Over the lifespan of Return to Forever, the band existed in three different formats: a quintet that recorded two albums (1972–73), an electric quartet that delivered four discs (1973–76) and an expanded ensemble that included a four-piece brass section and a vocalist, which recorded a studio and a live album (1977).
The following discography will focus on the keyboard/guitar/bass/drums quartet years, considered to be the classic RTF lineup—the most popular and successful version of the group.
Romantic Warrior (1976 Columbia -- Corea, Clarke, Di Meola, White)
1. Medieval Overture
2. Sorceress
3. The Romantic Warrior
4. Majestic Dance
5. The Magician
6. Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant, Pts. 1 & 2
Album Notes (CDUniverse.com) -- By the time Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior lineup coalesced, the group was very much a partnership between all four members. By 1976, with increased reliance on Corea's banks of analog synthesizers and Al Dimeola's searing electric guitar, the quartet had arrived at a musical crossroads that was more closely aligned with 'progressive' ensembles of the day like Hands or Happy The Man than with real rockers or jazzmen. This undefined netherworld marked the point of delineation between 'jazz-rock' a la '70s Miles and the less definable 'fusion.'
The compositions, contributed by all four members, feature death-defying time changes and fleet-fingered riffs that would mark the downfall of lesser men. The facility displayed by Corea, DiMeola, and bassist Stanley Clarke is astounding, as they rip through counterpoint and unison lines, spitting out sixteenth-notes like bubblegum. Drummer Lenny White is a polyrhythmic wonder, making all the bizarre, unconventional shifts sound completely organic. As on his '70s solo albums, DiMeola offers the liquid, rapid-fire solos that would inspire a generation of fusion guitarists, while Corea's nimble lead synthesizer work gives Mahavishnu-era Jan Hammer (obviously an inspiration) a run for his money.
To hear more from Romantic Warrior, check out the RTF Radio!
No Mystery (1975 Polydor -- Corea, Clarke, Di Meola, White)
1. Dayride
2. Jungle Waterfall
3. Flight of the Newborn
4. Sofistifunk
5. Excerpt from the First Movement of Heavy Metal
6. No Mystery
7. Interplay
8. Celebration Suite, Pt. 1
9. Celebration Suite, Pt. 2
Album Notes (CDUniverse.com) -- No Mystery sees Return to Forever experimenting with funk and heavy-hitting rock. "Sofistifunk" is a great example of the former. On this track, drummer Lenny White lays down a fat dance groove. However, to offset this, keyboardist Chick Corea and guitarist Al DiMeola create an abstract musical dialogue between synthesizers and fuzz guitar.
"Excerpt from the First Movement of Heavy Metal" is the best example of the band's explorative, hard-rocking side. This piece opens and closes with a tongue-in-cheek 'classical' piano introduction. In between, DiMeola, White, and bassist Stanley Clarke engage in an over-the-top, no-holds-barred jam. The title track is the jazziest of all the songs here. This sensitive, Latin-influenced composition contains many beautiful passages as well as a number of sudden melodic deviations. Overall, this piece really shows off Corea's distinctive compositional style, which borrows not only from Cuban music and post-bop jazz, but also from the Spanish guitar tradition. Certainly, DiMeola--who is known for his love of flamenco music--had an influence on this musical direction as well.
To hear more from No Mystery, check out the RTF Radio!
Album Notes (CDUniverse.com) -- This classic, cookin' fusion record from the heyday of the genre still sounds exciting today. Keyboardist Chick Corea leads his band on an intergalactic cruise into the void where rock and jazz meet in an explosive big bang. Playing with sci-fi imagery, Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White, and guitarist Al DiMeola know how to trip the light fantastic.
White's searching "The Shadow of Lo" lets DiMeola riff with velvety guitars around Corea's sunny keys. On the closing space/jazz tug of war "Song to the Pharaoh Kings," Corea's synths pop like subatomic nuclei, while White lays down a frenzied star storm of clashing cymbals and ringing snares, and DiMeola and Clarke's strings wrap themselves around each other with impressive skill.
To hear more from Where Have I Known You Before, check out the RTF Radio!
Album Notes (CDUniverse.com) -- Its hyper speed momentum aside, shares many of the characteristics of prog rock: flashy playing, incredibly complex instrumental passages and arrangements, awry and tangled time signatures, and a propensity towards raw energy intermingled with electronics. Everyone here plays as if there were no tomorrow.
Chick Corea's supercharged electric piano and organ licks alternate between fire-breathing tone clusters and atmospheric grace. Guitarist Bill Connors plays like a comet circling a supernova; Stanley Clarke's earthquake-inducing bass lines are both monstrous and finger-poppin' funky, while drummer Lenny White simply beats his kit to jelly. Feel the power: the protoplasmic funk of "After the Cosmic Rain," the Fender Rhodes symphonies and ecstatic drumming of "Captain Señor Mouse," the far-out space-bop of the title track. Super hot stuff from one of jazz-rock's cornerstones.
To hear more from Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, check out the RTF Radio!
This Is Jazz, Vol. 12
The Best of Return to Forever
Return to the Seventh Galaxy: The Anthology
The Ultimate Adventure 
The Leprechaun 
Toys of Men 
School Days 
Present Tense 
Big City 
Consequence of Chaos 
Elegant Gypsy 