Spin And Groove

Some jazz records are for listening. Some are for playing loudly and forgetting where you are. Light As A Feather does both — it works as attentive, note-by-note listening, and it works as something you just let wash over you at volume. Either way, it’s one of the most joyful records I own, and I keep coming back to it partly for “Spain” and partly because of everything else that leads up to it.

Chick Corea and Return to Forever recorded this in London in 1973, at IBC Studios, and it’s a remarkable document of a group at a particular moment — exploratory, technically exceptional, and genuinely playful in a way that jazz-fusion doesn’t always manage to be. This is not dark or heavy music. It’s light on its feet. The title is the right title.

The First Return to Forever

Return to Forever had different lineups at different points in its existence. The version here — Corea on piano, Flora Purim on vocals and percussion, Airto Moreira on drums and percussion, Joe Farrell on flute and soprano sax, Stanley Clarke on bass — is sometimes called the “first” RTF lineup, and it’s the most acoustically oriented of all the versions. Later incarnations of the group went electric, went heavier, went toward rock. This lineup is rooted in acoustic jazz while reaching toward something more expansive.

Flora Purim’s voice is central to what makes this record distinctive. She’s Brazilian, and her approach brings something genuinely different from the jazz vocal tradition — more melismatic, more rhythmically free, sometimes wordless in a way that treats the voice as another instrument rather than a vehicle for lyrics. The interaction between her voice and Farrell’s flute is one of the defining sounds of the album.

Stanley Clarke was 21 when this was recorded. Twenty-one. The bass playing here is extraordinary — not just technically but musically, in terms of his melodic sense and his role within the ensemble. He’d go on to become one of the most celebrated bass players in jazz. You can hear why on every track of this record.

The Music

“You’re Everything” opens the album with a gentle, floating quality — Corea’s piano and Purim’s voice creating a mood before the full group enters. It’s a beautiful opening that establishes the lightness of the record without being lightweight. There’s real depth to the writing even in the more delicate moments.

“Light As A Feather,” the title track, is a showcase for the group’s interplay — each member contributing within a shared framework that never feels rigid. Farrell’s flute is particularly good here, dancing around Corea’s piano lines in a way that sounds improvisational even when it probably wasn’t.

“Captain Marvel” closes Side 1 and introduces a more forceful quality — not heavy, but more driven. Clarke’s bass here is particularly strong, and Moreira’s percussion adds layers of rhythmic complexity underneath.

Side 2 opens with “500 Miles High,” which is probably the most purely beautiful melody on the record. Purim’s vocal — partly sung, partly spoken, partly wordless — makes it affecting in a way that bypasses analysis. I’ve played this track to people who aren’t particularly jazz listeners and had them sit quietly for its full four minutes.

“Children’s Song” is a brief, delicate interlude that could feel like padding but doesn’t — it’s genuinely lovely, a small perfect thing in the middle of the side. And then “Spain.”

Spain

I need to write separately about “Spain” because it deserves it. Based on the Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo, with additional composition by Corea, it’s one of those jazz pieces that achieved a kind of ubiquity — every jazz musician has played it, and yet Corea’s original remains the definitive version. There’s something about the combination of the classical source material, Corea’s melodic development, and the specific character of this group that produced something that hasn’t been matched.

On vinyl, “Spain” takes up most of the second side and fills the room. The piano has a presence through the Shure V15 Type III that you lose on digital formats — there’s a physical weight to Corea’s touch on the keys, particularly in the more percussive passages, that comes through beautifully in the analogue domain. Purim’s voice, when it enters, is positioned clearly in the stereo field. The whole thing sounds like being in the room with them.

If you own a vinyl pressing of this record and haven’t played it recently, put it on now.

Tracklist

About the Pressing

Light As A Feather was released on Polydor, and there are several pressings from different countries. UK and European pressings from 1973 are the originals. Various reissues followed over the years. The key thing to look for is a clean copy of Side 2 — “Spain” is long and dynamic, and surface noise becomes intrusive in the quieter passages. A well-maintained copy of this plays beautifully; a noisy one can undermine the experience significantly.

Mine is a standard LP pressing in good condition. No pressing defects. The dynamics on “Spain” come through clearly, and the acoustic instruments have the naturalness that a good vinyl pressing provides.

The Jazz-Fusion Context

1973 was a remarkable year for jazz-fusion and jazz-adjacent music. Miles Davis was in the middle of his electric period; Herbie Hancock would release Head Hunters the same year; Weather Report was active; Mahavishnu Orchestra was at its peak. Light As A Feather sits a little apart from most of that — it’s less aggressive, less electric-rock influenced, more rooted in acoustic jazz even when it’s pushing outward.

That actually helps it age well. A lot of 1970s fusion sounds dated in ways you can trace back to specific production choices or instrument sounds. This record doesn’t have that problem. The piano, flute, acoustic bass, and vocals place it in a more timeless zone. Put it on and it sounds contemporary in the best sense — still active, still alive, still saying something.

Equipment Used for This Recording

I was running the Shure V15 Type III cartridge on the Technics SL-1200 MK3 for this session, with the Yamaha HA-5 as the phono preamp. The Shure V15 Type III is particularly well suited to acoustic music — its tracking accuracy and extended frequency response suit the delicacy of Corea’s piano and Farrell’s flute without hardening the sound. For “Spain” specifically, the cartridge’s low distortion characteristics let the complex groove modulations in the louder passages come through cleanly without smearing.

The beryllium cantilever of the V15 Type III has become something of a legendary design element — lightweight and rigid, contributing to exceptional transient response. It’s a cartridge that rewards careful maintenance and proper setup, but when it’s working well, few things touch it for acoustic music.

For technical background and a detailed review of the Shure V15 Type III: Shure V15-III at Stereophile.

Further Listening

If this is your first Return to Forever record, the next step depends on what you want. For more of this acoustic lightness, Corea’s solo piano work is the natural direction — his ECM recordings in particular. For the electric side of RTF, Romantic Warrior (1976) is the right record. Completely different, equally excellent.

For pressing details and to find a copy: Light As A Feather on Discogs. And for a detailed breakdown of the album’s place in fusion history: Return to Forever at Prog Archives.