I was 14 and babysitting in Syracuse university's married student housing at skytop and while riding my bike home saw this gathering and the coolest dressed and sounding band just playing for free on the hill packed with hippies on a glorious day. I got off my bike and the crowd near me said this is John McLaughlin and the mahavishnu orchestra. And I should stay and listen. So I did. It was a nice segue way from changing diapers and singing rubber duckie two many times to too many toddlers. All good memories.
totally crazy… my dad was in this audience in 1972 while he was in college. And now I'm watching the same exact show from my couch in 2015 as I'm applying to college.
Band member at this time would have been: John McLaughlin - guitar Jan Hammer - keyboards Jerry Goodman - violin Rick Laird - bass guitar Billy Cobham - drums
There really is only one John McLaughlin. This guy is without peer. His solo on the first number alone, Meeting Of The Spirits, makes my jaw drop. ...this performance is so raw, so inspired, so organic. I think this is as musically valid as they ever were. Billy Cobham is completely untouchable. Jan Hammer is a great harmonic/melodic partner to John. Jerry and Rick were great. John McLaughlin is a musical freak of nature, so brilliant and creative. A band like this won't happen again.
Not much more to say … incredible that this Sound was possible to perform for people, they were really interested in the ongoing metamorphosis of contemporary rock music ….
I saw Mahavishnu about this time. A new band "The Eagles" was the opening act, a band called "Yes" was the second act and Mahavishnu was the headliner. It was at the Akron (Ohio) rubber bowl stadium.
Cobham also was a great listener to the other musicians. His interaction level is outstanding! He did not miss anything! I never like their bass player that much.... Rick Laird.
The raw intensity of this recording shows an unsurpassed fusion of styles, virtuosity and composition. Each member made this group what it was. But John McLaughlin had and held the vision to see this through. And nobody Ever played guitar like that before he did. Bravo.
Hey, it's 2023 and Mahavishnu Orchestra is as fresh today as it was 50 years ago. I saw them three times in 1973. The first time, an outdoor concert in western Massachusetts. And Billy Cobham rolled like thunder through the hills. Just fantastic, and liberating.
I saw them at reading 75 in the afternoon.WAT DAFUT WAS THON STUFF.i mean infinite infinite stuff.LIKE YER ma'S KNICKERS,AFTER YER DA BLEW HIS WAD ON HER BAKE AND A BIT OF MUCK DRIBBLED DOWN on her incandescent spunkatude.Believe.
Jerry Goodman was every bit as good as any of them up on stage. He was very expressive, dynamic, melodic and not just playing a lot of notes, even though he certainly did that a lot also! LOL
John McLaughlin is one of my guitar heroes. I met him after a concert in Chicago were he played with Al Demiola and Paco Delucia. It was all acoustic but for a guitar fanatic like me it was beyond heavenly. Superb to the max. I got all three of their autographs afterwards and it is a prized procession of mine. I talked with John briefly and he was a super nice guy. He said the tape of him and Hendrix was somewhere stored but hoped it would be released. He said Hendrix was a nice guy. To hear one guitar god talk about my idol made me float. I treasure that moment all these years later. Peace everyone
Been on a JM binge today and can't help being reminded of an interview he gave when he was maybe in his late 60's in which he complained that the big old double neck weighed so much it gave him back aches. He's still in great shape physically and musically in 2024.
I always frankly enjoyed Jan and Jerry's solos more. Jan is yearning for the future mini-moog with that ring modulator. Did he ever get a 2600 like Zawinul?
+ge Cobham is the complete drummer; fast, technically proficient, but more importantly totally understands the nature of dynamics, when to play ahead or behind his fellow musicians, he is awe inspiring
I agree with Mr. Steinhart - this is early in Mahavishnu's career. Cobham is playing a single bass 6 piece kit while it sounds like his regular 16 piece double bass...and he's not lacking anything here.
Ok, I was totally blown away when I first heard MO on recorded in 74. Can you imagine the people sitting there hearing this for the very first time LIVE in 72?!
Wow! I know what you mean. Around 1972 I was guitarist in a touring band playing a gig in Indianapolis at a club called the Gold Doubloon. I'll never forget it. A local guy and his lady invited the band to their house to get high (pot) and party. Our band was doing R&B and some top 40 but I was raised listening to jazz (Wes Montgomery, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, etc,. ). Anyway, I got stoned and the guy had me lie down in the middle of his "quadraphonic" sound system and said, "check this out". He played "Inner Mounting Flame" which, of course, opens with Meeting of the Spirits. OMG! We all have one or more life changing experiences and that was certainly one for me. I'll never forget it. The rest of the album just continued to blow me away, and still does.
I'd discovered Mclaughlin & MO not too long before this concert, and still living in Syracuse (I grew up just a mile down from Skytop where this concert was held), was pretty excited to learn of this free afternoon concert. I was already a fan of MO, but was equally blown away by Shankar and his fellow musicians. A pretty amazing experience in total and I'm forever grateful to have received that gift.
even with the rudimentary sound recording device this golden music just shines thru.... the creator light emanates within the musician's complex integrations.... this was the height of western civilisation which has of late started crumbling badly..... hopefully to oneday return.... mclauglin and miles davis certainly recreated the concept of romantic jazz into a form of media applicable on many levels of understanding.................. thanks for posting
Incredible! the first time I heard "Inner mounting flame" album I was in a state of shock for a week then at university I bored some of my fellow students to death trying to spread the word but there were others who heard the MO coming through my walls and were converted. Great memories! Thanks for a great upload PS John's accent has come a long way from Doncaster!
This is awesome! I lived just outside of Syracuse, NY in Liverpool at the time. I was 16, and an avid Santana fan (and still am). Wish I had known about this concert - would have loved to have been there! Gosh, where has great music like this gone? Is it an era that has left us forever? :-(
Same here.......I was on my way to Oswego,NY and joined a Rock Band 1972. (19yrs. old) Someone had mentioned this concert, I missed it. So glad to see/ hear it Now.
I grew up in Fairmount and was 12 at the time... Wish I had been Old enough to go to this. Had friends that worked at the SU radio station that had tons of live shows from Cuse that I got from! Really nice to see as video from this far back in time!
I have to say thank you so much for this,I really enjoyed this immensely. Its a beautiful Sunday morning, had my coffee outside on the patio and came in the house to listen to some music. Now I have John and Mahavishnu Orchestra. I started listening to John and the boys since the late 60's, when he made Love,Surrender,Devotion with Carlos Santana. I have my Mac hooked up to my 1000 watt 7.1 system and my 32" T.V. monitor, and I am sure to have a great day. Again, THANK YOU.....Danny...
i saw the mahavishnu orchestra in a triple bill circa 1972....i knew a second act on the bill was frank zappa and the mothers of invention, but didn't know who the third act was....the lights come down and out walks some guy all alone carrying a stool and an acoustic guitar....he set the stool down, took a seat and started playing the most amazing acoustic stuff i'd ever heard...after about a half-hour set he quietly walked offstage to an announcer saying..."leo kottke ladies and gentlemen, leo kottke"...needless to say, mind blown...and thanks to the wonders of modern chemistry my mind was truly blown...talk about a triple bill!...and so eclectic...the most random opening act imaginable for the two bands that followed...man, do i miss those days....
His playing was so powerful that day and the PA was just perfect. When he hit the snare it was like a 30.06 rifle going off.... Just insanely good sounding and powerful. I've seen 200+ concerts in my life, mostly in this era. This concert and probably Frank Zappa with the Overnight Sensation lineup were top 5 easily.
So cool to see this, as I was actually at this concert. About 20 feet from the stage in front of Jan Hammer. Great concert. Ravi Shankar as wonderful as well.
Happy Birthday to my all-time favorite drummer Billy Cobham, who still remains one of most technically proficient, accurate, innovative drummer who exploded on to the drumming scene over 50 years ago. In addition, he possesses one of fastest single rolls I ever heard and saw; played either behind a small or behind a massive drum set! He has been my idol and inspiration for over 35 years. His influence is still heard throughout the drumming community today. Feliz cumpleaños a mi baterista favorito…
Just found this. I was at this concert. Tripping my face off. A Junior at Oswego State, we had seen them before at school on a double bill with Billy Joel opening. That was a combination. Billy Cobham was a joy to watch play. A few stories about John McLaughlin but it's best to let the mystery prevail and just enjoy the experience.
Bought the album THE INNER MOUNTING FLAME when it came out ... then awaited - with my trusty Super-8 - the live show at Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis, MO in 1972. Will digitize and post when and IF I find it!
Billy Cobham was the star of this show. I've seen a lot of music in my time, but never anything as complete and mind boggling as this. The guy is just as good as it gets o drums here. 20:15 for two minutes is the best time keeping I've ever seen.
I like. Never heard these tracks b4. I did not hear them until I heard Visions of the Emerald Beyond. Just mind blowing was my first impression of this band. Timeless
I saw the mahavisu in every line up they had. Every concert was as intense, jaw dropping as this. John McLaughlin is still just as amazing today as he was back then. John an Jeff Beck are 2 artists that have only gotten even better an advanced as they have grown old.
The Great young Billy Cobham !! yeah ! :) Many Many Many Thanks to put this video... i'm shoked !! the video is very old but the sound is good... i think it's an important historic document...!! :) wow ! thanks again !
I wish there was video of The MO from Xavier University ,March 1972, where I first saw them.Saying that,this is the same set they played there I'm sure.The MO made a life long impact on me musically from that day forward.
This group of musicians has been my greatest aspiration/inspiration for the past 15 years. One thing I noticed right now is that there are great bands/players besides Mahavishnu, but what stands out to me right now is their technical proficiency never, NEVER, gets in the way of the music. It's astounding because so many great players will have moments where you can hear the technical proficiency take over, even if for just a short second, to get to a great idea, but with this band, always flawless beautiful intense immaculate music making. God damn I love this band so much lol
I come back to this a lot. Thanks for posting. Saw Jimmy Herring and John Mc co-headining last night in NYC. Third set was a combo of both bands. Herring has a great Rhodes/Fiddle player and you just knew what the combined bands would open with. Sure enough-yours hearing it now. What an awesome night.
I fell in love with the "Birds of Fire" lp & saw Gryphon & the 1974 MO open for the Yes "Relayer" tour, but the original lineup here is the definitive version, the platinum standard. I'm so glad to be able to tune in here after so many years of loving these brilliant songs. Encore!
I saw MO with Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin jammed with Jeff Beck at the end. Jeff kept up with him. It was great. Cobham had moved on by then. MO had a real orchestra behind plexiglass sound guards on stage. Man the Mahavishnu Orchestra was LOUD that night.
I was 16 when I saw him at milwuakees's summerfest just by chance and had no idea who this band was and when I got home the next day from then on I studied jazz fusion. Thanks to them for taking the effort to be so great for all of us
@waynedanberry The guys in Zappa's 70s & 80s bands. George Duke played on some of the early Billy Cobham albums. Jean-Luc Ponty from Zappa's band later became a member of Mahavishnu. Return to Forever also but Chick added guitar to that band after he saw Mahavishnu live. Not that many people can play on this level, technically a lot of people can play fast today but not many can combine technique & artistry like these guys did.
I was 15 years old, and 10 miles away when this show happened. I didn't know about this music yet. I'm glad that I can appreciate it now. Thanks for posting,
Enjoyed this supremely. This video is a perfect starting point for those who really are exploring the sound of one of the great bands of the early seventies. Mahavishnu Orchestra lives!
Thats the best live clip l've ever seen of these guys. And who knew that Elton John could get down like that ! Thanks funkamedic ! You funked me up *GOOD* ! 💥💓
Listening to a 1972 recording of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music produced from this band still blows my mind. I played in a band as a kid with my friend Ken Specker and Kenny loved this band. One day at rehearsal he suggested a Mahavishnu song to learn for our play list, I believe it was "Eternity's Dance", But I can't remember for sure. He played the recording so I could copy the drum part. After I listened I said "WTF"? He could see I was completely befuddled, so he showed me the sheet music to read the tune. After reading the music, I said "WTF" again. We scrapped that tune. My fault.
I remember sitting on the hill at Skytop watching this concert back in '72. Thought about it again today with the death of Ravi Shankar. One of the most memorable concerts I attended.
This footage is absolutely incredible! The audio is as raw as the video, but you can absolutely hear everything ! The Dance Of Maya (27:00) being black and white with the intro with the power lines behind them WOW ! Billy is FIRE ! THANK YOU! Peace from Detroit MI.
OH my god thank you OP for sharing. This is the coolest video ever. Billy was so young and strong on the kit. This blows my mind now, I can only imagine what people thought in 72, especially on good L.
I've listened to alot of Mahavishnu, and even with all its flaws, I really love this concert. They're really hungry here and it makes for some stellar playing.
Okay,Hammer handles his solo section in Dawn pretty good too,lol. It´s amazing how Hammer can totally renew his own sections of the song.He just imposes melodies into the song,any melody,just like that! Amazing! That is what separates a composer from a musician. Once again,i´m speechless and that is not easy to do!
I've been listening to this band since I was 11 or 12 in the early 70's, but wasn't old enough to go to the concerts with my older brother. As great as John was to the band, after seeing and listening to all the RUclips footage, but without Cobham's driving force on drums the band would had been nothing as it were. Shit... Billy was a monster force for the entire group.
All of the best electric music was definitely played in the 60's and 70's.Nothing being done today can match that era,just copy it.All of this is original, the first time it was done.Everyone now sounds like someone before.
I was in Lahaina at the prison and these guys were setting up for a concert later that day and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. It was awesome, I was just passing through on my way home. UNBELIEVABLE
With this band, Biily Cobham and John McClaughlin really advanced their instruments to a whole other level. I never saw them live, (except videos now, thank you various uploaders!), but I do remember friends coming back dramatically changed from a Mahavishnu concert. I thought i could hear why before, but now I really see why. I am intensely inspired by this...
what john says at 23:14 about not identifying with one's own thoughts is so very important in learning how to connect one's spirit to the divine... Thanks to John and all of Mahavishnu for versing these types of thoughts (verbally and musically) in Western music. It truly does make a difference...
23:13 He uses the word "thoughtlessness". "There's no thought, There's only consciousness" Need not be unattainable stuff requiring an Indian guru to access; just think of Windsurfing, if you begin thinking of all the details of balancing and hanging on under the sail you fall into the water but if you just do it without "thought" you are just in the consciousness and prevail in the surf mode, just reflexive to what goes on.
Saw them in Frankfurt Germany in 1973 . Had never heard of them, went to see Mahavishnu's opening act Van Morrison (great talent}. The power of their live set; you don't get through video. BLEW ME AWAY!
Don't know who originally popularized the phrase "you're only as good as your drummer " or something like that, but this phrase concerning this band makes them the best. Saw them the first time they came through town and every consecutive time, but missed the 3 acoustic gig. LOVE electric guitar. So many great players, i think Jeff Beck picked up the fusion torch and ran with it. He always played with different great drummers to keep it fresh.
![Christopher Hitchens - Free Speech (2006) [HQ]](/img/1.gif)
I was 14 and babysitting in Syracuse university's married student housing at skytop and while riding my bike home saw this gathering and the coolest dressed and sounding band just playing for free on the hill packed with hippies on a glorious day. I got off my bike and the crowd near me said this is John McLaughlin and the mahavishnu orchestra. And I should stay and listen. So I did. It was a nice segue way from changing diapers and singing rubber duckie two many times to too many toddlers. All good memories.
wow that's a great story and memory!! what if you never stopped?!
Amazing
Nice memory!!!
What a story.
Very cool happenstance.
totally crazy… my dad was in this audience in 1972 while he was in college. And now I'm watching the same exact show from my couch in 2015 as I'm applying to college.
Audrey Tuck bit of an age gap between you and pops?
That’s awesome.
I was blessed to see Mahavishnu Orchestra 5 times in the early 70's in Socal. Stunning, every time. Stunning today!
Band member at this time would have been:
John McLaughlin - guitar
Jan Hammer - keyboards
Jerry Goodman - violin
Rick Laird - bass guitar
Billy Cobham - drums
RICK LAIRD,BILLY COBHAN,Benny Hill and Thora Hurd on existential vibraphonics.THAT'S THE TOTAL LINE UP
There really is only one John McLaughlin. This guy is without peer. His solo on the first number alone, Meeting Of The Spirits, makes my jaw drop. ...this performance is so raw, so inspired, so organic. I think this is as musically valid as they ever were. Billy Cobham is completely untouchable. Jan Hammer is a great harmonic/melodic partner to John. Jerry and Rick were great. John McLaughlin is a musical freak of nature, so brilliant and creative. A band like this won't happen again.
Ты даже не представляешь, на сколько ты прав.. 🤔
They were the best and still are.
Not much more to say … incredible that this Sound was possible to perform for people, they were really interested in the ongoing metamorphosis of contemporary rock music ….
Almost 45 years later and all I can say is HOLY SHIT!!!!!
No shit!!! Even today, it's it super inspiring!!!
Bill Hard you know you know haha
15:20! ELTON JOHN SITS IN WITH THEM!! WOW!
ha ha! at least 2 of us are up watching. Not Elton, his baldness was somewhere else
I saw Mahavishnu about this time. A new band "The Eagles" was the opening act, a band called "Yes" was the second act and Mahavishnu was the headliner. It was at the Akron (Ohio) rubber bowl stadium.
Billy Cobham just rules this. The odd time signatures are challenging enough, but to groove with them is incredible.
Yes.... How insightful to say that, Bro.. I agree! How can someone groove the way he did with such complex music???
Cobham also was a great listener to the other musicians. His interaction level is outstanding! He did not miss anything!
I never like their bass player that much.... Rick Laird.
@@douglasmccomb2350 Rick was the anchor for that band. if not for him they would have all gone missing.. to this very day.... and yes, Bill E GOAT
@@douglasmccomb2350 Laird kept the band grounded. The music was too complex for everyone to be freestyling. It would've gone into the weeds.
Billy Cobham drummer ..outstanding...
First time i realised how much the violinist drives the music as well...
The raw intensity of this recording shows an unsurpassed fusion of styles, virtuosity and composition. Each member made this group what it was. But John McLaughlin had and held the vision to see this through. And nobody Ever played guitar like that before he did. Bravo.
this band was truly a meeting of the spirits. R.I.P. Rick Laird.
Hey, it's 2023 and Mahavishnu Orchestra is as fresh today as it was 50 years ago. I saw them three times in 1973. The first time, an outdoor concert in western Massachusetts. And Billy Cobham rolled like thunder through the hills. Just fantastic, and liberating.
Cool! Where exactly was this?
@@markrobinson6129 July 21, 1973, Lenox Arts Festival, on the lawn. Regular ticket $3.
I saw them at reading 75 in the afternoon.WAT DAFUT WAS THON STUFF.i mean infinite infinite stuff.LIKE YER ma'S KNICKERS,AFTER YER DA BLEW HIS WAD ON HER BAKE AND A BIT OF MUCK DRIBBLED DOWN on her incandescent spunkatude.Believe.
Conham does sound like thunder🎉
Jerry Goodman was every bit as good as any of them up on stage.
He was very expressive, dynamic, melodic and not just playing a lot of notes, even though he certainly did that a lot also! LOL
Oh, there are some MO bootlegs where Goodman is wiping the floor with McLaughlin and Hammer...and consider the gravity of that statement.
Yeah pretty good at the e minor pentatonic
Complex Virtuosos All!!! Billy Cobham is an octopus fanning the bands flaming performance. Breathtaking still, after 50 years!!
John McLaughlin is one of my guitar heroes. I met him after a concert in Chicago were he played with Al Demiola and Paco Delucia. It was all acoustic but for a guitar fanatic like me it was beyond heavenly. Superb to the max. I got all three of their autographs afterwards and it is a prized procession of mine. I talked with John briefly and he was a super nice guy. He said the tape of him and Hendrix was somewhere stored but hoped it would be released. He said Hendrix was a nice guy. To hear one guitar god talk about my idol made me float. I treasure that moment all these years later. Peace everyone
+James Anderson If you're referring to the Record Plant sessions (with Jimi), it has been on CD for a while now, just in case you were unaware.
+Paul I really? What's the title? When was it released? Thanks
Been on a JM binge today and can't help being reminded of an interview he gave when he was maybe in his late 60's in which he complained that the big old double neck weighed so much it gave him back aches. He's still in great shape physically and musically in 2024.
That Jan Hammer solo is CRAZY!!
I always frankly enjoyed Jan and Jerry's solos more. Jan is yearning for the future mini-moog with that ring modulator. Did he ever get a 2600 like Zawinul?
Simply unbelievable rare footage of some of the most talented jazz fusion musicians that ever lived......
00:00 Meeting of the Spirits >
15:02 You Know, You Know
26:26 Dance of Maya
39:32 Dawn
1. Jazz-rock of world
I was there that day at Skytop in Syracuse and the concert was absolutely amazing!!
cobham a madman fills every hole ....love his playing. thanks for the vid.
Yes incredible. A presence in the music like no other drummer I've heard.
+ge Cobham is the complete drummer; fast, technically proficient, but more importantly totally understands the nature of dynamics, when to play ahead or behind his fellow musicians, he is awe inspiring
he is all about dynamics.
+linkone11 yes
You have to really admire love the talent here. There is a lot talent out there now a days but much harder to find
I agree with Mr. Steinhart - this is early in Mahavishnu's career. Cobham is playing a single bass 6 piece kit while it sounds like his regular 16 piece double bass...and he's not lacking anything here.
+Jack Cosper Billy Cobham is the reason, 30 years ago, I bought double pedals, just to try to try keep up, still working on that, he is the shit
He had 3 floor toms with this kit. you can see them when they play You Know, You Know.
Ok, I was totally blown away when I first heard MO on recorded in 74. Can you imagine the people sitting there hearing this for the very first time LIVE in 72?!
EASY 2 GET BLOWN AWAY BY MO--EXCELLENT TASTE--TREMENDOUS BAND!
Wow! I know what you mean. Around 1972 I was guitarist in a touring band playing a gig in Indianapolis at a club called the Gold Doubloon. I'll never forget it. A local guy and his lady invited the band to their house to get high (pot) and party. Our band was doing R&B and some top 40 but I was raised listening to jazz (Wes Montgomery, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, etc,. ). Anyway, I got stoned and the guy had me lie down in the middle of his "quadraphonic" sound system and said, "check this out". He played "Inner Mounting Flame" which, of course, opens with Meeting of the Spirits. OMG! We all have one or more life changing experiences and that was certainly one for me. I'll never forget it. The rest of the album just continued to blow me away, and still does.
Probably most too stoned out of their minds!!
I'd discovered Mclaughlin & MO not too long before this concert, and still living in Syracuse (I grew up just a mile down from Skytop where this concert was held), was pretty excited to learn of this free afternoon concert. I was already a fan of MO, but was equally blown away by Shankar and his fellow musicians. A pretty amazing experience in total and I'm forever grateful to have received that gift.
even with the rudimentary sound recording device this golden music just shines thru....
the creator light emanates within the musician's complex integrations....
this was the height of western civilisation which has of late started crumbling badly.....
hopefully to oneday return....
mclauglin and miles davis certainly recreated the concept of romantic jazz into a form of media applicable on many levels of understanding.................. thanks for posting
Incredible! the first time I heard "Inner mounting flame" album I was in a state of shock for a week then at university I bored some of my fellow students to death trying to spread the word but there were others who heard the MO coming through my walls and were converted. Great memories! Thanks for a great upload PS John's accent has come a long way from Doncaster!
This is awesome! I lived just outside of Syracuse, NY in Liverpool at the time. I was 16, and an avid Santana fan (and still am). Wish I had known about this concert - would have loved to have been there! Gosh, where has great music like this gone? Is it an era that has left us forever? :-(
It’s tuned at a special frequency that only boomers can here. It also requires drastic amounts of Lol
Same here.......I was on my way to Oswego,NY and joined a Rock Band 1972. (19yrs. old) Someone had mentioned this concert, I missed it. So glad to see/ hear it Now.
I grew up in Fairmount and was 12 at the time... Wish I had been Old enough to go to this. Had friends that worked at the SU radio station that had tons of live shows from Cuse that I got from! Really nice to see as video from this far back in time!
I have to say thank you so much for this,I really enjoyed this immensely. Its a beautiful Sunday morning, had my coffee outside on the patio and came in the house to listen to some music. Now I have John and Mahavishnu Orchestra. I started listening to John and the boys since the late 60's, when he made Love,Surrender,Devotion with Carlos Santana. I have my Mac hooked up to my 1000 watt 7.1 system and my 32" T.V. monitor, and I am sure to have a great day. Again, THANK YOU.....Danny...
i saw the mahavishnu orchestra in a triple bill circa 1972....i knew a second act on the bill was frank zappa and the mothers of invention, but didn't know who the third act was....the lights come down and out walks some guy all alone carrying a stool and an acoustic guitar....he set the stool down, took a seat and started playing the most amazing acoustic stuff i'd ever heard...after about a half-hour set he quietly walked offstage to an announcer saying..."leo kottke ladies and gentlemen, leo kottke"...needless to say, mind blown...and thanks to the wonders of modern chemistry my mind was truly blown...talk about a triple bill!...and so eclectic...the most random opening act imaginable for the two bands that followed...man, do i miss those days....
and kottke was a slide specialist, on 12 string - me right?
@@andrewgillis8572 right you are...among other things...
His playing was so powerful that day and the PA was just perfect. When he hit the snare it was like a 30.06 rifle going off.... Just insanely good sounding and powerful. I've seen 200+ concerts in my life, mostly in this era. This concert and probably Frank Zappa with the Overnight Sensation lineup were top 5 easily.
So cool to see this, as I was actually at this concert. About 20 feet from the stage in front of Jan Hammer. Great concert. Ravi Shankar as wonderful as well.
You lucky man!
Happy Birthday to my all-time favorite drummer Billy Cobham, who still remains one of most technically proficient, accurate, innovative drummer who exploded on to the drumming scene over 50 years ago. In addition, he possesses one of fastest single rolls I ever heard and saw; played either behind a small or behind a massive drum set! He has been my idol and inspiration for over 35 years. His influence is still heard throughout the drumming community today. Feliz cumpleaños a mi baterista favorito…
+PercussionOpera06 Cobham is the reason i had to buy double pedals, not that he needed them, but i did to attempt to keep up with him
PercussionOpera06 My mum bought Billy Cobham's Spectrum in the 70s for me and I was blown away.
Hi Mister PercussionOpera06.
Thank you very much for your words, with which you bring my thoughts to the point too. Happy Xmas & a healthy new year!
Just found this. I was at this concert. Tripping my face off. A Junior at Oswego State, we had seen them before at school on a double bill with Billy Joel opening. That was a combination. Billy Cobham was a joy to watch play. A few stories about John McLaughlin but it's best to let the mystery prevail and just enjoy the experience.
What stories about John McLaighlin?
Best Guitarist!.
Bought the album THE INNER MOUNTING FLAME when it came out ... then awaited - with my trusty Super-8 - the live show at Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis, MO in 1972. Will digitize and post when and IF I find it!
Damn Billy, you show those drums who's boss!!!:)
Incredibly snappy and powerful drumming!
Interesting he's still playing a single kit... later he played a double kit.
I have watched these precious 57 minutes over and over during the last three weeks. Unbelievable music. Thank you so much for uploading this gem.
Una,de las mejores bandas de jazz rock de todos los tiempos,un verdadero dream team,gracias por compartirlo,saludos
Good lord! Stunning as it was in 72, this has not been matched, not even close.
Billy Cobham was the star of this show. I've seen a lot of music in my time, but never anything as complete and mind boggling as this. The guy is just as good as it gets o drums here. 20:15 for two minutes is the best time keeping I've ever seen.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE!
I like. Never heard these tracks b4. I did not hear them until I heard Visions of the Emerald Beyond. Just mind blowing was my first impression of this band. Timeless
I saw the mahavisu in every line up they had. Every concert was as intense, jaw dropping as this. John McLaughlin is still just as amazing today as he was back then. John an Jeff Beck are 2 artists that have only gotten even better an advanced as they have grown old.
Audio is much better than one would expect given the video quality... Video in general was years behind the development of audio recording,,,
The Great young Billy Cobham !! yeah ! :)
Many Many Many Thanks to put this video... i'm shoked !! the video is very old but the sound is good... i think it's an important historic document...!! :) wow ! thanks again !
Yes! I'm struck by the quality of this video despite the it's age. It's a time capsule.
Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer!!! Amazing!
I wish there was video of The MO from Xavier University ,March 1972, where I first saw them.Saying that,this is the same set they played there I'm sure.The MO made a life long impact on me musically from that day forward.
Lordy, Billy Cobham was so far ahead of his time.!
+englishmanlv yes
This is an amazing piece of culture. I go back to it again and again.
And just how did rap get so popular? This is so incredible - such talent!! Nothing simple about it.
This group of musicians has been my greatest aspiration/inspiration for the past 15 years. One thing I noticed right now is that there are great bands/players besides Mahavishnu, but what stands out to me right now is their technical proficiency never, NEVER, gets in the way of the music. It's astounding because so many great players will have moments where you can hear the technical proficiency take over, even if for just a short second, to get to a great idea, but with this band, always flawless beautiful intense immaculate music making. God damn I love this band so much lol
Good Lord. Thank you for sharing this great quality recording.
Wow, that drummer got his workout for the day! Great stuff!
I come back to this a lot. Thanks for posting. Saw Jimmy Herring and John Mc co-headining last night in NYC. Third set was a combo of both bands. Herring has a great Rhodes/Fiddle player and you just knew what the combined bands would open with. Sure enough-yours hearing it now. What an awesome night.
You saw Jason Crosby on Rhodes & fiddle. Super-talented musician, as is everyone with Jimmy Herring & The Invisible Whip.
Simply genius. The musicians. The band. The day.
I fell in love with the "Birds of Fire" lp & saw Gryphon & the 1974 MO open for the Yes "Relayer" tour, but the original lineup here is the definitive version, the platinum standard. I'm so glad to be able to tune in here after so many years of loving these brilliant songs. Encore!
I saw MO with Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin jammed with Jeff Beck at the end. Jeff kept up with him. It was great. Cobham had moved on by then. MO had a real orchestra behind plexiglass sound guards on stage. Man the Mahavishnu Orchestra was LOUD that night.
I was 16 when I saw him at milwuakees's summerfest just by chance and had no idea who this band was and when I got home the next day from then on I studied jazz fusion. Thanks to them for taking the effort to be so great for all of us
@waynedanberry The guys in Zappa's 70s & 80s bands. George Duke played on some of the early Billy Cobham albums. Jean-Luc Ponty from Zappa's band later became a member of Mahavishnu. Return to Forever also but Chick added guitar to that band after he saw Mahavishnu live. Not that many people can play on this level, technically a lot of people can play fast today but not many can combine technique & artistry like these guys did.
I was 15 years old, and 10 miles away when this show happened. I didn't know about this music yet. I'm glad that I can appreciate it now. Thanks for posting,
Enjoyed this supremely. This video is a perfect starting point for those who really are exploring the sound of one of the great bands of the early seventies. Mahavishnu Orchestra lives!
I would give anything to play with a drummer as good as billy
Billy breaks a stick and snatches another - no worries. Man they all look so young.
Thats the best live clip l've ever
seen of these guys. And who knew
that Elton John could get down
like that ! Thanks funkamedic !
You funked me up *GOOD* ! 💥💓
DRUMMER IS KILLING IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Amazing band! I have Birds of Fire but admit I was blown away with the interview with John McLaughlin.
Thanks for this. Billy is Billy and everyone else is everyone else.
Listening to a 1972 recording of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music produced from this band still blows my mind. I played in a band as a kid with my friend Ken Specker and Kenny loved this band. One day at rehearsal he suggested a Mahavishnu song to learn for our play list, I believe it was "Eternity's Dance", But I can't remember for sure. He played the recording so I could copy the drum part. After I listened I said "WTF"? He could see I was completely befuddled, so he showed me the sheet music to read the tune. After reading the music, I said "WTF" again. We scrapped that tune. My fault.
I remember sitting on the hill at Skytop watching this concert back in '72. Thought about it again today with the death of Ravi Shankar. One of the most memorable concerts I attended.
Heard them live in '72, University of New Mexico...totally mesmerizing experience!!
+zu0832 i wasnt there, too young too, but i can absolutely feel on a gut level what you describe...
Billy Cobham on the drums....amazing.
amazing
This footage is absolutely incredible! The audio is as raw as the video, but you can absolutely hear everything ! The Dance Of Maya (27:00) being black and white with the intro with the power lines behind them WOW ! Billy is FIRE ! THANK YOU! Peace from Detroit MI.
Spectacular
OH my god thank you OP for sharing. This is the coolest video ever. Billy was so young and strong on the kit. This blows my mind now, I can only imagine what people thought in 72, especially on good L.
I've listened to alot of Mahavishnu, and even with all its flaws, I really love this concert. They're really hungry here and it makes for some stellar playing.
Meeting's solo killed
Fusion at his best, like the band`s line up, McLaughlin a great man for having succeed to merge different cultures, drummer exceptional
one of the greatest asemblance of musicians of alltime
wtf - the video/audio blessings keep flowing!
better late than never.
Awesomeness.
Saw JM play a few days earlier at the War Memorial in Rochester while promoting 'birds of Fire' in 1972.
Timeless
John McLaughlin...He's from another planet, man!
Doncaster.
Okay,Hammer handles his solo section in Dawn pretty good too,lol.
It´s amazing how Hammer can totally renew his own sections of the song.He just imposes melodies into the song,any melody,just like that! Amazing! That is what separates a composer from a musician.
Once again,i´m speechless and that is not easy to do!
Jan was a straight up Jazz pianist and had that harmonic intelligence at his disposal at all times
Great ! I was there at "skytop" got some great pics of m .o. and ravi shankar.
I've been listening to this band since I was 11 or 12 in the early 70's, but wasn't old enough to go to the concerts with my older brother. As great as John was to the band, after seeing and listening to all the RUclips footage, but without Cobham's driving force on drums the band would had been nothing as it were. Shit... Billy was a monster force for the entire group.
one of my best acid trips ...was this concert on loop....the things i heard....mental !!!!!!!!!!:)
Thanks for the upload.
The "Holy Grail".... blessings be upon you Funkamedic.
All of the best electric music was definitely played in the 60's and 70's.Nothing being done today can match that era,just copy it.All of this is original, the first time it was done.Everyone now sounds like someone before.
I wish Jimi had live and formed a group with Billy!! Holy Hell!!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I had forgotten how much I love the music of these musicians. Damn, I'm so inspired right now.
Such a Great performance!!! That last solo is one of Jan's best!!
mind blowingly brilliant
I was in Lahaina at the prison and these guys were setting up for a concert later that day and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. It was awesome, I was just passing through on my way home. UNBELIEVABLE
With this band, Biily Cobham and John McClaughlin really advanced their instruments to a whole other level. I never saw them live, (except videos now, thank you various uploaders!), but I do remember friends coming back dramatically changed from a Mahavishnu concert. I thought i could hear why before, but now I really see why. I am intensely inspired by this...
I was at this show. Pretty amazing, although I was on a combination of acid and Quaaludes at the time.
what john says at 23:14 about not identifying with one's own thoughts is so very important in learning how to connect one's spirit to the divine... Thanks to John and all of Mahavishnu for versing these types of thoughts (verbally and musically) in Western music. It truly does make a difference...
23:13 He uses the word "thoughtlessness". "There's no thought, There's only consciousness"
Need not be unattainable stuff requiring an Indian guru to access; just think of Windsurfing, if you begin thinking of all the details of balancing and hanging on under the sail you fall into the water but if you just do it without "thought" you are just in the consciousness and prevail in the surf mode, just reflexive to what goes on.
Wow. Fantastic live from so long ago. I saw them in 1973 at Kent State University.
The greatest band that ever was. Watch Billy go during 'Meeting Of The Spirits'. Rick, stay cool - oh, hang on...
+Mark supeotmail.co.ukrbrain you
+Martha Paola Chaves Rodriguez YES
Saw them in Frankfurt Germany in 1973 . Had never heard of them, went to see Mahavishnu's opening act Van Morrison (great talent}. The power of their live set; you don't get through video. BLEW ME AWAY!
Simply Divine in 2024 as ever
love
Wow, if the earlier act was Ravi Shankar, MH must have blown some serious minds, cause they changed me forever
Me too.
Don't know who originally popularized the phrase "you're only as good as your drummer " or something like that, but this phrase concerning this band makes them the best. Saw them the first time they came through town and every consecutive time, but missed the 3 acoustic gig. LOVE electric guitar.
So many great players, i think Jeff Beck picked up the fusion torch and ran with it. He always played with different great drummers to keep it fresh.