As a music teacher, I used Lila's Dance as an example of what could ultimately be achieved in composition and production. A monumental feat in the studio when everyone is watching the clock. They were able to suspend time for the 6 minute length and create a new dimension. Concise and to the point, with an Indian tri-part structure. ending more or less the way it started. Understated and grand. I could go on and on about this. Thanks for choosing that one. I had an intuition that that was your only option. Just like me. Cheers, love your channel and all the great work you do for the soul of us all.
Eternity’s Breath does it for me. A great introduction to MO even though it’s from the second incarnation. It’s what got me into MO as a teenager and I still get the most thrills out of that piece, along with Lila’s Dance.
I think the ultimate Mahavishnu track is ‘Meeting Of The Spirits’. It encapsulates all that is Mahavishnu, the first line up. By far my favourite Mahavishnu album is ‘apocalypse’. The compositions are glorious, Narada’s drumming is incredible and I love Mike Gibbs arrangements. They were all recorded in single takes, with the band in one room and the orchestra set up in a separate room. I like the later albums with Walden, where Mahavishnu got a bit more soulful and funky.
I like your humility. Instead of saying "the best" like you know it all, you say "my favourite". McLaughlin might agree with your choice of Meeting of the Spirits. This piece opened pretty much every show the MO ever played!
"A Lotus On Irish Streams" from that first album is a really beautiful piece. Just John on acoustic guitar, Jan on piano and Jerry's violin. The music breathes in a way unusual for the normally frenetic band.
For me it's gotta be "Birds of Fire" for the chordal/compositional elements and rhythmic drive and "Thousand Island Park" or "A lotus on Irish streams" for the more intricate acoustic side.
Prior to Mahavishnu John recorded an album called Devotion. On there, a piece called Marbles, later called Open Country is my all time favourite McL composition. Second best is The Noonward Race. I was also age 14 back in 1972. You kind of had to have been there to appreciate what they did.
Oh man. It's just impossible. Though I smiled a wry smile in resonance with a few things you said. For example, the very special place in the heart for Visions. One particular summer 20 years ago, an acid drenched summer, my world turned upside down by MO and in particular this album. I've been playing guitar since 82, and been almost a disciple of McLaughlin for many years. I'm sure you understand the futility of this "best of MO" undertaking? The depth of this music is beyond even a lifetime of listening. So, today you may feel that Dance of Maya is the one...tomorrow Sanctuary may grab you by the bollocks of your very soul and you'll wonder how you never truly heard it before. And honestly, don't you get the impression that most of the studio recordings are but sketches for the really out there pieces of outstanding beauty and brilliance...the live gigs.... I think the heaviest most epic most harrowing gob smacking and heart melting thing I ever heard...one of the few pieces of music that almost literally FLOORED me...Sanctuary from the Boston "75 gig. I just don't know what I'd play as an introduction. I played Lilas Dance to a newbie once, and he giggled at the repeated horn riff near the end. Because to his ears it sounded a little dated and clichéd. With MO you just never know if it's going to hit home with a newbie. Or fly right over their head. Nevermore would I sit someone down and make them listen to a whole album. Why,? Because it's just so damn heavy and intense. I'd probably rather slip them a CD and suggest they check it out sometime when they've got space and time for something really potentially life changing. Like...just before they fall asleep for example. I guess my go to clip for fellow music lovers who don't know MO has been...Hope/One Word the ABC gig on RUclips. Because Billy Cobham is like thunder. And McLaughlin looks and plays like an angel. You see the look of Divine bliss and surrender of the soul on McLaughlins face and I like to think maybe people suddenly get it...? I love that you love Visions. Oh yes. And Miles Out. Hee hee. People wonder what's at the centre of the Milky Way. They try using telescopes and fancy equipment. Silly people. Want to know what's in the centre of the Milky Way? Inner Worlds track 2, of course. :) Blessings from UK. Big love and respect!
I saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra with Santana and Weather Report in Cleveland on a 4th of july! I learned about John from the Miles Davis album Right Off. Our art teacher in JR. High played it and we could not believe this guitar! We sure knew about Jimi Hendrix and Maybe even Led Zepplin and the Doors and Black Sabbath but John McLaughlin blew our minds! :) I'm 68 now!
When I was a kid in Houston in the 70s, there was actually a radio station that played these guys. I already liked Indian music and I could hear a little bit of that in there. Had to pause the video and go to Spotify and listen to awakening the live version on the reissue of the Central Park concert. I can definitely hear how they influence my favorite Prog band :Brand X. As well as some of the guitar, licks on blow by blow Having said that, I have a distain for artists, pretend to be spiritual, and yet screw their partners for more money. If Jon, and given the others writing credits and equal billing, maybe tone down the touring schedule a bit. It might’ve lasted 30 years like the Grateful Dead. Fear is the mind killer - Dune Greed is the band killer -me
McLaughlin on that 12 string solo in the middle (Jan Hammer playing chords softly in support)...McLaughlin is RAW in certain notes. Screaming and bending the top E pair. You get some odd vibration phenomena happening when you try to bend the unison top E's. There's a dissonant pulse as the two top E's don't bend in exactly the same way. Uniquely expressive. The B string pair is also unison. Then he finds himself on the octave G's and that Gibson rings like a bell. I have always pined for an electric 12, be it Rickenbacker, Gibson, Ibanez Artist are beautiful old twin necks.
i agree on everything here i saw the birds of fire band in montreal when i was a teen lilas dance is incredible indeed i just rediscover it thanks to you
Spot on again, Andy! For me, it's Mahavishnu's VOTEB every single time. This is my favourite Jazz Rock Fusion LP and the one I always recommend to anyone wanting to check out the band for the first time. It's Mahavishhnu at their very finest.
Meeting of the Spirits was the first MO tune I heard and it changed my life. There are many favorites, but Lila's Dance is special. Amazing solo from the Master!
Mr Edwards it is very enlightening to hear a musician communicate so deeply their insights of such magnificent artists like McLaughlin & Holdworths , progressive music etc. thank you peace & love
Celestial Terrestrial Commuters from Birds of Fire. It rocks! Birds of Fire is a very close second. Being a bassist, I've sent links to One Word to all the drummers I play with as an example of the quality I expect. ;)
Me too bassist since '88! Rick Laird and Ralphe Armstrong are 2 very different very interesting bassists, huh. Rick Laird can get very strange, very abstract, very atonal in certain live MO gigs. I'm like ...uh oh...Rick Laird WUT ARE YOU DOING? Where are you going? Oh gawd please don't mess it up!!! But his tastefulness and sense of understatement always seems to win through. Ralphe Armstrong..wow I love Ralphe Armstrong. His bass playing on Visions...oh my. Fretless. Wah wah. Just a little bit of overdrive and some snappy compression. That burbling descending run in the intro to Faith...landing on a huge F# on the low E string as McLaughlin arpeggiates that big open expansive F#m7sus4. Rick Laird and Ralphe Armstrong. Both of them solid as anything. Both of them out of this world in their own way. I have so much to learn from both of them. Blessings from UK. Btw..my 4 string baby is a metallic blue custom Squier Jazz w rosewood board w dot inlays.
Oh - for those who care about this sort of thing - I created a "Miles Out" patch for the Roland VG-99 guitar processor because I loved that insane track. Just in case someone wants to do a cover someday.
Visions Of The Emerald Beyond is also my favorite album of all time. Lila's Dance is also my favorite MO tune. John's solo on there is the single event that forever shifted my mind. I didn't know that story about Trevor Horne admiring the production of Ken Scott on this album - that is a great revelation! I am encouraged and happy that so many people place this album as their favorite of all time. Wow!
Many years ago I was on a John McLaughlin email list. There was a poll for the best solo of the Master and Lila's Dance was selected as the best solo. I think the runner-ups were Lady L (from Shakti) and Hymn to Hym.
I'll second that pick. Visions of the Emerald Beyond Lilas Dance. I listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Santana also with Alice Coltrane Illuminations, Caravan Serai, Welcome, Borboletta, etc. Also Where Have I Known You Before Chick Cores especially all the Al DiMeola records. The time signatures six six six and two. Heavy drums. Diatonic chromatic modal bliss.
Not an easy one, I am of an age where I could not wait for the release of Birds of Fire and imported the album. Although I bought all of the albums, my love really stems from the first two. Until recently I always felt that Birds of Fire was my favourite album but as I grow older there is an spirit and rawness about the first album which gives it an edge. Dance of the Maya is my favourite track (followed by Birds of Fire). However, I can still remember when I put Inner Mounting Flame on and heard Meeting of the Spirits and was 'blown away' and for that reason the track will also have a special place in my heart.
Dance of Maya, Lila's Dance, Hope, Electric Dreams, Guardian Angels. Ive taught myself to play all of the above and currently working on Lila's Dance! 😎
There needs to be a documentary about MO n it's influences on other bands n musicians. I heard interviews from Todd Rundgren to Phil Collins speaking about first hearing Mahavishnu Orchestra n the impact it had on them.
Yep, Todd Rundgren talked about how the tune "Sunburst Finish" on Utopia's "RA" record was their nod to the Mahavishnu Orchestra but then they also wanted to sing over that stuff. Insanity.
John told the interviewer, after reveling in his Hendrix stories, "I wouldn't be who I am without Jimi and B.B. King". In 1970 Mirslav Vitous (sp), bass player for Joe Zawinal, called John and asked him to join Mirslav's new band - Weather Report. John declined as he had a lot to say in a Mahavishnu way. I saw Weather Report after playing Sweetnighter a thousand times - Whiskey au Go Go, 1974, yes they blew the house down. Mirslav played bass. John was one year older than me. Still is.
@@jpsmaj3235 - the Lifetime was a superb band though a bit fast, I gave up "shredding" in the nineties and developed several guitar techniques that focus on melody, such as the Django Technique - fretting hand uses two fingers only (like Django) - index and middle, to force the muscles to follow melody. It works, fretters, try it. Shredding has zero to do with melody, mostly. I play Dance of the Maya in my own way which is superb. Thank you. Birds O' Fire!.
Strange watching this unfold, with my choice exactly the same! Usually, in these things people have slightly different tastes. Totally agree with all your selection! Was sweating on it at the end!
I'LL JUST MAKE IT SHORT.RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD,"HYMN TO HIM"!The fact is that there are so many great compositions & musicians,it would take time & words that I don't have time for right now.Thanks.
Meeting Of The Spirits. It has such an awesome but hypnotic & otherworldly riff, perfectly accompanied by Billy's drums, and encapsulates the Mahavishnu sound as a whole. So many other great tracks of course, but Meeting Of The Spirits sets the bar right from the start (1st track, 1st album) for what is yet to come...
Most virtuoso guitar players play set-piece licks blazingly fast strung together in a more-or-less coherent fashion. Having slowed down some of his solos to try and pick them up, I get the impression there is an intent behind every note and every space that John McLaughlin employs - no matter the speed. He is, for me, the fastest thinking and feeling guitarist out there. I am in awe of his creativity over such a long period of time.
I have played some (well, I tried) and as you start learning it you realize every little phrase is really a work of musical art, it is amazing how he does what he does. He goes way beyond what most people do, like WAY beyond...
I'll second that pick. Visions of the Emerald Beyond Lilas Dance. I listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Santana also with Alice Coltrane Illuminations, Caravan Serai, Welcome, Borboletta, etc. Also Where Have I Known You Before Chick Cores especially all the Al DiMeola records. The time signatures six six six and two. Heavy drums. Diatonic chromatic modal bliss. I learned to surf with this music in the early Seventies in California 1974-5. They need to make a Surfing movie and drama with this music. Along with Honk's second album it could be The Ultimate State of Mind of Music and Surfing.
In terms of composition, [Hymn to him] is my favorite tune. I think it's a tremendous accomplishment, fusing western classic, jazz, rock, and Indian music.
I have so much love for Birds of Fire as it was the first one I got. The production is beautiful, a jazz band with the clarity of well produced rock band. Kind of guessed Visions of the Emerald Beyond would feature, knowing how much you love Narada. Mclaughlin was pretty spoiled with his drummers!
I know trains get his thumb print all over a Love supreme. But damn it I love John's version. I can almost feel Carlos Santana sweat trying to keep up.
Santa Monica, CA 1971, I and 2 friends are in front of the Civic Auditorium screaming on LSD. We are there to see ELP a favorite and we're wondering who is this warm up band Mahavishnu Orchestra? Inside, we see what looks to be a California style country rock band. A guy with super long hair and overalls, A few guys with really short hair, one of them black and a guy in all white linens with a double SG. Then the guy in white says 'we won't start until I can hear this pin drop'. All silent and ping. Needless to say, the silence on it's own was rather psychedelic. Well, they start MotS and we were freaking gonna go clear, we had no Idea how intense and that 21st scitz man could be and was surpassed. I had to go to the lobby by the 3rd tune. Less volume. Finished it and ELP sorry to say was almost comedic. MO became our favorite and we got to see them again a week later at the Whisky a gogo where we got to spend 5 minutes chatting with them out behind the Whisky. What a week that was!
Let me ad that I saw John for free here where I live in the Yucatan in 2017. Great hearing the old tunes again. But modern effects and tech can't compare to SUNN or Marshal stacks. ruclips.net/video/O2xM5jrgzZk/видео.html
The first album was in your face, the second just incredible and by the time Visions of the Emerald Beyond came out, I lost it, I was sold...been a fan of McLaughlin ever since. The first six or seven tracks of Vision are as close to music perfection as I have ever heard. Pastoral and Faith are just McLaughlin at its best.
My favourite 3 MO albums are the same, in order of BOF, VOTEB, and IMF. So many great songs on each of these albums. Hard to pick a best, but I have always been blown away by the title track on Birds of Fire. It was the first MO album I bought, and hearing that track as the opening track opened a new world, and is such a great introduction to what is to come on the rest of the album.
The real question is "what are MO's best live versions of any of their tunes?" I'd like to have their albums with all songs picked from their best live performances. You Know You know would rank very high.
Totally agree with your choice 🎉 Lila’s Dance is a wonder. As one of the finalist I would of had Meeting of the Spirits. Enjoyed your musings, love Mahavishnu Orchestra.
I agree with your overall picks for tunes but for me it is Dance of the Maya. I'm a good bit older than you and I came from the Mahavishnu Orchestra via My Goals Beyond. I was in love with that album and when Inner Mounting Flame came out I rushed down to my record store and brought it home. I remember to this day putting the needle on the first track "Meeting of the Spirits"....Whoa... I wasn't expecting the barrage that followed. I had the good fortune a short time later to see the band live. One of my top three concerts of the 70's. I prefer Dance of the Maya for its rawness.
About 50 or so years ago I was an undergrad in university, just starting to play music, and one of the guys put this Mahavishnu album on and we were blown away. It was unbelievably beautiful and intense at the same time.
@@freespiritsguitar2871 I'm happy to stand corrected but I owned a twin neck and played through distortion during my "I want to be John McLaughlin" phase. That's how a 12 string electric strung with .008 guage strings sounds. You can easily hear the octave strings at the start of the solo when he plays on the bass strings. When he bends the high E and B strings which are tuned in unison you can hear them beating slightly out of tune with each other (I love that sound). It's also really hard to bend in tune on a 12 string and you can hear that as well.....which makes it sound even better to me. Here is a clip of him playing a different version of the song. It's a very different solo but you can see he plays the 12 string and he bends lots of times. The sound is kind of similar. ruclips.net/video/yeQTbN9qRWA/видео.html
You’re absolutely right. I love how he takes it down a notch and then builds it back up to that crescendo when Billy Cobham comes back in, then resolving back into the melody. 55 years later it’s still some of the most extraordinary guitar playing ever recorded. A real rollercoaster.
Saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra in a small club (250 seat) shortly after Inner Mounting Flame was released. Had not heard the album. I was familiar with John's work with Miles, Tony Williams, and his album Devotion(?). Knew of Billy Cobham from his work with the band he was in with the Brecker Brothers and John Abercrombie, and because i grew up in Queens and knew musicians who lived on his street and had played with him. Sat about 10 feet from the stage. I was shocked to my core. The virtuosity and sheer power of the music was mind-blowing. Saw the original lineup 4-5 times after that, twice on a bill with Zappa, and once on a bill with Ravi Shankar. On a different note, several drummers prior to Billy played double-bass drums, including Louis Bellson (sp), Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, and the drummer for Jethro Tull. IMO, Ginger Baker really made double-bass drums popular.
Now let's talk about "ONE WORD".HELLO,is this thing on!The produced version,as are many,is the best because,in the live versions they tend to show off & speed them up.Which,I like also because they also show they're creativity & improvising.The best live version/video is their debut on IN CONCERT,& that drum solo is my favorite & very inventive plus,the young crowd going wild as they probably didn't know what train just hit them!😅
BTW, the one tour the Visions band did absolutely blew my mind… string quartet, horn section, John Luc Ponty, Gayle Moran, Narmada Michael Waldron, Ralph’s Armstrong … just stunning and overwhelming. It topped the shows I saw with the original band, if such a thing is possible.
The problem with the choice here is that - you are choosing between 2 *different* bands here. The initial incarnation and then after that band dissolved you have incarnation number two. I saw both incarnations live and have nearly everything Mahavishnu Orchestra ever played, official and bootlegs. The first incarnation’s best song is a choice between “Dance of Maya” and “One Word” (where everyone gets to stretch). The second incarnation - I have few favorites but “Eternity’s Breath” opening track is a monster. In reality if you want to locate a “best song” it will not be in their official releases but in the various plethora of bootleg versions where the group gets to stretch without studio length limits. None of the various official live recordings are really that superb. This band was meant to be experienced *live*.
I missed the live chat on this one. Mahavishnu are unbeatable. They set the benchmark. My favourite album is the Emerald. I know it's not the original classic line up but it's my favourite and my favourite track is Be Happy. I love Cosmic Strut, Lila's Dance and Eternity s Dance. It's the drums on Be Happy that are explosive. Fantastic show, Andy. I wish I had been available for the live banter.
The first track I ever heard was because I happened to play side 2 first. Vital Transformation. I clearly remember where, when and with whom it happened. I was in 10th grade. That drum intro by Billy blew my mind, I had never heard a guitar solo like that. I am still partial to that song, perhaps because it popped my cherry and blew my ming first.
_Dream_ from the live album gives you the essence of the band. From the Vision album my choice is _Ethernity’s Breath Pt 1._ Narada Michael Walden’s drumming is not of this world. But I am going to cheat and smuggle in _The Life Divine_ from the McLaughlin/Santana album Love Devotion Surrender which is not a MO song but it’s my absolute favorite of everything John McLaughlin has done. The two guitar solos are pure meditation.
For me, it's a close call between Birds of Fire and Dance of Maya. The solo on Birds of Fire is so unhinged, yet musical. And the open line in Dance of Maya that they return to toward the end of the tune when you least expect it made me break out into cold sweats the first time I heard it.
if I may, my 3 favorites, out of the top of my head are 'The Noonward Race', 'Birds of Fire' and 'Celestial Terrestrial Commuters', w/ honorary mentions being 'Resolution' , 'Miles Beyond' ,'Eternity's Breath pt.2', 'Faith'. 'Can't Stand Your Funk' and 'Cosmic Strut' Cheers.
BTW, There are no words to describe Jan Hammer and his contribution to keyboard players and modern music. He deserves the highest accolades and it is fantastic that you are such a proponent of his music and contribution. thanks again!
It is my understanding that McLaughlin and Hammer could not get along. This is what i understand is the reason the first band split up. I might be wrong on this observation but this is what i heard thru the grapevine. Just my 2 cents.
Miles Out is an incredible track that shows that John McLaughlin was way out there looking for new music. But Visions is my favourite MO album and I decided to have a quick listen just now. Yes, Lila's Dance is a masterpiece and I've always loved how this album ends but if I were asked to pick a track which sums up the spirit of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Be Happy would be as good as any. It's pure joy at 100 mph.
Hey man, thank you so much for this. It’s been a long time since I’ve ever thought about this music. First time I heard it was my first semester freshman year of undergrad ‘75-‘76 my roommate introduced me to this orchestra. I had to go back and listen to it again after this and bringing back many memories. Most likely inspired me to buy Cobham’s solo album with his humongous yellow plexiglass double drum kit. Now I’m gonna have to look that up. Cheers, mate.
"Dream" is my fave,as is "Between Nothingness & Eternity". "Lila`s Dance" a close 2nd. You forgot to mention Jerry Goodman! & it`s "Awakening" off I.M.F. I love the way Cobham plays on I.M.F. on the smaller kit,the bass & snare drum in particular sound great.As you rightly said,Narada`s drum sound on "Visions" sounds awesome,Gretsch kit I think. Thankyou for the talk on this legend band.
I couldn't agree more! Lila's Dance is also my favorite tune off Visions. My number two MO tune would be One Word because everyone has a solo spot and of course because of the insanely fast unison lines. By the way, it's no coincidence that Dance Of Maya and Lila's Dance both have the word "dance" in them. I think it was John's way of hinting that they have the bluesy 20/8 section in common. Lila's Dance is in 5/4 but the unison lines representing the chorus are in 7/8. Therefore the track has three different time signatures.
Andy! When I was 14-15 (1975ish), I was in love with Inner Mounting Flame and no other Mahavishnu record (I have had them all!) has ever quite done it for me like IMF has; and on IMF, "Dawn" is the one which blew my mind the most and the track I have listened to the very most. It BURNS, like the heart of the sun, with such strange ever rising harmonies, so compactly, seethingly, strangely, and McLaughlin does something which to my 15 year old mind has never been quite equalled (except by Holdsworth). But I love them all!!
I played birds of fire and inner mounting flame hundreds of times. I heard Billy first with dreams. Moving to the Fibes double bass kit was groundbreaking. I saw them in 1974? , Billy was playing the clear Fibes, amazing. The RUclips post have been really entertaining.
I don't know if you have listened to all of the 50 concerts audio tracks on Wolfgangs Vault. But there's some versions of Awakening that are just ridiculously insane. For melodies, listen to the different versions of Trilogy in the opening section with the trading solos between John and Jan. Really beautiful melody lines. John interjects snippets of Beatles, also John interject the melody from the song Layla and other rock songs of that era.. John also interjects the melody from the song Crossroads that Cream played.
got the album *the inner mountain flame* in summer 1981 with 15 years of age and have fallen in love with since. it's still mindblowing and changed my way to enjoy music. best track? *meeting of the spirits* , *vital transformation* and *the dance of maya* .
Great band, saw them live with the original group then with Carlos and the Love, Devotion tour. ... I always thought John was so smart to put this band together and record a year after Bitches Brew. ... I remember that, at the same time I listened to this, I was also listening to CS&N and Music From Big Pink. ... That was an amazing period.
I've always had a particular fondness for Celestial Terrestrial Commuters. While there are definitely more adventurous cuts, it has great top lines, and would be the first song I played to the uninitiated as it displays the palette they're working with well.
Birds of Fire blew my mind, my first purchase. First saw them on a TV show playing live and thought WTF. Must get an album and bought the rest since. It really is a hard choice to pick an introduction, but definitive track of theirs for someone. Short and concise but not too over the top or just give them Birds on Fire and say listen to the full album as I can't pick just one track.😅 . I don't think their is a definitive choice but yours was a good suggestion. 👍😎
I commented on Trilogy off the live album was great. But the lack of better words, the simplicity of "You Know, You Know" with the grove leaves me speechless trying to describe on how great of a song that is and how deeply that song has effected me over the years. That song is one of those timeless pieces that ages gracefully but never gets old . There are not many songs as beautiful as that one. Thank you for the marvelous breakdown you have done on such a great band .
Birds of Fire is still my favorite album! Saw McLaughlin with Shakti in a small performance stage at University of Washington in the ‘80’s … it was magical!!!
My favorite five pieces of music from the Mahavisnu Orchestra are Dream, Noonward Race, Sister Andrea, Miles Beyond and Dance of the Maya in that order. Although Dream is my favorite either Miles Beyond or Noonward Race is what I would give to someone giving MO a first listen and what ultimately captures what they are about.
![Twenty One Pilots - The Line (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XCz7WUotXs8/mqdefault.jpg)
As a music teacher, I used Lila's Dance as an example of what could ultimately be achieved in composition and production. A monumental feat in the studio when everyone is watching the clock. They were able to suspend time for the 6 minute length and create a new dimension. Concise and to the point, with an Indian tri-part structure. ending more or less the way it started. Understated and grand. I could go on and on about this. Thanks for choosing that one. I had an intuition that that was your only option. Just like me. Cheers, love your channel and all the great work you do for the soul of us all.
Lila's dance is truly a masterpiece. The drumming on that song is other worldly.
@@strtgtr66 Thanks for your comment. The drums are on a different plane of musical existence. Sublime delivery and articulation.
Eternity’s Breath does it for me. A great introduction to MO even though it’s from the second incarnation. It’s what got me into MO as a teenager and I still get the most thrills out of that piece, along with Lila’s Dance.
I think the ultimate Mahavishnu track is ‘Meeting Of The Spirits’. It encapsulates all that is Mahavishnu, the first line up.
By far my favourite Mahavishnu album is ‘apocalypse’. The compositions are glorious, Narada’s drumming is incredible and I love Mike Gibbs arrangements. They were all recorded in single takes, with the band in one room and the orchestra set up in a separate room.
I like the later albums with Walden, where Mahavishnu got a bit more soulful and funky.
I like your humility. Instead of saying "the best" like you know it all, you say "my favourite".
McLaughlin might agree with your choice of Meeting of the Spirits. This piece opened pretty much every show the MO ever played!
Agree, Meeting of the Spirits is where it all began
It was mind bending for me to hear as a 16yo drummer.
Apocalypse is really underrated. What Ponty plays is awwesome
I like One Word - every member of the band gets to solo and the repeated unison lines at the end is just intense!
One word is a cover of a Tony Williams song
@@samuelbrown2147 a Lifetime song. It was issued on '45. I think John is the composer
Sheer INTENSITY!
"A Lotus On Irish Streams" from that first album is a really beautiful piece. Just John on acoustic guitar, Jan on piano and Jerry's violin. The music breathes in a way unusual for the normally frenetic band.
Eternity's Breath part 1. The power of the guitar/strings unison line emerging from the heaviness while Walden torments the time continuum is maximum.
Life changing...so much so that it sent me on a quest and now I am friends with Narada!!! That is the power of that tune
For me it's gotta be "Birds of Fire" for the chordal/compositional elements and rhythmic drive and "Thousand Island Park" or "A lotus on Irish streams" for the more intricate acoustic side.
Prior to Mahavishnu John recorded an album called Devotion. On there, a piece called Marbles, later called Open Country is my all time favourite McL composition. Second best is The Noonward Race. I was also age 14 back in 1972. You kind of had to have been there to appreciate what they did.
Oh man. It's just impossible. Though I smiled a wry smile in resonance with a few things you said. For example, the very special place in the heart for Visions. One particular summer 20 years ago, an acid drenched summer, my world turned upside down by MO and in particular this album. I've been playing guitar since 82, and been almost a disciple of McLaughlin for many years.
I'm sure you understand the futility of this "best of MO" undertaking? The depth of this music is beyond even a lifetime of listening. So, today you may feel that Dance of Maya is the one...tomorrow Sanctuary may grab you by the bollocks of your very soul and you'll wonder how you never truly heard it before. And honestly, don't you get the impression that most of the studio recordings are but sketches for the really out there pieces of outstanding beauty and brilliance...the live gigs.... I think the heaviest most epic most harrowing gob smacking and heart melting thing I ever heard...one of the few pieces of music that almost literally FLOORED me...Sanctuary from the Boston "75 gig.
I just don't know what I'd play as an introduction. I played Lilas Dance to a newbie once, and he giggled at the repeated horn riff near the end. Because to his ears it sounded a little dated and clichéd. With MO you just never know if it's going to hit home with a newbie. Or fly right over their head. Nevermore would I sit someone down and make them listen to a whole album. Why,? Because it's just so damn heavy and intense. I'd probably rather slip them a CD and suggest they check it out sometime when they've got space and time for something really potentially life changing. Like...just before they fall asleep for example.
I guess my go to clip for fellow music lovers who don't know MO has been...Hope/One Word the ABC gig on RUclips. Because Billy Cobham is like thunder. And McLaughlin looks and plays like an angel. You see the look of Divine bliss and surrender of the soul on McLaughlins face and I like to think maybe people suddenly get it...?
I love that you love Visions. Oh yes.
And Miles Out. Hee hee. People wonder what's at the centre of the Milky Way. They try using telescopes and fancy equipment. Silly people. Want to know what's in the centre of the Milky Way? Inner Worlds track 2, of course. :)
Blessings from UK.
Big love and respect!
Cosmic Strut. That bass line. And everything else.
Great stuff, @andyedwards. You Know You Know gets my vote.
Yes! Scrolled a long time looking for this one. Don't know if I can pick one favorite but if I had to, it's You Know You Know. 🔥
I saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra with Santana and Weather Report in Cleveland on a 4th of july! I learned about John from the Miles Davis album Right Off. Our art teacher in JR. High played it and we could not believe this guitar! We sure knew about Jimi Hendrix and Maybe even Led Zepplin and the Doors and Black Sabbath but John McLaughlin blew our minds! :) I'm 68 now!
The same for me … until i listened to Allan with Soft Machine…. Sorry John
When I was a kid in Houston in the 70s, there was actually a radio station that played these guys. I already liked Indian music and I could hear a little bit of that in there. Had to pause the video and go to Spotify and listen to awakening the live version on the reissue of the Central Park concert. I can definitely hear how they influence my favorite Prog band :Brand X.
As well as some of the guitar, licks on blow by blow
Having said that, I have a distain for artists, pretend to be spiritual, and yet screw their partners for more money.
If Jon, and given the others writing credits and equal billing, maybe tone down the touring schedule a bit. It might’ve lasted 30 years like the Grateful Dead.
Fear is the mind killer - Dune
Greed is the band killer -me
I'm surprised Andy didn't mention "One Word" in the context of Tony Williams Lifetime, with the beautiful Jack Bruce vocals. Well done, regardless.
Trilogy off of the live album "From Nothingness to Eternity"
The Noonward Race! Off the first album, "The inner mounting flame." This tune just explodes!
One word for me, mind bending, the intensity and brilliance of each solo, especially Billy Cobham! ❤
"Hope" from "Birds Of Fire" is magnificent. ♥
BIRDS OF FIRE ! followed by DREAM and on 3rd place LILA' S DANCE
Lila's Dance, Open Country Joy, You Know You Know & on & on!
The guitar credenza in Sister Andrea is some super human spine tingling stuff. We’re fortunate it was recorded
It’s always been the guitar passage which impressed me most by JMc
Go to Wolfgangs Vault and listen to all of the 50 live concerts they have there. Insane stuff.
McLaughlin on that 12 string solo in the middle (Jan Hammer playing chords softly in support)...McLaughlin is RAW in certain notes. Screaming and bending the top E pair. You get some odd vibration phenomena happening when you try to bend the unison top E's. There's a dissonant pulse as the two top E's don't bend in exactly the same way. Uniquely expressive. The B string pair is also unison. Then he finds himself on the octave G's and that Gibson rings like a bell.
I have always pined for an electric 12, be it Rickenbacker, Gibson, Ibanez Artist are beautiful old twin necks.
It is a truly blistering guitar solo in Sister Andrea.
yes, the guitar surpasses the remainder of this ordinary Jan Hammer tune
i agree on everything here
i saw the birds of fire band in montreal when i was a teen
lilas dance is incredible indeed i just rediscover it thanks to you
"TRILOGY"-BETWEEN NOTHINGNESS & ETERNITY/Central Park version.
For me the Mahavishnu Orchestra is one of the best bands of all time, the albums are also all fantastic, Birds of Fire my favourite.
You know you know is my favourite. The rest are impressive more than they are enjoyable for me.
Spot on again, Andy! For me, it's Mahavishnu's VOTEB every single time. This is my favourite Jazz Rock Fusion LP and the one I always recommend to anyone wanting to check out the band for the first time. It's Mahavishhnu at their very finest.
Meeting of the Spirits was the first MO tune I heard and it changed my life. There are many favorites, but Lila's Dance is special. Amazing solo from the Master!
Lila's Dance and You know you know. Otherwise, Guardian Angels. These are the songs I learned because I love the soul.
Awakening!
Mr Edwards it is very enlightening to hear a musician communicate so deeply their insights of such magnificent artists like McLaughlin & Holdworths , progressive music etc. thank you peace & love
Celestial Terrestrial Commuters from Birds of Fire. It rocks! Birds of Fire is a very close second. Being a bassist, I've sent links to One Word to all the drummers I play with as an example of the quality I expect. ;)
Me too bassist since '88! Rick Laird and Ralphe Armstrong are 2 very different very interesting bassists, huh. Rick Laird can get very strange, very abstract, very atonal in certain live MO gigs. I'm like ...uh oh...Rick Laird WUT ARE YOU DOING? Where are you going? Oh gawd please don't mess it up!!! But his tastefulness and sense of understatement always seems to win through.
Ralphe Armstrong..wow I love Ralphe Armstrong. His bass playing on Visions...oh my. Fretless. Wah wah. Just a little bit of overdrive and some snappy compression. That burbling descending run in the intro to Faith...landing on a huge F# on the low E string as McLaughlin arpeggiates that big open expansive F#m7sus4.
Rick Laird and Ralphe Armstrong. Both of them solid as anything. Both of them out of this world in their own way. I have so much to learn from both of them.
Blessings from UK.
Btw..my 4 string baby is a metallic blue custom Squier Jazz w rosewood board w dot inlays.
the bassline to Birds is dead easy.. the top end parts, all modal, not so much.
Man, I'm the greatest mahavishnu fan of this entire galaxy. This channel is gold for me. God bless you. Love your videos.
Fine choice! I have always loved me some "Love Divine", but alas that is my fellow Carolinian, Trane, as channeled through the boys.
Oh - for those who care about this sort of thing - I created a "Miles Out" patch for the Roland VG-99 guitar processor because I loved that insane track. Just in case someone wants to do a cover someday.
Visions Of The Emerald Beyond is also my favorite album of all time. Lila's Dance is also my favorite MO tune. John's solo on there is the single event that forever shifted my mind. I didn't know that story about Trevor Horne admiring the production of Ken Scott on this album - that is a great revelation! I am encouraged and happy that so many people place this album as their favorite of all time. Wow!
There's the world before MO and the world after MO. During the time that MO was active, the world was MO.
Many years ago I was on a John McLaughlin email list. There was a poll for the best solo of the Master and Lila's Dance was selected as the best solo. I think the runner-ups were Lady L (from Shakti) and Hymn to Hym.
I'll second that pick.
Visions of the Emerald Beyond
Lilas Dance.
I listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra
and Santana also with
Alice Coltrane Illuminations, Caravan Serai, Welcome, Borboletta, etc.
Also Where Have I Known You Before
Chick Cores especially all the Al DiMeola records.
The time signatures six six six and two.
Heavy drums.
Diatonic chromatic modal bliss.
Lila's Dance here, too!
Lila's dance must also be my favorite I support your decision!
Eternity's breath part 1. Simply astonishing. (It was my intro to the MO. I just couldn't believe it).
It was not my intro but the tune is on my list too.
Not an easy one, I am of an age where I could not wait for the release of Birds of Fire and imported the album. Although I bought all of the albums, my love really stems from the first two. Until recently I always felt that Birds of Fire was my favourite album but as I grow older there is an spirit and rawness about the first album which gives it an edge. Dance of the Maya is my favourite track (followed by Birds of Fire). However, I can still remember when I put Inner Mounting Flame on and heard Meeting of the Spirits and was 'blown away' and for that reason the track will also have a special place in my heart.
Amazing, You took thoughts straight out of my head. Those are my sentiments exactly!
Dance of Maya, Lila's Dance, Hope, Electric Dreams, Guardian Angels. Ive taught myself to play all of the above and currently working on Lila's Dance! 😎
There needs to be a documentary about MO n it's influences on other bands n musicians. I heard interviews from Todd Rundgren to Phil Collins speaking about first hearing Mahavishnu Orchestra n the impact it had on them.
Yep, Todd Rundgren talked about how the tune "Sunburst Finish" on Utopia's "RA" record was their nod to the Mahavishnu Orchestra but then they also wanted to sing over that stuff. Insanity.
John told the interviewer, after reveling in his Hendrix stories, "I wouldn't be who I am without Jimi and B.B. King". In 1970 Mirslav Vitous (sp), bass player for Joe Zawinal, called John and asked him to join Mirslav's new band - Weather Report. John declined as he had a lot to say in a Mahavishnu way. I saw Weather Report after playing Sweetnighter a thousand times - Whiskey au Go Go, 1974, yes they blew the house down. Mirslav played bass. John was one year older than me. Still is.
Some of the MO pieces - the dance of Maya - where played by the Tony Williams lifetime a few years before, some with the Devotion band
@@jpsmaj3235 - the Lifetime was a superb band though a bit fast, I gave up "shredding" in the nineties and developed several guitar techniques that focus on melody, such as the Django Technique - fretting hand uses two fingers only (like Django) - index and middle, to force the muscles to follow melody. It works, fretters, try it. Shredding has zero to do with melody, mostly. I play Dance of the Maya in my own way which is superb. Thank you. Birds O' Fire!.
Strange watching this unfold, with my choice exactly
the same!
Usually, in these things people have slightly different tastes.
Totally agree with all your selection!
Was sweating on it at the end!
I'LL JUST MAKE IT SHORT.RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD,"HYMN TO HIM"!The fact is that there are so many great compositions & musicians,it would take time & words that I don't have time for right now.Thanks.
Meeting Of The Spirits.
It has such an awesome but hypnotic & otherworldly riff, perfectly accompanied by Billy's drums, and encapsulates the Mahavishnu sound as a whole.
So many other great tracks of course, but Meeting Of The Spirits sets the bar right from the start (1st track, 1st album) for what is yet to come...
Most virtuoso guitar players play set-piece licks blazingly fast strung together in a more-or-less coherent fashion. Having slowed down some of his solos to try and pick them up, I get the impression there is an intent behind every note and every space that John McLaughlin employs - no matter the speed. He is, for me, the fastest thinking and feeling guitarist out there. I am in awe of his creativity over such a long period of time.
I have played some (well, I tried) and as you start learning it you realize every little phrase is really a work of musical art, it is amazing how he does what he does. He goes way beyond what most people do, like WAY beyond...
Thanks Andy, Lila's Dance for me too. Ponty's playing is incredibly beautiful and McLaughlin is wonderfully intense. Superb ending too.
I'll second that pick.
Visions of the Emerald Beyond
Lilas Dance.
I listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra
and Santana also with
Alice Coltrane Illuminations, Caravan Serai, Welcome, Borboletta, etc.
Also Where Have I Known You Before
Chick Cores especially all the Al DiMeola records.
The time signatures six six six and two.
Heavy drums.
Diatonic chromatic modal bliss.
I learned to surf with this music in the early Seventies in California 1974-5.
They need to make a Surfing movie and drama with this music. Along with
Honk's second album it could be
The Ultimate State of Mind of
Music and Surfing.
Thousand Island Park is worthy of mention. The guitar solo in Way Of The Pilgrim is like a mini composition.
WOTP is a masterwork which could have been a radio single record.
In terms of composition, [Hymn to him] is my favorite tune.
I think it's a tremendous accomplishment, fusing western classic, jazz, rock, and Indian music.
Yes definitely.
It is very significant that both songs have dance in the titles. Great video!
I have so much love for Birds of Fire as it was the first one I got. The production is beautiful, a jazz band with the clarity of well produced rock band. Kind of guessed Visions of the Emerald Beyond would feature, knowing how much you love Narada. Mclaughlin was pretty spoiled with his drummers!
I know trains get his thumb print all over a Love supreme. But damn it I love John's version. I can almost feel Carlos Santana sweat trying to keep up.
Santa Monica, CA 1971, I and 2 friends are in front of the Civic Auditorium screaming on LSD. We are there to see ELP a favorite and we're wondering who is this warm up band Mahavishnu Orchestra? Inside, we see what looks to be a California style country rock band. A guy with super long hair and overalls, A few guys with really short hair, one of them black and a guy in all white linens with a double SG. Then the guy in white says 'we won't start until I can hear this pin drop'. All silent and ping. Needless to say, the silence on it's own was rather psychedelic. Well, they start MotS and we were freaking gonna go clear, we had no Idea how intense and that 21st scitz man could be and was surpassed. I had to go to the lobby by the 3rd tune. Less volume. Finished it and ELP sorry to say was almost comedic. MO became our favorite and we got to see them again a week later at the Whisky a gogo where we got to spend 5 minutes chatting with them out behind the Whisky. What a week that was!
Let me ad that I saw John for free here where I live in the Yucatan in 2017. Great hearing the old tunes again. But modern effects and tech can't compare to SUNN or Marshal stacks. ruclips.net/video/O2xM5jrgzZk/видео.html
You lucky guy !
The first album was in your face, the second just incredible and by the time Visions of the Emerald Beyond came out, I lost it, I was sold...been a fan of McLaughlin ever since. The first six or seven tracks of Vision are as close to music perfection as I have ever heard. Pastoral and Faith are just McLaughlin at its best.
Vision is a Naked Sword from the Apocalypse album gets me everytime, a totally amazing son!
certainly a contender
Same here . That funk groove toward the end is awesome and that tone he got before that groove was great.....a real soaring solo.
My favourite 3 MO albums are the same, in order of BOF, VOTEB, and IMF. So many great songs on each of these albums. Hard to pick a best, but I have always been blown away by the title track on Birds of Fire. It was the first MO album I bought, and hearing that track as the opening track opened a new world, and is such a great introduction to what is to come on the rest of the album.
Andy, it’s unbelievable. Visions… and Lila’s Dance my favourite album and track, but my second is You Know, You Know.
The real question is "what are MO's best live versions of any of their tunes?" I'd like to have their albums with all songs picked from their best live performances. You Know You know would rank very high.
Totally agree with your choice 🎉 Lila’s Dance is a wonder. As one of the finalist I would of had Meeting of the Spirits. Enjoyed your musings, love Mahavishnu Orchestra.
"THE WAY OF THE PILGRIM" is another great 1 & what an anthem!What a great ,humble yet powerful title also.
I agree with your overall picks for tunes but for me it is Dance of the Maya. I'm a good bit older than you and I came from the Mahavishnu Orchestra via My Goals Beyond. I was in love with that album and when Inner Mounting Flame came out I rushed down to my record store and brought it home. I remember to this day putting the needle on the first track "Meeting of the Spirits"....Whoa... I wasn't expecting the barrage that followed. I had the good fortune a short time later to see the band live. One of my top three concerts of the 70's. I prefer Dance of the Maya for its rawness.
About 50 or so years ago I was an undergrad in university, just starting to play music, and one of the guys put this Mahavishnu album on and we were blown away. It was unbelievably beautiful and intense at the same time.
The 12-string guitar solo in Sister Andrea is, for me, the most emotionally moving guitar solo I've ever heard. Still gives me the shivers.
The Sister Andrea solo is for me one of the best all times....you say it, but i think the solo is on 6 String, John plays many bendings....
@@freespiritsguitar2871 I'm happy to stand corrected but I owned a twin neck and played through distortion during my "I want to be John McLaughlin" phase. That's how a 12 string electric strung with .008 guage strings sounds. You can easily hear the octave strings at the start of the solo when he plays on the bass strings. When he bends the high E and B strings which are tuned in unison you can hear them beating slightly out of tune with each other (I love that sound). It's also really hard to bend in tune on a 12 string and you can hear that as well.....which makes it sound even better to me. Here is a clip of him playing a different version of the song. It's a very different solo but you can see he plays the 12 string and he bends lots of times. The sound is kind of similar. ruclips.net/video/yeQTbN9qRWA/видео.html
Thats insane he's playing that on the 12...I didn't realise 👍
Yip
You’re absolutely right. I love how he takes it down a notch and then builds it back up to that crescendo when Billy Cobham comes back in, then resolving back into the melody. 55 years later it’s still some of the most extraordinary guitar playing ever recorded. A real rollercoaster.
Saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra in a small club (250 seat) shortly after Inner Mounting Flame was released. Had not heard the album. I was familiar with John's work with Miles, Tony Williams, and his album Devotion(?). Knew of Billy Cobham from his work with the band he was in with the Brecker Brothers and John Abercrombie, and because i grew up in Queens and knew musicians who lived on his street and had played with him. Sat about 10 feet from the stage. I was shocked to my core. The virtuosity and sheer power of the music was mind-blowing. Saw the original lineup 4-5 times after that, twice on a bill with Zappa, and once on a bill with Ravi Shankar.
On a different note, several drummers prior to Billy played double-bass drums, including Louis Bellson (sp), Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, and the drummer for Jethro Tull. IMO, Ginger Baker really made double-bass drums popular.
Lucky you! I was too young; when I realized that BN&E was captured at the stupid Central Park Skating Rink, I sobbed for days that I missed it.
Now let's talk about "ONE WORD".HELLO,is this thing on!The produced version,as are many,is the best because,in the live versions they tend to show off & speed them up.Which,I like also because they also show they're creativity & improvising.The best live version/video is their debut on IN CONCERT,& that drum solo is my favorite & very inventive plus,the young crowd going wild as they probably didn't know what train just hit them!😅
BTW, the one tour the Visions band did absolutely blew my mind… string quartet, horn section, John Luc Ponty, Gayle Moran, Narmada Michael Waldron, Ralph’s Armstrong … just stunning and overwhelming. It topped the shows I saw with the original band, if such a thing is possible.
"Smile of the Beyond" from Apocalypse for pure ,beautiful , spiritual meditave music is my choice😊 I love it❤
The problem with the choice here is that - you are choosing between 2 *different* bands here. The initial incarnation and then after that band dissolved you have incarnation number two. I saw both incarnations live and have nearly everything Mahavishnu Orchestra ever played, official and bootlegs. The first incarnation’s best song is a choice between “Dance of Maya” and “One Word” (where everyone gets to stretch). The second incarnation - I have few favorites but “Eternity’s Breath” opening track is a monster. In reality if you want to locate a “best song” it will not be in their official releases but in the various plethora of bootleg versions where the group gets to stretch without studio length limits. None of the various official live recordings are really that superb. This band was meant to be experienced *live*.
Great video!!! The best MO tune is the best performance of any tune they did.
I missed the live chat on this one. Mahavishnu are unbeatable. They set the benchmark. My favourite album is the Emerald. I know it's not the original classic line up but it's my favourite and my favourite track is Be Happy. I love Cosmic Strut, Lila's Dance and Eternity s Dance. It's the drums on Be Happy that are explosive.
Fantastic show, Andy. I wish I had been available for the live banter.
You Know You Know. A guitar players dream. Jeff Beck loves it as well.
Every time I saw him, he played You Know You Know and Stratus.
@@sealisa1398 - Excellent! I did not know about Stratus - I last saw Jeff in 1973 the year before his band toured with Maha.
The first track I ever heard was because I happened to play side 2 first. Vital Transformation. I clearly remember where, when and with whom it happened. I was in 10th grade. That drum intro by Billy blew my mind, I had never heard a guitar solo like that. I am still partial to that song, perhaps because it popped my cherry and blew my ming first.
_Dream_ from the live album gives you the essence of the band.
From the Vision album my choice is _Ethernity’s Breath Pt 1._ Narada Michael Walden’s drumming is not of this world.
But I am going to cheat and smuggle in _The Life Divine_ from the McLaughlin/Santana album Love Devotion Surrender which is not a MO song but it’s my absolute favorite of everything John McLaughlin has done.
The two guitar solos are pure meditation.
For me, it's a close call between Birds of Fire and Dance of Maya. The solo on Birds of Fire is so unhinged, yet musical. And the open line in Dance of Maya that they return to toward the end of the tune when you least expect it made me break out into cold sweats the first time I heard it.
Fantastic stuff, Andy - raconteurium in excelsis! Great choice too. I think I'd go with 'One Word' from MO mark 1.
Celestial Terrestrial Commuters is my absolute favorite tune. It's on the Birds of Fire album. 2cd favorite is MO 2.0's Hymn to Him.
if I may, my 3 favorites, out of the top of my head are 'The Noonward Race', 'Birds of Fire' and 'Celestial Terrestrial Commuters', w/ honorary mentions being 'Resolution' , 'Miles Beyond' ,'Eternity's Breath pt.2', 'Faith'. 'Can't Stand Your Funk' and 'Cosmic Strut' Cheers.
Answer is - You know you know. It just is.
If you know, you know
BTW, There are no words to describe Jan Hammer and his contribution to keyboard players and modern music. He deserves the highest accolades and it is fantastic that you are such a proponent of his music and contribution. thanks again!
It is my understanding that McLaughlin and Hammer could not get along. This is what i understand is the reason the first band split up. I might be wrong on this observation but this is what i heard thru the grapevine. Just my 2 cents.
Miles Out is an incredible track that shows that John McLaughlin was way out there looking for new music. But Visions is my favourite MO album and I decided to have a quick listen just now. Yes, Lila's Dance is a masterpiece and I've always loved how this album ends but if I were asked to pick a track which sums up the spirit of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Be Happy would be as good as any. It's pure joy at 100 mph.
Birds of fire for me from the first listen as a teenager .... chamber music.... perfection
Hey man, thank you so much for this. It’s been a long time since I’ve ever thought about this music. First time I heard it was my first semester freshman year of undergrad ‘75-‘76 my roommate introduced me to this orchestra. I had to go back and listen to it again after this and bringing back many memories. Most likely inspired me to buy Cobham’s solo album with his humongous yellow plexiglass double drum kit. Now I’m gonna have to look that up. Cheers, mate.
"Dream" is my fave,as is "Between Nothingness & Eternity". "Lila`s Dance" a close 2nd. You forgot to mention Jerry Goodman! & it`s "Awakening" off I.M.F. I love the way Cobham plays on I.M.F. on the smaller kit,the bass & snare drum in particular sound great.As you rightly said,Narada`s drum sound on "Visions" sounds awesome,Gretsch kit I think. Thankyou for the talk on this legend band.
I couldn't agree more! Lila's Dance is also my favorite tune off Visions. My number two MO tune would be One Word because everyone has a solo spot and of course because of the insanely fast unison lines. By the way, it's no coincidence that Dance Of Maya and Lila's Dance both have the word "dance" in them. I think it was John's way of hinting that they have the bluesy 20/8 section in common. Lila's Dance is in 5/4 but the unison lines representing the chorus are in 7/8. Therefore the track has three different time signatures.
Andy! When I was 14-15 (1975ish), I was in love with Inner Mounting Flame and no other Mahavishnu record (I have had them all!) has ever quite done it for me like IMF has; and on IMF, "Dawn" is the one which blew my mind the most and the track I have listened to the very most. It BURNS, like the heart of the sun, with such strange ever rising harmonies, so compactly, seethingly, strangely, and McLaughlin does something which to my 15 year old mind has never been quite equalled (except by Holdsworth). But I love them all!!
I played birds of fire and inner mounting flame hundreds of times. I heard Billy first with dreams. Moving to the Fibes double bass kit was groundbreaking. I saw them in 1974? , Billy was playing the clear Fibes, amazing. The RUclips post have been really entertaining.
Great commentary sir.
Thanx, it was a trip.
I don't know if you have listened to all of the 50 concerts audio tracks on Wolfgangs Vault. But there's some versions of Awakening that are just ridiculously insane. For melodies, listen to the different versions of Trilogy in the opening section with the trading solos between John and Jan. Really beautiful melody lines. John interjects snippets of Beatles, also John interject the melody from the song Layla and other rock songs of that era.. John also interjects the melody from the song Crossroads that Cream played.
got the album *the inner mountain flame* in summer 1981 with 15 years of age and have fallen in love with since. it's still mindblowing and changed my way to enjoy music. best track? *meeting of the spirits* , *vital transformation* and *the dance of maya* .
Great band, saw them live with the original group then with Carlos and the Love, Devotion tour. ... I always thought John was so smart to put this band together and record a year after Bitches Brew. ... I remember that, at the same time I listened to this, I was also listening to CS&N and Music From Big Pink. ... That was an amazing period.
I've always had a particular fondness for Celestial Terrestrial Commuters. While there are definitely more adventurous cuts, it has great top lines, and would be the first song I played to the uninitiated as it displays the palette they're working with well.
ditto to that selection ... what a delightful little tune in 19 for the uninitiated :)
This piece was included in John first album Extrapolation in 69 as Binky’s Beam
I perceive "Dance of the Maya" in a concise way as in 10/4
How about 20/8 in triplet feel.
Great choice! Lila's Dance transcends genre!
Miles out is the only 1 on my listt. The best track on imf isvital transformation. Best sing on veb is cosmic strut.
"One Word" for me.
What about a show on Ken Scott (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, Happy the Man , Dixie Dregs) ?
'Lila's Dance' PS I made my choice right from the start of watching the video ! (lol ) That song is pure beautiful genius !
Birds of Fire blew my mind, my first purchase. First saw them on a TV show playing live and thought WTF. Must get an album and bought the rest since. It really is a hard choice to pick an introduction, but definitive track of theirs for someone. Short and concise but not too over the top or just give them Birds on Fire and say listen to the full album as I can't pick just one track.😅 .
I don't think their is a definitive choice but yours was a good suggestion. 👍😎
Holy cow!!! Same here!!! It was a late night live music tv show and I was stunned! I went out the next day and bought Birds of Fire!!!
I commented on Trilogy off the live album was great. But the lack of better words, the simplicity of "You Know, You Know" with the grove leaves me speechless trying to describe on how great of a song that is and how deeply that song has effected me over the years. That song is one of those timeless pieces that ages gracefully but never gets old . There are not many songs as beautiful as that one. Thank you for the marvelous breakdown you have done on such a great band .
Birds of Fire is still my favorite album!
Saw McLaughlin with Shakti in a small performance stage at University of Washington in the ‘80’s … it was magical!!!
My favorite five pieces of music from the Mahavisnu Orchestra are Dream, Noonward Race, Sister Andrea, Miles Beyond and Dance of the Maya in that order. Although Dream is my favorite either Miles Beyond or Noonward Race is what I would give to someone giving MO a first listen and what ultimately captures what they are about.