What is cool is that lineup comprised a Brit (McLaughlin), Yank (Goodman), Czech (Hammer), Irishman (Laird) and a Panamanian (Cobham). United Nations of excellence.
Wow. I have indeed noticed that there are people out there who judge music based on the musicians' arm movements. But apparently, you judge how cool a band is based on the musicians' different countries of origin. That´s a step up. I´m impressed.
@@carbonc6065 He left Panama when he was 3 years old. You can hear him say it at 4.14 minute time mark in this interview ua-cam.com/video/oBCIXAHwohA/v-deo.html
Will never forget their concert in Stockholm -75. Three songs, one 60 min one 45 min and one 30 min encore. 1. Visions of the Emerald Beyond 2. Apocalypse 3. Birds of Fire 4. Between Nothingness and Eternity 5. The Inner mounting Flame 6. Mahavishnu 7. Inner Worlds
"Visions of the Emerald Beyond" is incredibly underrated. Only problem is the keyboardist role is severely diminished. "Eternity's Breath" is amazing. Trident Sessions are interesting. Jan Hammer's tune, Sister Andrea, is good. "Birds of Fire" is my favorite. But "Inner Mounting Flame" is close.
I don't mind a more laid back keyboardist as it opens more space up for McLaughlin and Ponty. The two times I saw the band with the original lineup it was often difficult do discern who was playing, especially on the speedy songs.
MO is the greatest fusion band IMO, particularly the original 5 piece. It is this original 5 piece that I have about 20 hours of live MO thanks to Wolfgangs Vault. This music is just out of the box. I have 15 Noonward Races just for starters - absolutely incredible.
I’m gonna use the “M” word here: Birds of Fire is a masterpiece. What a lineup also; each member from a different country. Jerry Goodman’s electric violin is sublime.
The first song of theirs I recall hearing was "Birds of Fire", and the sheer virtuosity was jaw-dropping, breathtaking, a musical revelation. One thing that stood out in particular is that while plenty of musicians could play fast, few could add the complexities of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
I was 15 when I saw the Mahavishnu on the BBC In Concert series. Like you I was at the time into Deep Purple, Black Sabbath as all my mates were, this changed my direction completely. I bought ' Birds of Fire' first and as you say, it is the most complex brutal music I had ever heard. I eventually bought all of them and the CD's later on and I bought the 'Lost Trident Sessions' in 1999. The first two albums are beyond standard music, it is complicated yet funky at the same time. The guitar work is so unbelievable, this was before 'shredding'. It is said that both Robert Fripp of King Crimson and Steve Howe of Yes listened to Birds of Fire and Inner Mounting Flame and wanted to emulate the style. This became 'The Great Deceiver' on ' Starless and Bible Black' by King Crimson and the frentic guitar opening on 'Close To The Edge' by Yes(after the tweeting birds of course!). A great band which helped to define jazz fusion..
I have always heard that Between Nothingness And Eternity's performance was recorded after NO rehearsals of the then new material. If that's true then these guys were even more superhuman than I originally thought.
#1 Birds of Fire, #2 The Inner Mounting Flame, #3 Visions of the Emerald Beyond. The earlier McLaughlin solo album Devotion (1970) was a psychedelic guitar extravaganza.
Bought second hand copy of inner mounting flame...listened to first 30 seconds . Lifted needle..ran to pals ...we just sat listening to it with jaws wide open!!
Inner Mountain Flame just blew me away when I first heard it as a youngster. The fastest guitar player I ever heard until Al D. Can’t go wrong with either Birds or Inner Mountain. Classics for the ages.
a little trivia. There’s Dennis Chambers interview that confirmed from him running into Jimmy Page that McLaughlin was where he got the idea to use a Doubleneck Gibson.
Luc ponty solos on Visions are staggering, i have tears running down my face when i hear it and i think these short moments are the pinnacle of MO. Waldens drumming on Visions is astounding, he is a more expressive drummer than Cobham if you know what i mean. I agree with nothinness and eternity outrageos, so wish i was in central park that night. Wasnt filmed!!! What a shame
I am lucky enough to say that I am old enough to have followed the band from the very beginning. Although I listened to a lot of Jazz and knew of McLaughlin from his work with Miles I was not prepared for the breath-taking brilliance of The Inner Mounting Flame, I had never heard anything like it before. I longed for the second album - Birds of Fire and actually imported it before it was released over here. Both are truly some of the best albums ever made and I often change opinion as to which I prefer. The dynamics of the band on Between Nothingness and Eternity kept my passion for the band alive. Later I bought the dire Inner Worlds and it came crashing down and took me a while to enjoy the band again. The Lost Trident Sessions contain some superb tracks including the short I Wonder. Brilliant review, thanks so much.
Hi Pete, i love your passion for this band; same as me. I had the honour to see this line up around 73 and i saw Cobham up close and personal at his drum clinic around 75. They are all astounding musicians. Stay cool bro ✌️
Holy shit Pete. I've watched your video before going to bed last night and I've just started the first song off of their first album. It's so goddamn good, I'm speechless. Thank you for the amazing discovery!
Thanks for reviewing this amazing band. I think it would be cool if you did a ranking of all of McLaughlin's albums. It would be curious to see how you felt his many different bands compared to one another.
I totally agree on your opinion on Inner Worlds. I have the same issues with the vocal tracks. The instrumental tracks do really shine. Visions of the Emerald Beyond is by far my favorite outside the original classic lineup. There are vocals but were much more limited so easier to deal with.
Love Apocalypse. First time I heard it I was a student at NYU and my Humanities professor played it for us one day in class. Never heard of it before. Blew me away !
After 45 years. I still beat myself up for missing out on a free ticket to see the Mahavishnu Orchestra play the Royal Albert Hall in 1975. Birds Of Fire still rules.
I was fortunate to see john mclaughlin in Stockholm for a half year ago, and he played a coupled of mahavishnu songs, excellent playing. Favorite record is Between Nothingess and Eternity.
Writing a concert analysis on their performance "Live at Montreux" and was not very familiar with the band prior - this video helped me so much! Thank you
I prever ' Birds of Fire' ... the first I purchased ...and I played it over and over again and I still discover new dimensions... every time I play it . ( there is btw a live registration here on youtube ( that I saved)) My second was Between....(live) The first record is also very good .... but I discovered it later . I have them all on lp .....but recently the records are bundled together on the cheap ' original albums series) except the lost trident sessions
Hurray! Pete and I agree exactly 100%! We often do like the same things but on the other hand. We also often don't ('Kiss' vs 'G&R')! The early band was the one. Very very good. Not really into the later stuff except some 'Shakti'. Luckily saw John, Al DiMeola and Paco de Lucia in NYC Central Park in the very early 80's, tripping excellently. Loved the 1970 McLaughlin LP with 'Marbles' on. Great riff and drumming! The greatest black (Beatles) band of the 1970's is clear enough. Parliament Funkadelic; See (U tube) the 1976 'Texas gig'. LIVE RAW JAZZ ROCK FUNK GENIUS!
wow thanks for this vid! I was a big prog rock fan in the early 70s. older brother turned me on to boogie woogie waltz by WR. started listing to a jazz station (on my clock radio) and heard Meeting of the spirits for the first time. I never knew music could sound like that. was hooked immediately. Billy Cobham still my fav drummer of all time.
Big thanks for this, Pete. I first heard Inner Mounting Flame shortly after it came out from a school friend, but it went right over my head, which was full of early Pink Floyd. Like you said, it's time to revisit them.
That original lineup was exceptional! The lineups that followed were also quite good. I read somewhere that friction between John, Hammer, Cobham and the others was due to egos. That and they questioned John’s leadership abilities. I’ve heard among fans who remember that John being so public about his spiritual beliefs and practices were topics of fodder and ridicule in the music community. I didn’t hear those albums until many years later. As much as I enjoyed the music, I couldn’t relate to the spiritual part of it. That was until 2017 when I finally saw him (with the 4th Dimension). Jimmy Herring & The Invisible Whip started with their set of over an hour. They were incredible to say the least! I was stunned beyond comprehension, actually wondering how or if McLaughlin would follow. About 5 minutes into the set (newer material), it was routinely superior performed live than on record as is nearly all music. Then it dawns on me that he plays just as well at 75 as he ever did! At that moment, I can’t explain what it was I felt but it was an emotional yet uplifting sensation. It was then I realized that what he truly wanted enlightenment for all. I certainly hope he’s been able to achieve that with his music through his impressive career. What followed that was both bands playing the early MO stuff and they not only just played it well, they NAILED IT...Need I go on?
I saw the 1984 Mahavishnu Orchestra live that summer at the fabled Hammersmith Odeon and as gigs go, that was one lousy gig. I was livid and very much wanted my money back ! I remember my mate and I getting separated on the train and I ended up going a stop further than him and the night had 'bad karma' written all over it from the start ! At that point, I'd only been into the Orchestra for a couple of weeks, if that. I'd just discovered "Birds of fire" at a mate's house. He was in the bath and I was whiling away the time by looking through his record collection when I came across the album. I was going through a jazz and jazz fusion phase but I was also an eclectic heavy rocker and so I was intrigued by the presence of a guitarist and violinist on the sleeve because I was very much into Kansas and who doesn't love electric guitar ? So I put on the album and would you believe, I put it on with side 2 first so it was "One word" that I heard. It's actually not among the greater tracks on the album {in my opinion, there are 7 better tracks} but it pretty much got me hooked right from the get go. By the time my mate got out of the bath {we were on our way to a Jimmy Cliff gig at Crystal Palace ~ I remember the crowd booing him offstage because he'd played in apartheid South Africa !} I'd listened to the whole album and I was a confirmed admirer of this band I'd never even heard of 45 minutes earlier ! Apart from the truly ridiculous "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" {a sound FX piece of crap equalled by Black Sabbath's "FX" in the dire stakes}, I loved every piece on the album. I couldn't believe the melodic brilliance and heavy rocking electricity of each song except the sweet "1000 Island Park" and I was really impressed by the musicians ability to improvise yet sound like that was how the songs were actually written. And they seemed to be written in strange times signatures with odd moods and moves. The titles may have been a bit bombastic but it didn't matter because there were no vocals and even Sri Chinmoy's lame poetry on the back didn't matter because unless you actually liked it, you only ever had to look at it once ! So when I heard that the Mahavishnu Orchestra were playing a week or so later, I was going if it killed me. I remember at the time that there was a big delay in getting paid at work ~ I didn't get paid for 4 or 5 weeks and I was pretty hungry most days. But I managed to scrape the money together for the ticket and off me and my buddy went. It sticks in my mind that it was a Thursday evening because I missed a regular football match that I used to play in for that gig. I should have played in my game ! The gig was really lame. I didn't know anything about the MO ~ these were pre~internet days and information wasn't easy to come by at short notice. So I turned up expecting to see Jerry Goodman wielding his violin, Billy Cobham sitting at the drums and Jan Hammer behind a bank of keyboards. I'd been going to jazz gigs at that point for a year and I was often one of only a handful {and that's being generous !} of Black people in the audience. Jazz and fusion were never popular among Black people in London even though many of the musicians that passed through town were Black. For some reason, I used to think that it would be an encouragement for Black musicians to see someone Black in the audience and sometimes it was. But on this day, no Billy Cobham. No violin wielding Jerry. John McLaughlin barely even played guitar, let alone anything fizzing and loud; he played this guitar synth kind of thing and I was right up near the front. After the first couple of lukewarm tracks, I thought they were just warming up but they never warmed up and I spent much of that show just glaring daggers at the band. I still can't believe how lame they were. I wasn't impressed by Bill Evans, I wasn't impressed by Dan Gottlieb and I wasn't impressed by the bassist, Helborg. What a crock of a band ! I suppose it was my own fault in a way. I was listening to and had become enamoured of a band in its 1973 incarnation and this was 1984. I'd listened to enough jazz at that point to see that longevity in band aggregations was non existant ! But it just never occurred to me that it would be a different band. The music was so different and so lame and fruity that really, Johnny Mac should have called the band something totally different. That was not the MO and in the years since, I discovered that whatever threads had tied the earlier incarnations of the band were well and truly severed by 1984.
I literally just found your channel, and this playlist of rankings, saw there's no Mahavishnu Orchestra, commented somewhere, and here it is, minutes later...... magic
Good ranking video, thanks. Nice to see that another person other than me thinks Between Nothingness And Eternity is stunningly good - like you, I often consider it my favorite MO album.
Hi Pete, Your show has been a real gude for me to pick up some new artists specifically during this lockdown it has been very helpful. I watched John Mclaughlin live with a bunch of Indian musicians In London. He got an album with Santana that I like. But I never heard of Mahavisnu Orchestra. Thank You very much.
Like Pete, The Inner Mounting Flame was life changing experience for me when I heard it back in late 72. I borrowed it on a pre recorded cassette..it was beyond anything I had heard before as a Purple, Sabbath Zeppelin fan. At first it was too much to take in but I listened to it over and over to understand what was going on. Meeting of the Spirits is just Stunning, must play the vinyl tomorrow. But Dreams on the live album is the ultimate, the interplay duet between McLaughlin and Cobham on that is just insane.
My rankings: 8 . Apocalypse 7. Inner Worlds 6. Mahavishnu 5. Visions of the Emerald Beyond 4. Adventures in Radioland 3. The Lost Trident Sessions 2. Birds of Fire 1. Inner Mounting Flame
Thanks Man. Best Band ever. I rate their original studio output in the same order You do, although as the decades have gone by I reached for "Apocalypse" more often "Visions..." appreciating it's broad, Cosmic orchestral sweep. "Birds of Fire" was the first one I heard, maybe my no. 1.~ The Live album is my no.2. "Inner mounting flame" no.3. Gotta say that the good recording quality Live Bootlegs are all tremendous, and each show gives the material a unique slant. Unbelievable. If You wanna introduce somone to this Band, "Eternities Breath" is the individual track that will blow them away. Thanks again Man, be Well.🎼🎸🎶🎹🎵🥁🎶🎻🎶🕉
Awesome job Pete bringing attention to these amazing bands RTF and MO. Each is comprised of world class players deserving of wider recognition. Hopefully more people will check ‘em out now. 👍🏻
Prior to 'Inner Mounting Flame' I couldn't get in JM. Then one day at a friends house he put on 'Inner Mounting Flame' and in three minutes I was hooked for life. This was around early 1972 and to this day I listen to at least parts of this album every week. I was at the Central Park (Wollman Skating Rink) when they recorded "Between Nothingness & Eternity". UNBELIEVABLE, almost 47 years later and very little has approaches it in terms of electric intensity. The original members are all still alive (much older but still moving). I wish they would reconcile their differences and just play a short set some where. I'd pay what ever the asking price for ticket would be.
My number one and two the same.Inner mountain flame was the first album i bought after hearing New York on my mind track on a radio show.Just blew me away,just wasnt sure what i had just heard so I played it again and havent stopped since the late 70s,still my favourite band of all
Thanks for the recommendation Pete. I just picked up the classic album set of 5 albums for a steal, and they match your top 5 so this should be good. I saw John live years ago at North Sea Jazz and he was mind blowing, but I never really followed through with any material. Looking forward to listening to them.
'Apocalypse', George Martin said was is favourite LP he ever did! PS I'll send this video onto Billy Cobham, he's a good friend, did you name your channel after Billy's Sea of tranquillity from Total Eclipse, Inner mounting flame is best, the song Vital transformation is one take, no overdubs, even know the drums sound like 3-4 sets of drums... I used to sit people in my room and turn up the volume, the drums move the Air.
Hey Pete obsessed with the channel(totally kickass)/I see the Les Paul & Tele everyday.I bet there alot of musicians out here.Would love to see Something on your favorite Gear/Guitars/Pedals/Amps etc.I know you get a lot of request but just keep it in mind.Keep up the excellent content your channel is beyond awesome in a big way.From a self confirmed pedal junkie-Thanks
Mahavishu Mk.II was where I came in so 'Visions Of The Emerald Beyond' is my personal favourite, that album takes you on a journey from start to finish. Then 'Birds Of Fire' in 2nd place, I favour it over the debut for Cobham's introduction of double-bass & Hammer's keyboards, so there's a little more sonic variation. Very cool 'The Lost Trident Sessions' is covered here too, the only time other members were credited with songwriting but ultimately it broke up the original band. Rick Laird RIP
The Inner Mountin Flame changed my life.This is music you see & not only hear/"Meeting of the Spirits"transported me into an epic Eastern wasteland/Filled with clouds & Zen kingdoms.I love how they would mix a heavy tune then a lighter number .Some tracks McLaughlin is playing thrash jazz & then epic tender acoustic leanings.Dance of Maya & Noonward race take music to levels never reach before.Now Visions of the Emerald Beyond although with a new lineup is stellar.Jean-Luc-Ponty is kicking ass esp. on Eternity's Breath 1 & 2 n fit's nicely with the vocals.My 3rd favorite is The Live Between Nothingness & Eternity which is heavy as fuck-I love the beginning with the gong intro into the mystical Sunlit Path.All there music set the high water mark in Music history....
Before I watch the video I will state my all-time favorite albums of Mahavishnu 1- INNER MOUNTING FLAME 2- BIRD'S OF FIRE Reason Billy Cobham is incredible on both .
Mclaughlin did 3 masterpiece jazz oriental fusion rock with band Shakti. How come no mention about them. The music they created was awesome. John plays a 12 string guitar to capture the sound of the sitar.
Highly unpopular opinion incoming, but my 2 faves are: 1) Visions of the Emerald Beyond, and 2) Inner Worlds. I could do without Planetary Citizen, but really don't mind the other vocal songs at all. Gita and The Way of the Pilgrim are absolute bangers - WOTP has one of the best solos of all time.
Mindblowing band. 1- Birds of Fire 2- The Inner Mounting Flame 3-Apocalypse 4- Vsions of the Emerald Beyond 5- Inner Worlds The live Between Nothingness and Eternity (with the unreleased tracks) is mandatory!
I love this band. Despite what you may read or hear, Visions of the Emerald Beyond is by far their best. The few people I know that actually know this band agree and I would also mention that on their recent farewell tour they played more songs from this album than any of the others and those songs also got the loudest ovations. All the albums are great but I do also think that Apocalypse and Inner Worlds are a little under appreciated as well.
Someone gave me a cassette at school in the 70s - on one side was Visions... on the other was an Al Di M album. I still haven't got over the experience
Have you heard "Firebird / Birds Of Fire" by Don Sebesky? That piece is a fusion of Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird" with Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Bird Of Fire". Simply awesome. And Billy Cobham is also the drummer on that recording.
I know this is off topic but I have to thank you and the video you did ranking Deep Purple albums. I only knew some of their more popular tracks. Not until streaming came along did I have access to most of their music. I have been familiarizing myself and loving pretty much all of it. They are/were much deeper (no pun intended) than I ever thought. Its great to have so much "new" music to get into. Im listenjng to inFinite for the first time right now. Steve Morse is a killer guitarist. Richie Blackmore era is still the best, but Morse can bring it.
Here's a little, (but very unknown fact). If I didn't read it in the Mahavishnu book I would not have made the connection. So here we go.... You know when audiences hold up their liters in Rock concerts, well the first band they did that for, was the Mahavishnu Orchestra, (to represent The Inner Mounting Flame). When M.O. first started their underground following started doing it and from there the idea grew and grew. The book of this band is great by the way.
I have a reel to reel recording made direct from a televised BBC live concert of the original band, its an amazing performance, bits are turning up on You Tube. Also saw them once around that time.
I always leaned most towards The Lost Trident Sessions. Just the first song (Dream) overwhelms, with those melodic passages and great transitions. Craftly composed song. And I greatly enjoy all 6 tracks. Of course, first two albums are also wonderful. Second generation Mahavishnu Orchestra stuff is also great, only Inner Worlds I never got into.
Really enjoyed this show. I largely agree with what was said. I can't rank them... too difficult. My top 6 songs are: 1. The way of the pilgrim 2. Dawn 3. Celestrial terrestrial commuters 4 Earth ship 5 Lila's dance 6 Resolution
Once again it really says something about a band when your favorite album is a live one from them. Got to get the lost Trident Sessions! Birds Of Fire is my Fav.!!!
First saw them in 1974 (i was 15) at the first knebworth fest (the bucolic frolic) , 3rd on the bill behind the doobies , van morrison and the allmans..tbh at that age they sent me to sleep ( to many jamaican woodbines being smoked around me lol )..jean luc ponty violin solos lol ..but as ive got older i really appreciate them and wanna try get into them...so im using your show as a benchmark...no pressure then pete lol...
One of my all time favorite bands and McLaughlin is my second favorite guitarist after Blackmore. Always wished McLaughlin had formed a power trio and just played some straight ahead killer hard rock. Check out the brief riff he does from “Sunshine of Your Love” on the live album. No doubt he could have seriously rocked out full time if he wanted to.
Would be interesting to hear what your list for Weather Report. I was always just such a fan of Miroslav Vitous' rebelious bass playing in WP, but lately I haven't been that into it.
Miroslav is my favourite Weather Report Bassist too, so the first 3 L.P's and the Bootlegs up to 1974 are the ones for me. More European Avant Garde, than the funky ethnic World Music that came later.
My ranking is the same as yours. Amazing band. If anyone hasn’t heard them, they are in for a treat. Also Pete mentioned Larry Coryell, check out those seventies fusion albums too.
What is cool is that lineup comprised a Brit (McLaughlin), Yank (Goodman), Czech (Hammer), Irishman (Laird) and a Panamanian (Cobham). United Nations of excellence.
I think Billy Cobham was brought to US as a child from Panama , so he grew up as an American.
Wow. I have indeed noticed that there are people out there who judge music based on the musicians' arm movements. But apparently, you judge how cool a band is based on the musicians' different countries of origin. That´s a step up. I´m impressed.
Cobham is a yank too 😂
@@stringrip From Panama, he moved to New York when he was six.
@@carbonc6065 He left Panama when he was 3 years old. You can hear him say it at 4.14 minute time mark in this interview ua-cam.com/video/oBCIXAHwohA/v-deo.html
Will never forget their concert in Stockholm -75. Three songs, one 60 min one 45 min and one 30 min encore.
1. Visions of the Emerald Beyond
2. Apocalypse
3. Birds of Fire
4. Between Nothingness and Eternity
5. The Inner mounting Flame
6. Mahavishnu
7. Inner Worlds
I was at the show in Central Park where they recorded "Between Nothingness and Eternity." Second row center. Truly mind blowing.
wished I was there !
I would honestly have to say I love the second line up just as much as the first! Emerald Beyond is a masterpiece!
"Visions of the Emerald Beyond" is incredibly underrated. Only problem is the keyboardist role is severely diminished. "Eternity's Breath" is amazing.
Trident Sessions are interesting. Jan Hammer's tune, Sister Andrea, is good.
"Birds of Fire" is my favorite. But "Inner Mounting Flame" is close.
Inner worlds too .
Miles out , what a scary visceral intro !
I don't mind a more laid back keyboardist as it opens more space up for McLaughlin and Ponty. The two times I saw the band with the original lineup it was often difficult do discern who was playing, especially on the speedy songs.
Trident sessions has some amaing songs. Johns song2 is stunning
MO is the greatest fusion band IMO, particularly the original 5 piece. It is this original 5 piece that I have about 20 hours of live MO thanks to Wolfgangs Vault. This music is just out of the box. I have 15 Noonward Races just for starters - absolutely incredible.
Have to agree with you...
Agreed.
I’m gonna use the “M” word here: Birds of Fire is a masterpiece. What a lineup also; each member from a different country. Jerry Goodman’s electric violin is sublime.
Steve, I agree bought Birds of fire, when it was first released at that time, couldn't stop re-playing at that time.
Birds is their masterpiece.
You should do an episode on Jean Luc himself. I love these guys! Their probably my second favorite fusion band behind the Dixie Dregs.
Fully agree.
"Enigmatic Ocean" is my favorite
@Dave White I agree, Enigmatic Ocean is the best and probably IMO Imaginary Voyage second
Oh yeah very good idea!!! Love Ponty
Inner Mountain Flame is absolutely spectacular album. Especially I love You Know You Know
The first song of theirs I recall hearing was "Birds of Fire", and the sheer virtuosity was jaw-dropping, breathtaking, a musical revelation. One thing that stood out in particular is that while plenty of musicians could play fast, few could add the complexities of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Emerald is the best to me. Something i feel people are too caught up in the original line-up. Emerald first song alone is the best thing they did.
The first band was more improve based and that was the first the put them on the map and that was the more influential band.
I was 15 when I saw the Mahavishnu on the BBC In Concert series. Like you I was at the time into Deep Purple, Black Sabbath as all my mates were, this changed my direction completely. I bought ' Birds of Fire' first and as you say, it is the most complex brutal music I had ever heard. I eventually bought all of them and the CD's later on and I bought the 'Lost Trident Sessions' in 1999. The first two albums are beyond standard music, it is complicated yet funky at the same time. The guitar work is so unbelievable, this was before 'shredding'. It is said that both Robert Fripp of King Crimson and Steve Howe of Yes listened to Birds of Fire and Inner Mounting Flame and wanted to emulate the style. This became 'The Great Deceiver' on ' Starless and Bible Black' by King Crimson and the frentic guitar opening on 'Close To The Edge' by Yes(after the tweeting birds of course!). A great band which helped to define jazz fusion..
I have always heard that Between Nothingness And Eternity's performance was recorded after NO rehearsals of the then new material. If that's true then these guys were even more superhuman than I originally thought.
#1 Birds of Fire, #2 The Inner Mounting Flame, #3 Visions of the Emerald Beyond. The earlier McLaughlin solo album Devotion (1970) was a psychedelic guitar extravaganza.
Bought second hand copy of inner mounting flame...listened to first 30 seconds . Lifted needle..ran to pals ...we just sat listening to it with jaws wide open!!
Literally nothing happens within the first 30 seconds.
Inner Mountain Flame just blew me away when I first heard it as a youngster. The fastest guitar player I ever heard until Al D. Can’t go wrong with either Birds or Inner Mountain. Classics for the ages.
a little trivia. There’s Dennis Chambers interview that confirmed from him running into Jimmy Page that McLaughlin was where he got the idea to use a Doubleneck Gibson.
Luc ponty solos on Visions are staggering, i have tears running down my face when i hear it and i think these short moments are the pinnacle of MO. Waldens drumming on Visions is astounding, he is a more expressive drummer than Cobham if you know what i mean. I agree with nothinness and eternity outrageos, so wish i was in central park that night. Wasnt filmed!!! What a shame
I am lucky enough to say that I am old enough to have
followed the band from the very beginning. Although I listened to a lot of Jazz
and knew of McLaughlin from his work with Miles I was not prepared for the
breath-taking brilliance of The Inner Mounting Flame, I had never heard
anything like it before. I longed for the second album - Birds of Fire and
actually imported it before it was released over here. Both are truly some of the best albums ever
made and I often change opinion as to which I prefer. The dynamics of the band on Between
Nothingness and Eternity kept my passion for the band alive. Later I bought the
dire Inner Worlds and it came crashing down and took me a while to enjoy the
band again. The Lost Trident Sessions contain some superb tracks including the
short I Wonder.
Brilliant review, thanks so much.
Great rundown Pete of a fantastic band. That original lineup was the band at its peak. Thank you.
Hi Pete, i love your passion for this band; same as me. I had the honour to see this line up around 73 and i saw Cobham up close and personal at his drum clinic around 75. They are all astounding musicians. Stay cool bro ✌️
I agree Jean luc ponty fabulous violin player and his 13 albums from 1975 to 1993 are epic.
Holy shit Pete. I've watched your video before going to bed last night and I've just started the first song off of their first album. It's so goddamn good, I'm speechless. Thank you for the amazing discovery!
Birds of Fire is my fave, followed closely by The Inner Mounting Flame
Perfect choices. Dub dah, dub dub dub da, dub dub dub dub dah, dub dub dub, da!
Thanks for reviewing this amazing band. I think it would be cool if you did a ranking of all of McLaughlin's albums. It would be curious to see how you felt his many different bands compared to one another.
They did release other songs from the Central Park Concert.
I totally agree on your opinion on Inner Worlds. I have the same issues with the vocal tracks. The instrumental tracks do really shine. Visions of the Emerald Beyond is by far my favorite outside the original classic lineup. There are vocals but were much more limited so easier to deal with.
Love Apocalypse. First time I heard it I was a student at NYU and my Humanities professor played it for us one day in class. Never heard of it before. Blew me away !
got to see mahavishnu and zappa together live in the 70's. glad i did.
Thanks Pete for letting me discover this great band, The Mahavishnu. I knew her by name but had never heard of her. The first two albums blew me away.
After 45 years. I still beat myself up for missing out on a free ticket to see the Mahavishnu Orchestra play the Royal Albert Hall in 1975. Birds Of Fire still rules.
I was fortunate to see john mclaughlin in Stockholm for a half year ago, and he played a coupled of mahavishnu songs, excellent playing. Favorite record is Between Nothingess and Eternity.
Writing a concert analysis on their performance "Live at Montreux" and was not very familiar with the band prior - this video helped me so much! Thank you
Inner Mounting Flame if just for “ Vital Transformation”. Cobham just destroys on this.
I prever ' Birds of Fire' ... the first I purchased ...and I played it over and over again and I still discover new dimensions... every time I play it . ( there is btw a live registration here on youtube ( that I saved))
My second was Between....(live)
The first record is also very good .... but I discovered it later . I have them all on lp .....but recently the records are bundled together on the cheap ' original albums series) except the lost trident sessions
Birds of Fire was the first one I owned, so it´s very special for me too.
One of my favorite bands. Good one Pete. Birds of Fire is my #1.
Hurray! Pete and I agree exactly 100%! We often do like the same things but on the other hand. We also often don't ('Kiss' vs 'G&R')! The early band was the one. Very very good. Not really into the later stuff except some 'Shakti'. Luckily saw John, Al DiMeola and Paco de Lucia in NYC Central Park in the very early 80's, tripping excellently. Loved the 1970 McLaughlin LP with 'Marbles' on. Great riff and drumming! The greatest black (Beatles) band of the 1970's is clear enough. Parliament Funkadelic; See (U tube) the 1976 'Texas gig'. LIVE RAW JAZZ ROCK FUNK GENIUS!
wow thanks for this vid! I was a big prog rock fan in the early 70s. older brother turned me on to boogie woogie waltz by WR. started listing to a jazz station (on my clock radio) and heard Meeting of the spirits for the first time. I never knew music could sound like that. was hooked immediately. Billy Cobham still my fav drummer of all time.
Big thanks for this, Pete. I first heard Inner Mounting Flame shortly after it came out from a school friend, but it went right over my head, which was full of early Pink Floyd. Like you said, it's time to revisit them.
That original lineup was exceptional! The lineups that followed were also quite good. I read somewhere that friction between John, Hammer, Cobham and the others was due to egos. That and they questioned John’s leadership abilities. I’ve heard among fans who remember that John being so public about his spiritual beliefs and practices were topics of fodder and ridicule in the music community. I didn’t hear those albums until many years later. As much as I enjoyed the music, I couldn’t relate to the spiritual part of it. That was until 2017 when I finally saw him (with the 4th Dimension). Jimmy Herring & The Invisible Whip started with their set of over an hour. They were incredible to say the least! I was stunned beyond comprehension, actually wondering how or if McLaughlin would follow. About 5 minutes into the set (newer material), it was routinely superior performed live than on record as is nearly all music. Then it dawns on me that he plays just as well at 75 as he ever did! At that moment, I can’t explain what it was I felt but it was an emotional yet uplifting sensation. It was then I realized that what he truly wanted enlightenment for all. I certainly hope he’s been able to achieve that with his music through his impressive career. What followed that was both bands playing the early MO stuff and they not only just played it well, they NAILED IT...Need I go on?
Vital Transformation has my favorite drumming of all time! Just saw Cobham’s band doing Crosswinds awhile back...he’s still got it!
I saw the 1984 Mahavishnu Orchestra live that summer at the fabled Hammersmith Odeon and as gigs go, that was one lousy gig. I was livid and very much wanted my money back ! I remember my mate and I getting separated on the train and I ended up going a stop further than him and the night had 'bad karma' written all over it from the start !
At that point, I'd only been into the Orchestra for a couple of weeks, if that. I'd just discovered "Birds of fire" at a mate's house. He was in the bath and I was whiling away the time by looking through his record collection when I came across the album. I was going through a jazz and jazz fusion phase but I was also an eclectic heavy rocker and so I was intrigued by the presence of a guitarist and violinist on the sleeve because I was very much into Kansas and who doesn't love electric guitar ? So I put on the album and would you believe, I put it on with side 2 first so it was "One word" that I heard. It's actually not among the greater tracks on the album {in my opinion, there are 7 better tracks} but it pretty much got me hooked right from the get go. By the time my mate got out of the bath {we were on our way to a Jimmy Cliff gig at Crystal Palace ~ I remember the crowd booing him offstage because he'd played in apartheid South Africa !} I'd listened to the whole album and I was a confirmed admirer of this band I'd never even heard of 45 minutes earlier !
Apart from the truly ridiculous "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" {a sound FX piece of crap equalled by Black Sabbath's "FX" in the dire stakes}, I loved every piece on the album. I couldn't believe the melodic brilliance and heavy rocking electricity of each song except the sweet "1000 Island Park" and I was really impressed by the musicians ability to improvise yet sound like that was how the songs were actually written. And they seemed to be written in strange times signatures with odd moods and moves. The titles may have been a bit bombastic but it didn't matter because there were no vocals and even Sri Chinmoy's lame poetry on the back didn't matter because unless you actually liked it, you only ever had to look at it once !
So when I heard that the Mahavishnu Orchestra were playing a week or so later, I was going if it killed me. I remember at the time that there was a big delay in getting paid at work ~ I didn't get paid for 4 or 5 weeks and I was pretty hungry most days. But I managed to scrape the money together for the ticket and off me and my buddy went. It sticks in my mind that it was a Thursday evening because I missed a regular football match that I used to play in for that gig.
I should have played in my game !
The gig was really lame. I didn't know anything about the MO ~ these were pre~internet days and information wasn't easy to come by at short notice. So I turned up expecting to see Jerry Goodman wielding his violin, Billy Cobham sitting at the drums and Jan Hammer behind a bank of keyboards. I'd been going to jazz gigs at that point for a year and I was often one of only a handful {and that's being generous !} of Black people in the audience. Jazz and fusion were never popular among Black people in London even though many of the musicians that passed through town were Black. For some reason, I used to think that it would be an encouragement for Black musicians to see someone Black in the audience and sometimes it was.
But on this day, no Billy Cobham. No violin wielding Jerry. John McLaughlin barely even played guitar, let alone anything fizzing and loud; he played this guitar synth kind of thing and I was right up near the front. After the first couple of lukewarm tracks, I thought they were just warming up but they never warmed up and I spent much of that show just glaring daggers at the band. I still can't believe how lame they were. I wasn't impressed by Bill Evans, I wasn't impressed by Dan Gottlieb and I wasn't impressed by the bassist, Helborg. What a crock of a band !
I suppose it was my own fault in a way. I was listening to and had become enamoured of a band in its 1973 incarnation and this was 1984. I'd listened to enough jazz at that point to see that longevity in band aggregations was non existant ! But it just never occurred to me that it would be a different band. The music was so different and so lame and fruity that really, Johnny Mac should have called the band something totally different. That was not the MO and in the years since, I discovered that whatever threads had tied the earlier incarnations of the band were well and truly severed by 1984.
I literally just found your channel, and this playlist of rankings, saw there's no Mahavishnu Orchestra, commented somewhere, and here it is, minutes later...... magic
Good ranking video, thanks. Nice to see that another person other than me thinks Between Nothingness And Eternity is stunningly good - like you, I often consider it my favorite MO album.
Hi Pete, Your show has been a real gude for me to pick up some new artists specifically during this lockdown it has been very helpful. I watched John Mclaughlin live with a bunch of Indian musicians In London. He got an album with Santana that I like. But I never heard of Mahavisnu Orchestra. Thank You very much.
Like Pete, The Inner Mounting Flame was life changing experience for me when I heard it back in late 72. I borrowed it on a pre recorded cassette..it was beyond anything I had heard before as a Purple, Sabbath Zeppelin fan. At first it was too much to take in but I listened to it over and over to understand what was going on. Meeting of the Spirits is just Stunning, must play the vinyl tomorrow. But Dreams on the live album is the ultimate, the interplay duet between McLaughlin and Cobham on that is just insane.
My rankings: 8 . Apocalypse
7. Inner Worlds
6. Mahavishnu
5. Visions of the Emerald Beyond
4. Adventures in Radioland
3. The Lost Trident Sessions
2. Birds of Fire
1. Inner Mounting Flame
Thanks Man. Best Band ever. I rate their original studio output in the same order You do, although as the decades have gone by I reached for "Apocalypse" more often "Visions..." appreciating it's broad, Cosmic orchestral sweep. "Birds of Fire" was the first one I heard, maybe my no. 1.~ The Live album is my no.2. "Inner mounting flame" no.3. Gotta say that the good recording quality Live Bootlegs are all tremendous, and each show gives the material a unique slant. Unbelievable. If You wanna introduce somone to this Band, "Eternities Breath" is the individual track that will blow them away. Thanks again Man, be Well.🎼🎸🎶🎹🎵🥁🎶🎻🎶🕉
Awesome job Pete bringing attention to these amazing bands RTF and MO. Each is comprised of world class players deserving of wider recognition. Hopefully more people will check ‘em out now. 👍🏻
Great show.I agree with every chose You made.
Lucky enough to have seen them play live at, Reading Festival, they were outstanding.
75?
Prior to 'Inner Mounting Flame' I couldn't get in JM. Then one day at a friends house he put on 'Inner Mounting Flame' and in three minutes I was hooked for life. This was around early 1972 and to this day I listen to at least parts of this album every week. I was at the Central Park (Wollman Skating Rink) when they recorded "Between Nothingness & Eternity". UNBELIEVABLE, almost 47 years later and very little has approaches it in terms of electric intensity. The original members are all still alive (much older but still moving). I wish they would reconcile their differences and just play a short set some where. I'd pay what ever the asking price for ticket would be.
My number one and two the same.Inner mountain flame was the first album i bought after hearing New York on my mind track on a radio show.Just blew me away,just wasnt sure what i had just heard so I played it again and havent stopped since the late 70s,still my favourite band of all
oh pete i got that album between nothingness eternity live my first experience with mahavishnu orchestra wow.
Thanks for the recommendation Pete. I just picked up the classic album set of 5 albums for a steal, and they match your top 5 so this should be good. I saw John live years ago at North Sea Jazz and he was mind blowing, but I never really followed through with any material. Looking forward to listening to them.
'Apocalypse', George Martin said was is favourite LP he ever did! PS I'll send this video onto Billy Cobham, he's a good friend, did you name your channel after Billy's Sea of tranquillity from Total Eclipse, Inner mounting flame is best, the song Vital transformation is one take, no overdubs, even know the drums sound like 3-4 sets of drums... I used to sit people in my room and turn up the volume, the drums move the Air.
Hey Pete obsessed with the channel(totally kickass)/I see the Les Paul & Tele everyday.I bet there alot of musicians out here.Would love to see Something on your favorite Gear/Guitars/Pedals/Amps etc.I know you get a lot of request but just keep it in mind.Keep up the excellent content your channel is beyond awesome in a big way.From a self confirmed pedal junkie-Thanks
Mahavishu Mk.II was where I came in so 'Visions Of The Emerald Beyond' is my personal favourite, that album takes you on a journey from start to finish. Then 'Birds Of Fire' in 2nd place, I favour it over the debut for Cobham's introduction of double-bass & Hammer's keyboards, so there's a little more sonic variation. Very cool 'The Lost Trident Sessions' is covered here too, the only time other members were credited with songwriting but ultimately it broke up the original band. Rick Laird RIP
Please do something on "The Darkness"
The Inner Mountin Flame changed my life.This is music you see & not only hear/"Meeting of the Spirits"transported me into an epic Eastern wasteland/Filled with clouds & Zen kingdoms.I love how they would mix a heavy tune then a lighter number .Some tracks McLaughlin is playing thrash jazz & then epic tender acoustic leanings.Dance of Maya & Noonward race take music to levels never reach before.Now Visions of the Emerald Beyond although with a new lineup is stellar.Jean-Luc-Ponty is kicking ass esp. on Eternity's Breath 1 & 2 n fit's nicely with the vocals.My 3rd favorite is The Live Between Nothingness & Eternity which is heavy as fuck-I love the beginning with the gong intro into the mystical Sunlit Path.All there music set the high water mark in Music history....
Saw them 12/27/73 at I think NY Philharmonic Hall they played “Between Nothingness”. Truly amazing on a level beyond anything I ever heard
Before I watch the video I will state my all-time favorite albums of Mahavishnu
1- INNER MOUNTING FLAME
2- BIRD'S OF FIRE
Reason Billy Cobham is incredible on both .
This sounds like a cool channel. Love Bruford’s band as well
#1 the only one I have on vinyl yay! Can't wait for the Gong one, if there is going to be one.
First two slbums are brilliant, the usicians involved are phenomnenal, absolutely essential listening
I just got into them today. It's amazing music
Mclaughlin did 3 masterpiece jazz oriental fusion rock with band Shakti. How come no mention about them. The music they created was awesome. John plays a 12 string guitar to capture the sound of the sitar.
Because it's a show on Mahavishnu....
Different band. Would be cool to see a video on them though.
The unreleased tracks from the live album are even better, superhuman playing.
I love Inner Mounting Flame as well. It's the first album I heard and I was blown away.
Highly unpopular opinion incoming, but my 2 faves are: 1) Visions of the Emerald Beyond, and 2) Inner Worlds. I could do without Planetary Citizen, but really don't mind the other vocal songs at all. Gita and The Way of the Pilgrim are absolute bangers - WOTP has one of the best solos of all time.
Visions Of The Emerald Beyond is my favorite by this group!
@@golfingcub02 Mine too. By far.
You Know You Know is THE BEST!!!!
The Lost Trident Sessions...check out Ken Scott's book (Recording Engineer). Some nice info in there about it.
Mindblowing band.
1- Birds of Fire
2- The Inner Mounting Flame
3-Apocalypse
4- Vsions of the Emerald Beyond
5- Inner Worlds
The live Between Nothingness and Eternity (with the unreleased tracks) is mandatory!
You, are excellent at reviews, one of the best explainer of music, I've seen, dig ya!....🕉🐟🛶🍁
Bring more fusion!
And I love the idea of favourite line ups
I love this band. Despite what you may read or hear, Visions of the Emerald Beyond is by far their best. The few people I know that actually know this band agree and I would also mention that on their recent farewell tour they played more songs from this album than any of the others and those songs also got the loudest ovations. All the albums are great but I do also think that Apocalypse and Inner Worlds are a little under appreciated as well.
Hoping for the magnum album rankings soon and Saxon
Someone gave me a cassette at school in the 70s - on one side was Visions... on the other was an Al Di M album. I still haven't got over the experience
Have you heard "Firebird / Birds Of Fire" by Don Sebesky? That piece is a fusion of Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird" with Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Bird Of Fire". Simply awesome. And Billy Cobham is also the drummer on that recording.
I know this is off topic but I have to thank you and the video you did ranking Deep Purple albums. I only knew some of their more popular tracks. Not until streaming came along did I have access to most of their music. I have been familiarizing myself and loving pretty much all of it. They are/were much deeper (no pun intended) than I ever thought. Its great to have so much "new" music to get into. Im listenjng to inFinite for the first time right now. Steve Morse is a killer guitarist. Richie Blackmore era is still the best, but Morse can bring it.
Pete is good at making me spend a lot of cash on music! :) That's a good thing!!!
good hard to rank the first 5 can't decide between them
Here's a little, (but very unknown fact). If I didn't read it in the Mahavishnu book I would not have made the connection. So here we go.... You know when audiences hold up their liters in Rock concerts, well the first
band they did that for, was the Mahavishnu Orchestra, (to represent The Inner Mounting Flame). When M.O. first started their underground following started doing it and from there the idea grew and grew.
The book of this band is great by the way.
I have a reel to reel recording made direct from a televised BBC live concert of the original band, its an amazing performance, bits are turning up on You Tube. Also saw them once around that time.
I always leaned most towards The Lost Trident Sessions. Just the first song (Dream) overwhelms, with those melodic passages and great transitions. Craftly composed song. And I greatly enjoy all 6 tracks. Of course, first two albums are also wonderful. Second generation Mahavishnu Orchestra stuff is also great, only Inner Worlds I never got into.
Excellent! I have all of these. Birds of Fire is my #1 but I still really like the '80s ones, especially Radioland.
Great line ups - great idea Pete 🎸✌🏻🌞
Good post. You should rank Miles electric albums from Silent Way to Pangaea.
Your great man
Really enjoyed this show. I largely agree with what was said. I can't rank them... too difficult. My top 6 songs are:
1. The way of the pilgrim
2. Dawn
3. Celestrial terrestrial commuters
4 Earth ship
5 Lila's dance
6 Resolution
John's solo in The way of the Pilgrim 🔥🔥👏👏👏
The 80s put a stank on everything even mahavishnu
Another great ranking show Pete.I once heard George Martin on BBC Radio and he was very fond of 'Smile Of The Beyond',
Great analysis... I would have put "Visions of the Emerald Beyond" higher, but good job overall!
Once again it really says something about a band when your favorite album is a live one from them. Got to get the lost Trident Sessions! Birds Of Fire is my Fav.!!!
Enjoyed.
First saw them in 1974 (i was 15) at the first knebworth fest (the bucolic frolic) , 3rd on the bill behind the doobies , van morrison and the allmans..tbh at that age they sent me to sleep ( to many jamaican woodbines being smoked around me lol )..jean luc ponty violin solos lol ..but as ive got older i really appreciate them and wanna try get into them...so im using your show as a benchmark...no pressure then pete lol...
Saw John and Jimmie Herring a couple years ago in SF. Good jam.
One of my all time favorite bands and McLaughlin is my second favorite guitarist after Blackmore. Always wished McLaughlin had formed a power trio and just played some straight ahead killer hard rock. Check out the brief riff he does from “Sunshine of Your Love” on the live album. No doubt he could have seriously rocked out full time if he wanted to.
..Joe, have you heard the Trio of Doom album, i think its Jaco and T Williams...i haven't yet...
Good choices for the top guitarist.
Haven’t heard of Trio of Doom....will check them out thanks
Jonas Helborg and John McLoughlin... Doesn't get better.
Would be interesting to hear what your list for Weather Report. I was always just such a fan of Miroslav Vitous' rebelious bass playing in WP, but lately I haven't been that into it.
Miroslav is my favourite Weather Report Bassist too, so the first 3 L.P's and the Bootlegs up to 1974 are the ones for me. More European Avant Garde, than the funky ethnic World Music that came later.
My ranking is the same as yours. Amazing band. If anyone hasn’t heard them, they are in for a treat. Also Pete mentioned Larry Coryell, check out those seventies fusion albums too.