yeah, when they were good, they were as good as any prog band going (tho my jazz loving dad hates them for that reason). however, when they weren't good = also the reason I don't listen to that much fusion.
― Dominique, Thursday, 24 January 2008 16:36 (eleven years ago) Permalink
true
― Jordan, Thursday, 24 January 2008 16:39 (eleven years ago) Permalink
MILES BEYOND
― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Friday, 27 March 2009 00:08 (ten years ago) Permalink
I don't think you will ever see a group quite like this one come together again, I was amazed by some really low quality video (though the sound was OK) live clip of Mahavishnu on You Tube a couple of days back. Billy Cobham is a freak of a drummer in a band of freaky good players.
― earlnash, Saturday, 28 March 2009 03:54 (ten years ago) Permalink
man Visions of the Emerald Beyond is so fucking sweet
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 15 July 2011 16:53 (seven years ago) Permalink
You're talking about "Noonward Race", one of the giddiest thrill-rides in recorded history. I just love hearing McLaughlin play those flurries of 16th notes at the end of his solo, only to fuck up and leap headlong back into the song proper before he can do any more damage. That whole track (whole album) owes way more to rock than jazz. (And so what?)― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, August 22, 2005 1:13 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
This is a brilliant description of this song. The end of McLaughlin's solo he just abrubtly changes gears into the main riff is one of my favorite musical moments. It sounds like he was greasing his strings beforehand with WD-40.
Great great band.
― Bill Magill, Friday, 15 July 2011 17:37 (seven years ago) Permalink
anybody heard any of Billy Cobham's solo stuff? his drumming on Birds of Fire is fucking insane.
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 15 July 2011 18:39 (seven years ago) Permalink
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HNHy2x3a8fo/SdvXe-rkvyI/AAAAAAAAACQ/xuNuW4CrpOM/s320/billy.jpgthis one's pretty ok, tho it's not really mahavishnu-ish, as the title implies.
― tylerw, Friday, 15 July 2011 18:42 (seven years ago) Permalink
"spectrum" is immortal. haven't heard much besides that, and the stuff i have heard is forgettable. get "spectrum"!
― hardcore oatmeal (Jordan), Friday, 15 July 2011 18:52 (seven years ago) Permalink
yea spectrum
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Friday, 15 July 2011 18:56 (seven years ago) Permalink
i found this one on the street. i need to relisten to it, but i remember digging it. the title track is a really long, freaky, avant krauty, synth weirdo track.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NZES9E3VL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
and you should know this one if you listened to mid 90s hip hop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3E9vx5vVck
― jaxon, Friday, 15 July 2011 18:57 (seven years ago) Permalink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg86di2p34c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cda693NGOc
^flying lotus is repping this vibe hard these days
― hardcore oatmeal (Jordan), Friday, 15 July 2011 19:00 (seven years ago) Permalink
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, July 15, 2011 2:39 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Only Spectrum, Tommy Bolin's finest moment (which is saying a lot). The guy is fucking amazing on that record.
― Bill Magill, Friday, 15 July 2011 19:28 (seven years ago) Permalink
thanks guys grabbing spectrum! that track "heather" that jaxon posted is gorgeous too though so mellow & dialed-back
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 15 July 2011 19:43 (seven years ago) Permalink
Wow, George Duke rocking the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey both - I thought those fusion guys generally had loyalty to one or the other
― Race Against Rockism (Myonga Vön Bontee), Friday, 15 July 2011 22:41 (seven years ago) Permalink
Apparently McLaughlin and Santana reunited at this year's Montreux Jazz Festival. It probably sucked, but I'm gonna see if any bootlegs are floating around.
― that's not funny. (unperson), Saturday, 16 July 2011 00:37 (seven years ago) Permalink
Whaddya know, here's some footage of them doing "The Creator Has A Master Plan"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=230YzDsAUMs
― that's not funny. (unperson), Saturday, 16 July 2011 00:40 (seven years ago) Permalink
I just got an incredible-sounding bootleg of a 1973 concert McLaughlin and Santana did together. The band was McLaughlin, Santana, Larry Young on organ, Doug Rauch on bass, Billy Cobham on drums and Armando Peraza on percussion. There are several existing bootlegs of this show - the guys I got mine from took all of 'em and combined the best parts to create a really, really clean-sounding double disc that contains the entire 2 1/2-hour show. Amazing stuff - seven tracks, all but one running between 15 and 30 minutes.
Would love to hear this. There's a great concert on YouTube of the Santa Monica show I believe.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 5 September 2015 04:14 (three years ago) Permalink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgz4ESqjj98
― cock chirea, Saturday, 5 September 2015 04:37 (three years ago) Permalink
Awesome – thanks, cock. Phil, if you can hear me, I'd love to get my hands on those files if possible.
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 7 September 2015 20:03 (three years ago) Permalink
The band was McLaughlin, Santana, Larry Young on organ, Doug Rauch on bass, Billy Cobham on drums and Armando Peraza on percussion.The same band as on "Love Devotion Surrender" of course.
― Noel Emits, Monday, 7 September 2015 20:48 (three years ago) Permalink
I'm sure it's easily locatable online. The CD-R version I have was given the title With Loving Devotion to John Coltrane by the assembler.
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Monday, 7 September 2015 20:59 (three years ago) Permalink
I will hunt this down!
― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 8 September 2015 01:11 (three years ago) Permalink
Getting into The Lost Trident sessions this morning, which is one I have not heard much. "Sister Andrea" is a really, really good track. The section on that tune when they break it down low you really hear McLaughlin channeling his inner-Miles Davis ala Sketches of Spain. It certainly sounded like a nod to me.
― earlnash, Sunday, 4 February 2018 17:06 (one year ago) Permalink
Billy Cobham's drumming is really the glue that holds these records together imo. I find a lot of McLaughlin's post-Mahavishnu output to be sort of, idk, watery?
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:30 (one year ago) Permalink
Seeing McLaughlin play Mahavishnu tunes live last year was incredible. Agree about Cobham; he's amazing.
― grawlix (unperson), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:51 (one year ago) Permalink
Who was in his band when you saw him?
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:58 (one year ago) Permalink
I really like McLaughlin's first two acoustic jazz records with My Goals Beyond and the first Shakti album. That Shakti album is really intense. Eventually i would like to run into a LP of the San Francisco acoustic trio records. I had that one on tape as a kid and haven't heard it in years.
Apocalypse is pretty good for a Mahavishnu record after the original band. The 80s band sounds pretty 80s, although the stuff with Jonas Hellborg on Adventures in Radioland is pretty groovy.
― earlnash, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:18 (one year ago) Permalink
Yeah Shakti is pretty good, but I never liked the Friday Night in San Francisco or his other acoustic stuff.
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:21 (one year ago) Permalink
I don't remember all their names, but I wrote about the show for Stereogum in November.
― grawlix (unperson), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:34 (one year ago) Permalink
I like the last track on inner worlds a lot
― sleepingbag, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:39 (one year ago) Permalink
Cobham is insane. I read a story once that when Cobham was a kid, he and his friends would have competitions to see who could keep a quarter pressed against the wall the longest with a roll.
Agree that he holds that group together, but Narada Michael Walden was a solid replacement. So crazy that he became this slick hitmaker. I saw Aretha Franklin this summer, and Walden was playing drums with her, and I kept thinking, huh, the same dude who did "Freeway of Love" and Whitney's "How Will I Know" was in Mahavishnu Orchestra. Anyway, he was a joy to watch, having so much fun. Here's a bit of him backing her at the show I saw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzPHaRowxu0
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:52 (one year ago) Permalink
So cool to find this, this is a set I saw McLaughlin do in Spain in 1993, with Dennis Chambers and Joey DeFrancesco!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po_toT6n9aE
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:55 (one year ago) Permalink
4th dimension: ranjit barot, gary husband, etienne mbappé
mbappé was so sick. not only was he an insane bass player but he wore god damned gloves
― scoff walker (diamonddave85), Sunday, 4 February 2018 23:02 (one year ago) Permalink
JUst checking out Where fortune Smiles which is McLaughlin either just before he started mahavishnu or a little after. Alongside John Surman, Dave Holland, Karl Berger nad Stu martin.JUst seen that Esoteric reissued it recently. Sounds interesting so far.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 4 February 2018 23:22 (one year ago) Permalink
This is p much the sickest thing ever imo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10a45mgMGcY
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Monday, 5 February 2018 05:32 (one year ago) Permalink
What can you say? Wow! I wish more 1970's drummers kept their solos that short n sweet. And of course his technique is absolutely phenomenal. Nice clip.
― VyrnaKnowlIsAHeadbanger, Monday, 5 February 2018 06:55 (one year ago) Permalink
"Sunflower" by Milt Jackson, w/Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Jay Berliner and Billy Cobham: a fantastic record.
― mahb, Monday, 5 February 2018 10:10 (one year ago) Permalink
He's pretty good in the core unit band on the CTI Allstars first live lp. Tracks like Red Clay on that are really great.
― Stevolende, Monday, 5 February 2018 15:21 (one year ago) Permalink
Agree that he holds that group together, but Narada Michael Walden was a solid replacement. So crazy that he became this slick hitmaker. I saw Aretha Franklin this summer, and Walden was playing drums with her, and I kept thinking, huh, the same dude who did "Freeway of Love" and Whitney's "How Will I Know" was in Mahavishnu Orchestra.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 8 February 2018 05:33 (one year ago) Permalink
"Agree that he holds that group together, but Narada Michael Walden was a solid replacement. So crazy that he became this slick hitmaker."
i'm still a little flabbergasted whenever i realize that michael tilson thomas was the guy who did the orchestral stuff on "apocalypse" (and it wasn't very good...)
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Thursday, 8 February 2018 14:21 (one year ago) Permalink
Didn't expect to get into Between Nothingness & Eternity at all but I enjoyed more of it than I thought I would. Cant be bothered with getting into the rest of it right now, so I'm shelving it for now. Didn't think this was so highly thought of.
I thought one of the riffs sounded a hell of a lot like Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" but I guess people who know better would have made a deal of that if it really did have much resemblance.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 12 May 2018 12:33 (one year ago) Permalink
I liked Apocalypse. Not the whole way through but the highlights are great. Last track has a kind of "You And I" feeling and the soloing at the big climax is fantastic.
But "Smile Of The Beyond" is just gorgeous. Check out this live version with a far more energetic middle portion and added drum solo with good drumming faces.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjM-UQ0zVUU
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 15 September 2018 11:41 (nine months ago) Permalink
That was worth waking up to.
― The nexus of the crisis (Sund4r), Saturday, 15 September 2018 13:13 (nine months ago) Permalink
dude can shred
hats for sporting the spiritual SG double neck look
― niels, Monday, 17 September 2018 08:49 (nine months ago) Permalink
That right there is a spiritual custom Ibanez.
― Three Word Username, Monday, 17 September 2018 09:23 (nine months ago) Permalink
aah, I see!
― niels, Monday, 17 September 2018 09:27 (nine months ago) Permalink
Visions of the Emerald Beyond is really nice
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 14 December 2018 20:43 (six months ago) Permalink
Narada Michael Walden has had a pretty interesting career starting with Mahavishnu with Aretha (Who's Zoomin Who) and Whitney Houston and many others. From the Ashram to Malibu I would suppose.
― earlnash, Friday, 14 December 2018 22:52 (six months ago) Permalink
his drumming on a few songs on Fripp's "Exposure" is ferocious. NYC and Breathless are the two best songs on the album
― akm, Saturday, 15 December 2018 02:20 (six months ago) Permalink
You follow Billy Cobham, you better be able to deliver it. Those guys are/were so good, they are like superheroes.
― earlnash, Saturday, 15 December 2018 03:06 (six months ago) Permalink