Weather Report discography

The discography of Weather Report, an American jazz band with a career lasting sixteen years between 1970 and 1986, consists of fourteen studio albums, three live albums, eleven compilation albums, five singles, one B-side, and six video albums.[1][2][3][4]

Weather Report discography
Weather Report live June 11, 1981.
Studio albums14
Live albums4
Compilation albums11
Video albums6
Singles5
B-sides1
Tribute albums2
Unofficial releases10

Weather Report's self-titled debut album Weather Report, released in 1971, caused a sensation in the jazz world and is still considered a classic of early fusion. It was awarded Album of the Year by Down Beat magazine's polls that year.[5] In 1972 Weather Report released its second album, I Sing the Body Electric. The first side featured new studio recordings, while the second side was taken from live recordings of a concert in Tokyo, Japan.[6] On 1973's Sweetnighter, Weather Report began to take a new more funk and groove-oriented direction.

Breakout album Mysterious Traveller, released in 1974, was the second of Weather Report's albums to win Down Beat's "Album of the Year" award. Released in 1975, Tale Spinnin' was Weather Report's most solid album to date. It won the Down Beat best album award for 1975.

By 1976's Black Market album, Weather Report's music had evolved further from open-ended funk jams into more melody and rock-oriented and concise forms. It continued Weather Report's ongoing run of success, selling well and being the fourth of the band's albums to win Down Beat's album of the year award. The band's next album was 1977's acclaimed Heavy Weather, which proved to be the band's most successful recording. It would dominate Weather Report's disc awards, including their last Down Beat "Album of the Year" award.

By 1978 the band released its eighth album, Mr. Gone. The album rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.[7] The 1979 double live album 8:30, recorded on the Mr Gone tour, won that year's Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance.[8] Weather Report's ninth studio album, Night Passage, was released in 1980, and its second eponymous release following the 1970 debut album was recorded in 1981 and released in 1982.

In 1983, the band released its eleventh studio album Procession, which showed the band returning to the "world music". It was praised by Down Beat for its "unity and joy"[9] and it has come to be seen as one of the best Weather Report albums. Weather Report then recorded Domino Theory and Live in Japan in 1984, Sportin' Life in 1985, and the finale album This Is This! in 1986. By February 1986, Shorter left the band,[10] and Zawinul dissolved the band in 1987.

Many video, compilation and live albums were released after the breakup of the band. Live and Unreleased was made available in 2002. In September 2006 Columbia/Legacy released a Weather Report box set, Forecast: Tomorrow. A DVD video of the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival performance has become available as well. Columbia/Legacy have also re-released the 1984 Live in Japan concert on DVD.

Studio albums

YearAlbumPeak chart positionsCertificationsLabelsNote
US Pop[11]US Jazz[12]US R&B[13]SWE
[14]
NOR
[15]
UK
[16]
1971Weather Report1917[17]Columbia
1972I Sing the Body Electric147ColumbiaThree tracks are recorded live
1973Sweetnighter852[18]41Columbia
1974Mysterious Traveller462[19]31Columbia
1975Tale Spinnin'31312Columbia
1976Black Market42220Columbia
1977Heavy Weather301334043RIAA: Platinum[20]Columbia
1978Mr. Gone521[7]4247ARC/Columbia
1980Night Passage57236ARC/ColumbiaOne track is recorded live
1982Weather Report685[21]3092ARC/Columbia
1983Procession96346Columbia
1984Domino Theory136554ColumbiaThree tracks are recorded live
1985Sportin' Life19113Columbia
1986This Is This!19513Columbia
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Live albums

YearAlbumPeak chart positionsLabels
BB 200[11]Jazz Albums[12]R&B[13]
1972Live in TokyoCBS/Sony
19798:30473[22]ARC/Columbia
2002Live and Unreleased21Columbia
2015The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981750Columbia

Compilations

YearAlbumPeak chart positions
Billboard Jazz[23]
1983Die 70er Jahre
1990Best of Weather Report Vol. I
The Collection
1993Starbox
1996Birdland
This Is Jazz, Vol. 10: Weather Report
1998This Is Jazz, Vol. 40: Weather Report – The Jaco Years
2002The Best of Weather Report
2006Forecast: Tomorrow18
2007Original Album Classics: Weather Report
2008Collections

Singles

YearTitle
1973"125th Street Congress"
"Boogie Woogie Waltz" (Stereo)
1978"Birdland"
"River People"
1983"Procession" / "Where the Moon Goes"

B-sides

  • 1990: "The Groove" (by Rodney Franklin) / "Birdland" (12") Old Gold (2) 1990

Videography

YearTitle
1971Beat Club 1971
1976Live at Montreux 1976
1978Young and Fine Live!
1984The Evolutionary Spiral
Japan Domino Theory: Weather Report Live in Tokyo
2010Live in Hamburg 1971

Tribute albums

YearTitle
2000Celebrating the Music of Weather Report
2005Mysterious Voyages: A Tribute to Weather Report

Unofficial releases

  • 1971: Live in Vienna, November 1971 (LP)
  • 1971: Berlin, September 3, 1971 (with Eje Thelin, Alan Skidmore, and John Surman) (LP)
  • 1974: Solarization's (LP)
  • 1978: In a Silent Phoenix (LP)
  • 1978: Live Weather (LP)
  • 1980: Hammersmith Affair (LP)
  • 1980: Live Passage (LP)
  • 1980: Paris Live 1980 (LP)
  • 1981: At The Opera House 1981 (LP)
  • 1998: Milky Way SELL 1140 (CD)
  • 2000: Paris Live 1980, Vol. 1 Gemini (CD)

References