much anymore?

In contrast, Boomer always keeps that energy he is known for, he delivers and the entertainment value is great.
Lenny has reduced his entertainment value greatly by reducing his performance to a laid back effort.

drumman, I'm not saying this because you agree with me...
But those are all great points and is mostly how I feel to a T.

The age thing I kinda question because Billy is older than Lenny
and look how he's playing!! Also as we get older, through technique,
we find ways to sonically project more intensity with less physical
effort.

I love your term "Fire and Ice". The part about not practicing
really rings true for me. Lenny used to play like the cops were
outside waiting for him... Frankly, I now find his playing a bit
lack luster.... It's not even so much what he plays as much as
what's NOT behind what he's doing.... It's just......... WEAK!

And don't even get me started on Stanley's one note bass solo...

Thank you Billy, for always giving us all you've got!

Hi,

Somehow things like fire, intensity, energy, drive etc. seem to diminish when musicians get older. This doesn’t happen to everybody, but maybe to most to a certain extent. Other valuable things come in return with age, but in Return To Forever’s case the elements mentioned above seem to be lacking when you compare the group now to what it was in the 70’s. What’s your take on this?

Kind regards,
Anders

Other valuable things come in return with age, but in Return To Forever’s case the elements mentioned above seem to be lacking when you compare the group now to what it was in the 70’s.

Each piece of music once created takes on certain characters that
really makes the tune what it is. When one of those characters are
lost, then the song is only a shadowy representation of what it originally
was, or was meant to be.

This music demands a certain level of intensity and attention. When the
players start skimming then the music suffers. If your're too old or you're
not physically, mentally or emotionally up to the challenge of playing the
music with respects to it's true character then don't play it. Write and
perform something that you can do justice to and that won't tell on you
to your audience that you don't have it anymore.

I saw James Brown perform many times. In his 30's and 40's. He was unreal.
He was performing up to his dying day, but I never went to see him in his later
years, still trying to do what he did some 40 years earlier. I knew he couldn't do
it and I just didn't want to see him at less the performer he was. I watched a
live televised performance of him performing in Las Vegas a couple of years before
he died and I must admit that it was a great show for a 70 year old man. But it
certainly wasn't what it once was.

What bothers me more about the RTF deal is I don't believe it's an age issue at all.
My personal view is they've played these tunes only a million times already and they've
become complacent and lazy. It takes a lot to put one's emotional self behind any music
much less music of such intensive levels.... I'm sorry, this music demands this and if you're
not up for it then let it be.

Some are content to go see this show simply for it's name sake.... I'm not one of those.

Come to kick ass or stay home!.... Better yet, I'll stay home.