The birth of the "world music" genre as we know it today as a product of the corporation. John McLaughlin the innovator; John McLaughlin the genius. The instrument he's playing alone is an innovation. Scalloped fret board and drone strings. McLaughlin's influence and legacy on the instrument and music in general is so deep that sometimes it's 2 or 3 layers disconnected from the modern cohort of musicians. Millions of guitarists are influenced by him and don't even know his name or that he exists. Truly one of a kind.
Man the violin in here is so amazing, I have the album shakti with Zakir Hussein, McL and L Shankar. The whole album is amazing but that is some of my favorite violin playing. Indian scale really allows the fretless stringed instruments to shine IMO. Wow, this is why youtube is amazing.
Wow. I'll try not to let my bias show too much but . . . brilliant. The guitar also needs to get get some mention: 13 string (7 drones across the soundhole) custom Gibson J200 w/ rosewood back & sides, scalloped ebony fingerboard built by Abe Wechter who also built quite a few of John's later acoustics.
This is the real deal! Probably my favorite of Johnny Mac's material. Saw Shakti at the Bottom Line in NYC doing the Handful of Beauty album. "India" is an amazing tune, with a beautiful melody, and has one of the funkiest vibes, ever, during the Shankar solo! One could not help, but jump to up and down! Of course, John's playing goes to the next level, both here and on the record. The stuff is timeless...That's what you want, and could ever hope for!
I love their albums from 76 and 79, this one is 76 Ithink... When I hear song called TwoSisters sometimes I cry.. No I`m serious... and Iplay in a punk band
i listened to this cd while on a boat cruzing a river while on acid...I saw the curve of the earth that evening in the sky as well as watched the water turned to liquid metal...It was one for the books!!!
Shakti Rocks! I once had the pleasure to meet Vikku Vinayakram ji, what great musicians and so down to earth. They are all excellent musicians and beautiful people.
I saw this performed in Lancaster, Pa. in 1976, right after my return from India. I never grow tired of hearing it. I don't think their more recent work is as good.
You develop virtuoso musical skills on an instrument and you learn to improvise. You get together with other virtuosos in a format like this and during the improvisation, the goal is to get "you" out of the way so that you're not playing the music, the music is playing you. You're just the vehicle through which the music passes. "you" are not in control. I've heard players like this hint at denial of personal credit for what they play deep in improvisation. All their practice and previous musical experiences are like acts of purification that allow them to get out of the way when the music comes. It's what makes me jealous because I know I'm never going to the Bliss they feel when they become merely the instrument. Antonio Salieri was jealous of Mozart in the way that I am jealous of McLaughlin and Billy Cobham and Sean Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke and Chick Corea and more. I have seen and heard them go to that place I'll never go and damn does it ecstatic. I am Salieri!
What an amazing group, sheer genius coming together, fantastic concert. L.Shanker's violin solo was superb! Thanks for the upload. Shakti made history!
The violinist is L.Shanker, the younger brother of L.Subramaniam, a great violinist, who made an album called 'Conversation" along with Stephane Grapelli, you must hear that album! The cut 'Conversation" is a perfect blend of East and West, just amazing!
The scales that John is using are mostly pentatonic. The ragas are inferred with the glissando on the strings, via sliding and more importantly, bending. That is what the scalloped fret board lets him do with much more ease. Thus invoking the quarter tone and eighth tone variations. Also when the diminished scale is used it implies Harmonic minor. or variations of melodic minor, ascending. Very beautiful stuff. I have been listening to Shakti since the 70's. I still love it.
i love these guys. as great as mclaughlin is, man, shankar's solos are just as outstanding. i wish there were more youtube clips that included shankar's solos the way that this one does!!
This a truly a gem. Thanks for sharing. I only wish they made music videos back then. One of my favorite albums is "Natural Elements". I had to purchase 4 copies, because I wore them all out. 2 cassetes, 1 vinyl, and 1 CD...I haven't worn the last one out - yet.
Ever many thank you for sharing these clips of time travel to Shakti live from their early years. As a kid I had and wore out the Lps. Never in a zillion years did I ever think 50 plus years later I would be seeing video footage of their actual live performances from those very days.
Keep listening. It will come. He leaves many ideas as soon as he finds them and leaves you to finish, or it revolves around. Trust me, more exposure and one day it will just click.
Wow, I had no idea there was any footage of them. I've had their first CD for a long time and it has always seemed magical. But this is something else, a new dimension, thanks.
You are correct - by removing the wood, the friction between the string and the board becomes much smaller and helps naturally with bends, allowing them to become vastly "bigger" in a sense. You can hear this by listening to John's playing, most of the time he is totally going out with bends, easily bending the note over two/three whole notes up from the original point. But because there's more room to push the string, the correct intonation is indeed more difficult to achieve.
It's specially made for Mac's needs with higher frets for "extended" bending and seven resonance strings similar to a sitar, built by Abe Wechter. Thanx, Sky40! One of my all-time favourite bands.
I use to think Jimi Hendrix was the best guitar player of all time until I found John McLaughlin/Shakti and Al Di Meola/romantic warrior. Different in style, but what mastery.
If anyone wants to hear 1977 concert of Shakti where they do an extended version of this song , go to JAZZ FUSION TV , (do google search on those words to find it , comes up 1 st result). Click onto AUDIO BOOTLES , lots of fusion concert recordings , and you can find 1977 San Diego concrt of Shakti. Good sound quality.
His acoustic Shakti guitar definitely is scalloped, he has mentioned it himself many times. The idea was to mimic sitar and allow truly insane bends. This is the trademark sound of John on any Shakti recording, and is allowed by the custom made scalloped guitar he used.
fucking unreal!!!!...how many albums did these guys make? & what are they called??..its time i updated my collection of music to loose your wig too..thanks 4 posting!!
Studying composition and orchestration have nothing to do with understanding and feeling the music... goldenbollocks ---> in fact in can be boring for those who aren't keen on ethnical projects and Indias music. If you are, it's not hard to admire mystical spirit of this type of music and McLaughlin's genius :].
@gtr1359 This is brilliant music, it doesn't get more interesting than this music. And we are on an internet site where (I just looked this up) a Lady Gaga video has 202 MILLION hits, and this one has 238 THOUSAND.I suppose eight folks who enjoy silly music accidentally listened to this, and perhaps they couldn't even hear it . Maybe the vibration went right past them. Be happy that you can hear it!
Right , I saw you mention that on another clip. According to interview with Bogue it was worth 5000 $ , don't know if thats todays money. Eagle Vision are releasing Mahavishnu at Monteux soon on dvd , maybe they will release Shakti later ,so we can watch without camgirl ads.
beautiful music - great band - i saw them 1976 in zagreb/croatia :-) !!!! ..you wonna maybe see/hear how to improvise classical music in new aesthetic..? look for video : "bach sarabande jazz guitar" - maybe you ll like it.. :-) !
why John doesn´t use his second SHAKTI guitar (played on youtube´s video "when blue turns gold") now? it would be very nice to have that acoustic feeling.
@ericLross - This is called "Lotus Feet" - It refers to the Lotus feet of Lord Vishnu, the highest god in the Hindu Pantheon of gods, and one of the holy trinity.
![[HD] Joy - Shakti](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qGW4nrsZJ3o/mqdefault.jpg)
![[HD] Joy - Shakti](/img/tr.png)
The birth of the "world music" genre as we know it today as a product of the corporation. John McLaughlin the innovator; John McLaughlin the genius. The instrument he's playing alone is an innovation. Scalloped fret board and drone strings. McLaughlin's influence and legacy on the instrument and music in general is so deep that sometimes it's 2 or 3 layers disconnected from the modern cohort of musicians. Millions of guitarists are influenced by him and don't even know his name or that he exists. Truly one of a kind.
Man the violin in here is so amazing, I have the album shakti with Zakir Hussein, McL and L Shankar. The whole album is amazing but that is some of my favorite violin playing. Indian scale really allows the fretless stringed instruments to shine IMO. Wow, this is why youtube is amazing.
Notice how the best parts are when McLaughlin plays fewer notes.
Wow. I'll try not to let my bias show too much but . . . brilliant.
The guitar also needs to get get some mention: 13 string (7 drones across the soundhole) custom Gibson J200 w/ rosewood back & sides, scalloped ebony fingerboard built by Abe Wechter who also built quite a few of John's later acoustics.
This is the real deal! Probably my favorite of Johnny Mac's material. Saw Shakti at the Bottom Line in NYC doing the Handful of Beauty album. "India" is an amazing tune, with a beautiful melody, and has one of the funkiest vibes, ever, during the Shankar solo! One could not help, but jump to up and down! Of course, John's playing goes to the next level, both here and on the record. The stuff is timeless...That's what you want, and could ever hope for!
I love their albums from 76 and 79, this one is 76 Ithink... When I hear song called TwoSisters sometimes I cry.. No I`m serious... and Iplay in a punk band
i listened to this cd while on a boat cruzing a river while on acid...I saw the curve of the earth that evening in the sky as well as watched the water turned to liquid metal...It was one for the books!!!
When Mclaughlin does this he's the best that ever did it.
Shakti Rocks! I once had the pleasure to meet Vikku Vinayakram ji, what great musicians and so down to earth. They are all excellent musicians and beautiful people.
I saw this performed in Lancaster, Pa. in 1976, right after my return from India. I never grow tired of hearing it. I don't think their more recent work is as good.
Saw them perform together when I was in High School in either '77 or '78.
Thanks for bringing back this memory.
You develop virtuoso musical skills on an instrument and you learn to improvise. You get together with other virtuosos in a format like this and during the improvisation, the goal is to get "you" out of the way so that you're not playing the music, the music is playing you. You're just the vehicle through which the music passes. "you" are not in control. I've heard players like this hint at denial of personal credit for what they play deep in improvisation. All their practice and previous musical experiences are like acts of purification that allow them to get out of the way when the music comes. It's what makes me jealous because I know I'm never going to the Bliss they feel when they become merely the instrument. Antonio Salieri was jealous of Mozart in the way that I am jealous of McLaughlin and Billy Cobham and Sean Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke and Chick Corea and more. I have seen and heard them go to that place I'll never go and damn does it ecstatic. I am Salieri!
This is the single best piece of art I have ever experienced.
What an amazing group, sheer genius coming together, fantastic concert. L.Shanker's violin solo was superb! Thanks for the upload. Shakti made history!
The violinist is L.Shanker, the younger brother of L.Subramaniam, a great violinist, who made an album called 'Conversation" along with Stephane Grapelli, you must hear that album! The cut 'Conversation" is a perfect blend of East and West, just amazing!
The scales that John is using are mostly pentatonic. The ragas are inferred with the glissando on the strings, via sliding and more importantly, bending. That is what the scalloped fret board lets him do with much more ease. Thus invoking the quarter tone and eighth tone variations. Also when the diminished scale is used it implies Harmonic minor. or variations of melodic minor, ascending. Very beautiful stuff. I have been listening to Shakti since the 70's. I still love it.
Does anyone else think that the whole violin solo is just sick?
Rare footage of one of the most brilliant and unique bands in history!!
i love these guys. as great as mclaughlin is, man, shankar's solos are just as outstanding. i wish there were more youtube clips that included shankar's solos the way that this one does!!
Ooooh yeah! Shankar is playing is heart out!
I saw them live in concert in Santa Monica many years ago. Shakti was incredible.
This a truly a gem. Thanks for sharing. I only wish they made music videos back then. One of my favorite albums is "Natural Elements". I had to purchase 4 copies, because I wore them all out. 2 cassetes, 1 vinyl, and 1 CD...I haven't worn the last one out - yet.
omg, the violin solo part is divine!
JM is a genius and this group slays.
i wish i was alive to witness firsthand the beautiful music of Shakti.
LOVE SHAKTI
such a great band.
I would like to see them one day in Belgium
Ever many thank you for sharing these clips of time travel to Shakti live from their early years. As a kid I had and wore out the Lps. Never in a zillion years did I ever think 50 plus years later I would be seeing video footage of their actual live performances from those very days.
McLaughlin was just on fucking fire with Shakti. That first album will forever hold up. It's like they have telepathy!
This was the music I grew up with. True fusion.
I have been lucky enough to see Remember Shakti once and Zakir 3 times. Thank You for posting this unreal moment! Please post more!!
McLaughlin was just on fucking fire with Shakti. That first album will forever hold up.
That fiddle is sooo sublime...so very great.
I am so glad that someone explored this fusion, a gift to the world and to history.
Thanks, I appreciate it. It sounds phenomenal. John McLaughlin is so versatile in his styles of playing. Excellent!
......e il geniale e giovanissimo L. Subramaniam col suo violino.
Penso che il suo nome meriti di essere inserito nel titolo del video.....
John is my boy but Shankar's solo is so wild!
Wow this is incredible playing. I love the energy of these guys.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Ive been waiting 9 years to see footage of this performance!!! Surely one of the great moments in musical history?
Amazing…….. Indian music is inclusive , it embraces every aspect of the human condition
Keep listening. It will come. He leaves many ideas as soon as he finds them and leaves you to finish, or it revolves around.
Trust me, more exposure and one day it will just click.
I just reached the Nirvana with this piece
I don't think anybody's better than L. Shankar. He's unbelievably great...
Thanks so much for posting this. Sheer genius.Blew me away then. Blows me away now.
what a mad crazy performance !!!
ZAkir hussain on tabla.
L shankar on violin
Vikku Vinaykram on ghatam
saw these guys round that time. great memories
great video.. i have to say i enjoyed it, and the violin player gets so sick at teh end
wow, thats awesome. john mclaughlin is amazing.
the ultimate campfire music. back to roots acoustic.
Beautiful. Thank you.
Now that's an amazing video! Thank you for posting this one! Never seen a young J.M. Seen very many but not the old shakti! :)
Wow, I had no idea there was any footage of them. I've had their first CD for a long time and it has always seemed magical. But this is something else, a new dimension, thanks.
i love this song!
You are correct - by removing the wood, the friction between the string and the board becomes much smaller and helps naturally with bends, allowing them to become vastly "bigger" in a sense. You can hear this by listening to John's playing, most of the time he is totally going out with bends, easily bending the note over two/three whole notes up from the original point. But because there's more room to push the string, the correct intonation is indeed more difficult to achieve.
wow... this is just utterly amazing. literally i'm speechless.
It's specially made for Mac's needs with higher frets for "extended" bending and seven resonance strings similar to a sitar, built by Abe Wechter.
Thanx, Sky40! One of my all-time favourite bands.
mclaughlin is pretty good on this vid, and the tabla is killer, the whole band rocks!
the song's called "India"
from "A Handful of Beauty" album
superb classic !!
I use to think Jimi Hendrix was the best guitar player of all time until I found John McLaughlin/Shakti and Al Di Meola/romantic warrior. Different in style, but what mastery.
legends together...this is priceless vid. thnx
regards
sourabh
This is sooo amazing!!!
I wish I could tell the person the same thing who told me bout it.......
Excellent!
Yes, 1975 or 1976 if I remember correctly. Never saw Shakti live tho have seen ZH and Shankar many time via Ravi Shankar's Music Circle.
This is priceless
This is NOT Lotus Feet, because the latter is my all time favorite composition. I am afraid I dont know the name of this piece!
I think this piece is called "India". From the album "Handful of Beauty".
such good music... wow...
fast and tricky! amazing musician
If anyone wants to hear 1977 concert of Shakti where they do an extended version of this song , go to JAZZ FUSION TV , (do google search on those words to find it , comes up 1 st result). Click onto AUDIO BOOTLES , lots of fusion concert recordings , and you can find 1977 San Diego concrt of Shakti. Good sound quality.
excelente material
These people are really gods..amazing..
Thanks for shareing! ;-)
Just amazing!
thanks for posting!!
I think it was at Franklin and Marshal College. Very intimate. I had just returned from 6 months in India.
His acoustic Shakti guitar definitely is scalloped, he has mentioned it himself many times. The idea was to mimic sitar and allow truly insane bends. This is the trademark sound of John on any Shakti recording, and is allowed by the custom made scalloped guitar he used.
beautiful music
hem türk olup yada türkiyeli olup hemde shakti yi seven az insana rastlıyorum...saygılar...
hermoso!
Great!
yo im from trinidad and im a Hindu so i know about this guy and the shiv shakti dancers
this is music my friends!
Good stuff.
The guitar on "blue turns to gold" was built later.
技術と情念が一体となった濃厚な音楽。
Shankar had a way with the violin. I've heard few other violinists coax such mystery and ambiguity. What's he do now?
dude, Malsmteen excels in his genre.
fucking unreal!!!!...how many albums did these guys make? & what are they called??..its time i updated my collection of music to loose your wig too..thanks 4 posting!!
Studying composition and orchestration have nothing to do with understanding and feeling the music...
goldenbollocks ---> in fact in can be boring for those who aren't keen on ethnical projects and Indias music. If you are, it's not hard to admire mystical spirit of this type of music and McLaughlin's genius :].
@gtr1359 This is brilliant music, it doesn't get more interesting than this music. And we are on an internet site where (I just looked this up) a Lady Gaga video has 202 MILLION hits, and this one has 238 THOUSAND.I suppose eight folks who enjoy silly music accidentally listened to this, and perhaps they couldn't even hear it . Maybe the vibration went right past them. Be happy that you can hear it!
Right , I saw you mention that on another clip. According to interview with Bogue it was worth 5000 $ , don't know if thats todays money. Eagle Vision are releasing Mahavishnu at Monteux soon on dvd , maybe they will release Shakti later ,so we can watch without camgirl ads.
beautiful music - great band -
i saw them 1976 in zagreb/croatia
:-) !!!!
..you wonna maybe see/hear how to improvise classical music in new aesthetic..?
look for video : "bach sarabande jazz guitar" -
maybe you ll like it..
:-) !
there is a utube section which shows jm discussing his guitar......it does have the empty spaces you mention
I´ve put just today some old shakti´s stuff:joy
genius !!!!
why John doesn´t use his second SHAKTI guitar (played on youtube´s video "when blue turns gold") now? it would be very nice to have that acoustic feeling.
@omly85 A Handful of Beauty is a very good album!
...and wearing the same shirt as Bob Denver on "Gilligan's Island"
@ericLross - This is called "Lotus Feet" - It refers to the Lotus feet of Lord Vishnu, the highest god in the Hindu Pantheon of gods, and one of the holy trinity.
Most of it is Am pentatonic in the first song, A Dorian in the second, A Dorian n the third one.
@ericLross - I stand corrected. This starts off with traces of Lotus Feet, but then metamorphoses into other Shakti numbers.
Thsis not 1974 . He is playing Wechter cutaway guitar which he didn't get till 1977 . The song is "India' from the NATURAL ELEMENTS album.