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John McLaughlin: My Goals Beyond
by Walter Kolosky
Technically, the acoustic guitar playing on 1970's My Goals Beyond does not approach the skill exhibited on most of John McLaughlin's recordings. Flubbed notes pop up here and there, and although this album is famous for McLaughlin's “solo" renderings of such classic tunes as Mingus' “Good-Bye Pork-Pie Hat," Bill Evans and Miles Davis' “Blue in Green" and his own wonderful composition “Follow Your Heart," Mclaughlin actually pre-recorded the chords and soloed over them.However, no small amount of flubbing ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin and Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion and Surrender
by Walter Kolosky
Quick! Name an album on which John McLaughlin plays piano and Jan Hammer plays drums. Give up? The answer: the much loved but often maligned 1973 collaboration between Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, Love, Devotion and Surrender. (At this time John was still MAHAVISHNU and Carlos was not quite yet DEVADIP.) Now if anyone out there in musicland can determine on which cuts John McLaughlin played the piano and Hammer played the drums - you win a prize!
Continue ReadingMahavishnu Orchestra: Inner Worlds
by Walter Kolosky
Every McLaughlin album has something to offer, and Inner Worlds is no exception. However, it is easily McLaughlin's weakest outing. Released in 1976, Inner Worlds features the third and scaled down edition of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. No more strings. No more horns. No more Ponty. Was this album made just to finish the contract out? Who knows? After the exciting Visions Of The Emerald Beyond, this record was a disappointment. So much more had been expected.Michael ...
Continue ReadingMahavishnu Orchestra: The Inner Mounting Flame
by Walter Kolosky
The Inner Mounting Flame was the first album which totally captured the power of hard rock and the freewheeling improvisational aspects of jazz. Larry Coryell, Miles Davis, and Tony Williams' Lifetime had tried something like this with some success in previous years. (It was no mistake McLaughlin was attached to all three of those efforts.) But none of that output captured the spirit like the Mahavishnu Orchestra's 1971 recording The Inner Mounting Flame. The Inner Mounting Flame 's ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin: The Heart of Things
by Walter Kolosky
The Heart of Things allows John McLaughlin to surround himself with some young monsters. A strong line-up on this 1997 record includes McLaughlin alumni Jim Beard on keyboards and Dennis Chambers on drums, as well as electric bassist Matthew Garrison and saxophonist Gary Thomas. The youthful newcomers, Garrison and Thomas, front bands of their own and have their own musical ideas. They have integrated some of these concepts, offering solid support for The Heart of Things. Garrison supplies a strong ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin: Electric Guitarist
by Walter Kolosky
If you listen to McLaughlin's version of “My Foolish Heart" from 1978's Johnny McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist, it's hard to logically explain how the same guitarist had also produced the sounds found on so many of his earlier records. It's hard to reconcile this tune with his approach on his debut Extrapolation, Miles' Tribute to Jack Johnson, Larry Coryell's Spaces, and various recordings by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. None of those earlier performances would have prepared you for McLaughlin's ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin with The One Truth Band: Electric Dreams
by Walter Kolosky
The last three minutes of “Desire and the Comforter" from Electric Dreams say it all about John McLaughlin. He just tears apart his electric guitar with cascades of funk, blues, rock, jazz, and Far-Eastern scales. Every strike of a string has individual meaning. His guitar soars above the chord changes and captures the spirit of the music. He leaves space (or texture) where it should be left. Like no other guitarist on earth, John McLaughlin knows when not to play, ...
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