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From album
Romantic Warrior
Return to Forever · 1976 · Track 2
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The story behind
This song is not just another track from Romantic Warrior, the album by Return to Forever, but rather marks a turning point in their sound. Recorded in February 1976 at Caribou Ranch studio near Nederland, Colorado, the piece stands out for its 7:34 duration, a time that allows it to develop layers of improvisation and complex structure. The album, their first work with Columbia Records after leaving Polydor, even omitted the "featuring Chick Corea" credit on the cover, reflecting a shift in the group's identity.
The recording context was no coincidence: Return to Forever had already spent years exploring the fusion of jazz and rock, but at this stage they sought something different. Engineer Tom Likes and producers Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, and Lenny White worked on material that, months later, would be certified Gold in the U.S. by the RIAA. The song, along with the rest of the album, is even cited as a creative response to The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Rick Wakeman, though with its own signature: less medieval fantasy and more sonic exploration. The result was an album that, unintentionally, ended up solidifying the band as a benchmark of 70s jazz rock.