Johnson probably never got the credit he deserves for his Weather Report days, sandwiched between Vitous and some guy called Pastorius. But if he’d only contributed the bass to ‘Cucumber Slumber’ he’d be a legend with this correspondent. Moonshadows came soon after Johnson’s departure from Weather Report and hard upon his imminent arrival with the Cobham-Duke Band, but it’s producer Skip Drinkwater who seems to have the biggest say in the sound of Johnson’s debut. Armed with a premier league of reeds men (Maupin, Bartz) the emphasis is big on slinky funk, while Purim lays down to die for sighs on ‘Involuntary Bliss’. Duke himself (billed as Dawilli Gonga!) is everywhere, on lustrous keys and getting Purim and Moreira on board. Yesterday’s Dreams couldn’t be more different, with a young Dianne Reeves’ fevered vox heading up its soul-pop, while Mike Clark brings an inevitable Headhunters groove to ‘As Little As You’. Another gear change comes with the Grover featured ‘Scapegoat’. Spellbound was an even more abrupt gear change: out go the Gods of fusion and in comes a band of ‘unknowns’. Moreover, Johnson’s very limited vox are upfront. Draw your own conclusions as to why Epic subsequently dropped Johnson who hasn’t recorded as a leader in nearly 40 years since.