Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 01/03/2009
Run Time: 44:05
The state of the second
Mahavishnu Orchestra continued to be volatile in 1975, with violinist
Jean-Luc Ponty out, keyboardist
Gayle Moran replaced by
Stu Goldberg, and all string and horn backings removed, leaving just a steaming quartet and this lone remarkable album. The addition of
Goldberg, a more interesting musician than
Moran, is significant, but the biggest charge is provided by the leader who, in tandem with the latest electronic equipment, turns in some of his most passionately alive playing of the whole
Mahavishnu series. The leadoff track,
"All in the Family," has fantastic energy and drive, pushed on by
Narada Michael Walden's drums and marimba.
"Miles Out" has
John McLaughlin doing some inspired jamming with his guitar hooked into a "360 Systems Frequency Shifter" (an electronic device with the wildly fluid sound of a ring-modulator), and he moves over to an early guitar synthesizer on
"Morning Calls," "Lotus Feet," and the streaking title track. There is some
funk residue from
Visions of the Emerald Beyond on
"Planetary Citizen," yet oddly enough, the so-so
soul vocals from
Walden on several tracks, and one by bassist
Ralphe Armstrong, do not harm the cause, as the playing of the quartet is so fiery. But this somewhat overlooked album would be the last hurrah for the
Mahavishnu concept for nearly a decade -- and when it returned, the sounds it produced would bear little resemblance to this power-packed music.
~Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
;)
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