Weather Report – Mysterious Traveller VG+/VG+

Mysterious Traveller is the fourth studio album by the American jazz fusion band Weather Report, released in March 1974. The album features a new line-up, with founding bassist Miroslav Vitouš replaced by Alphonso Johnson and drummer Ishmael Wilburn joining the band. The album also marks a shift in the band’s musical direction, as keyboardist Josef Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter explore more funk, rock, and world music influences, while retaining their jazz roots. The album consists of seven tracks, each with a distinctive mood and style, ranging from the energetic “Nubian Sundance” to the atmospheric “Jungle Book”. The album’s cover, designed by the famous art collective Hipgnosis, depicts a broken wooden crate revealing gold coins, symbolizing the contrast between appearance and reality. Weather Report – Mysterious Traveller was a critical and commercial success, winning the DownBeat readers’ poll for album of the year in 1974 and reaching number 2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. The album is widely regarded as one of the band’s best works, as well as one of the classics of jazz fusion.