Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1975)
A nice return to their Inner Mounting Flame days with perhaps more variety. I'm surprisingly not that intimate with this release, having spent much more time with the original trio, likely because I bought those LPs in college whereas this came a few years later for no particular reason other than immediate availability. And I was able to derive a +1 out of this listen while I was at it. This would prove to be the last heavy fusion effort by the ensemble. John McLaughlin was ready to move onto more mellow realms. Always liked the Legacy series. Sony were one of the first of the major labels to bring histories and other items of interest rather than just being content to pop out commodities in digital format.
Ownership: 1991 Columbia Legacy (CD). Historical liner notes.
1992 (acquired); 9/16/24 (review)
John McLaughlin - Devotion (1970)
Devotion represents McLaughlin's first major electric outing, fully embracing rock and psychedelic at this stage. This is the sound that he brought forward to Miles Davis and, most notably, Mahavishnu Orchestra. Honestly if you have an album with McLaughlin on electric guitar and Larry Young on organ, there's only going to one conclusion: Sublime. Devotion is a loosely structured album with random bits of guitar and keyboard soloing and a brilliant rhythm section. For me this is the kind of album that defines the term Jazz Rock, though more technically it should be called Rock Jazz. He would later revisit this topic on the even more explosive album with his spiritual friend Carlos Santana on Love Devotion and Surrender.
Ownership: 1972 Douglas (LP). Gatefold; 1970 Douglas (8-trk). Sealed for $1. How fun is this? I have to keep it just for the novelty of it.
Inner Mounting Flame (1971)
As also noted in that Al Di Meola Elegant Gypsy review (lots of important data in there apparently), I discovered Mahavishnu in college via that tired discussion of who is the fastest guitarist. I had no idea even know who John McLaughlin was. I started at the beginning with Mahavishnu Orchestra, and I’m glad I did, because Inner Mounting Flame remains my favorite by the band. Really more jazz rock than jazz fusion, the rawness and intensity found here is astounding. The beginning of the genre as we know it. 100’s were to follow, but no one really topped this. Well except maybe McLaughlin's one foray with Carlos Santana. Perhaps if Larry Young had been part of Mahavishnu, it would have been the greatest ever. Ownership: 1971 Columbia (LP); Columbia (CD) 80s pressing1987 (acquired); 7/25/14; 3/17/23 (review)
Devotion represents McLaughlin's first major electric outing, fully embracing rock and psychedelic at this stage. This is the sound that he brought forward to Miles Davis and, most notably, Mahavishnu Orchestra. Honestly if you have an album with McLaughlin on electric guitar and Larry Young on organ, there's only going to one conclusion: Sublime. Devotion is a loosely structured album with random bits of guitar and keyboard soloing and a brilliant rhythm section. For me this is the kind of album that defines the term Jazz Rock, though more technically it should be called Rock Jazz. He would later revisit this topic on the even more explosive album with his spiritual friend Carlos Santana on Love Devotion and Surrender.
Ownership: 1972 Douglas (LP). Gatefold; 1970 Douglas (8-trk). Sealed for $1. How fun is this? I have to keep it just for the novelty of it.
9/24/92 (acquired); 4/24/95; 11/22/23 (review)
As also noted in that Al Di Meola Elegant Gypsy review (lots of important data in there apparently), I discovered Mahavishnu in college via that tired discussion of who is the fastest guitarist. I had no idea even know who John McLaughlin was. I started at the beginning with Mahavishnu Orchestra, and I’m glad I did, because Inner Mounting Flame remains my favorite by the band. Really more jazz rock than jazz fusion, the rawness and intensity found here is astounding. The beginning of the genre as we know it. 100’s were to follow, but no one really topped this. Well except maybe McLaughlin's one foray with Carlos Santana. Perhaps if Larry Young had been part of Mahavishnu, it would have been the greatest ever. Ownership: 1971 Columbia (LP); Columbia (CD) 80s pressing1987 (acquired); 7/25/14; 3/17/23 (review)
Also own and need to review: Birds of Fire; Love Devotion Surrender; The Lost Trident Sessions
3/17/23 (new entry)
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