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01 |
Eternity's Breath Part 1 |
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03:09 |
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02 |
Eternity's Breath Part 2 |
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04:50 |
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03 |
Lila's Dance |
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05:36 |
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04 |
Can't Stand Your Funk |
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02:09 |
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05 |
Pastoral |
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03:41 |
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06 |
Faith |
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02:01 |
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07 |
Cosmic Strut |
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03:28 |
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08 |
If I Could See |
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01:17 |
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09 |
Be Happy |
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03:32 |
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10 |
Earth Ship |
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03:43 |
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11 |
Pegasus |
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01:48 |
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12 |
Opus |
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00:24 |
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13 |
On The Way Home To Earth |
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04:44 |
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| Country |
USA |
| Spars |
DDD |
| Sound |
Stereo |
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Visions of the Emerald Beyond
Date of Release Dec 4, 1974 - Dec 14, 1974 (recording)
As the second album to document the second Mahavishnu Orchestra, this one isn't as, well, apocalyptic as its predecessor, yet it does focus more intently on the band itself. Jean-Luc Ponty's curling electric violin lines help give this Mahavishnu band a more European sound than its predecessor, and some of the orchestral concepts of Apocalypse work their way into the picture via comments by a string trio and trumpet/sax duo. This band also had some interest in a bombastic funk direction that may have been borrowed from Mr. "Chameleon" Herbie Hancock, and would later be followed by Mahavishnu Two's drummer, Michael Walden. Gayle Moran's ethereal vocals don't date as badly as those on many jazz-rock records; at least she can sing. Overall, this Mahavishnu edition is more refined and not as aggressive as the first - although they could charge ahead pretty hard, as "Be Happy" and "On the Way Home to Earth" demonstrate - yet they were still capable of making memorable electric music. - Richard S. Ginell
1. Eternity's Breath, Pt. 1 (McLaughlin) - 3:10
2. Eternity's Breath, Pt. 2 (McLaughlin) - 4:48
3. Lila's Dance (McLaughlin) - 5:34
4. Can't Stand Your Funk (McLaughlin) - 2:09
5. Pastoral (McLaughlin) - 3:41
6. Faith (McLaughlin) - 3:58
7. Cosmic Strut (Walden) - 3:28
8. If I Could See (McLaughlin) - 1:18
9. Be Happy (McLaughlin) - 3:31
10. Earth Ship (McLaughlin) - 3:42
11. Pegasus (McLaughlin) - 1:48
12. Opus (McLaughlin) - :15
13. On the Way Home to Earth (McLaughlin) - 4:34
Steve Kindler - Violin, Arranger, Vocals
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Performer
John McLaughlin - Guitar, Vocals, Guitar (12 String), Producer
Jean-Luc Ponty - Violin, Vocals, Violin (Electric), Electric Violin, Baritone Violin
Ken Scott - Producer, Engineer
Ralph Armstrong - Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals, Contrabass
Mike Berniker - Producer, Digital Producer
Phillip Hirschi - Cello
Bob Knapp - Flute, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals, Wind
Narada Michael Walden - Percussion, Drums, Vocals, Clavinet
Gayle Moran - Keyboards, Vocals
Carol Shire - Vocals
Carol Shive - Violin, Vocals
Howard Mandel - Liner Notes
Russell Tubbs - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Tony Tiller - Package Coordinator
Pete Cenedella - Package Coordinator
1991 CD Columbia CK-46867
1991 CS Columbia CT-46867
1975 LP Columbia 33411
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Visions of the Emerald Beyond
Release Date: 1974
Member: Sean 7/15/03
Here is yet another great Mahavishnu album. After The Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire this is the next studio album in their catalog worth investigating. Visions of the Emerald Beyond seems to my ears to be a companion to Birds, two years later and with a different lineup. There is a similar quality in contour between the two albums.
This album was recorded by the second version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It is a lineup that never seems to be looked upon as fondly as the original. That is understandable, but it should not keep anyone that is a Maha fan from trying this cd too. This lineup is a potent one with some great players. John McLaughlin is the only remaining member of the original lineup that appears on Visions. He of course is the visionary behind the group regardless of the players involved. His compositional style really is the thread that makes this album seem like the proper follow up to Birds of Fire.
Also appearing on Visions is drummer Narada Michael Walden who does his best to reach the fury of Billy Cobham and comes close more than once, though sometimes his delivery seems a bit young in comparison. Nevertheless he plays like a house on fire and sometimes his technical skill exceeds Cobham's, IMO. His interplay with JM is exciting listening.
Violinist virtuoso Jean Luc Ponty of Frank Zappa fame appears here as well. He is an apt adversary for McLaughlin. Together they spin some memorable lines and trade solos like hot potatos. This album seems to be a blueprint of sorts for future Ponty fusion albums, though Visions has a raw fire that most of those lack, with Enigmatic Ocean being a possible exception. A bassist that later went on to play some amazing lines with Ponty, Ralph Armstrong, appears here as well.
Visions has some really memorable compostions on it (and a few that are not so, but still solid). Highlights are many. "Eternity's Breath, Pt. 1" gets things rolling much like the dawn breaking on the horizon. Ponty plays a breaktaking cadenza, then JM drops a bluesy riff into the mix and the groove kicks in. A choir joins in and sings a few lines that are Coltrane inspired "Love supreme supreme...". These vocals are short and do not detract from the number, they enhance it. "Pt. 2" kicks in and the power of funk is unleashed. Horns pound out a funky riff with McLaughlin takes a tasty solo. Then Ponty follows suit, soring into the stratosphere. Walden is cooking on all burners here too. A graceful piano part leads to the end of the piece where Ponty and McLaughlin reprise the funky riff of "Pt 1", the choir reprises their chant as well at the fade.
"Lila's Dance" is probably the best composition on the album. After a graceful piano intro the guitar enters arpeggiating one of JM's bizzare chord choices. Obviously this piece is cut from the mold numbers like "Meeting of the Spirits" and "Birds of Fire" were cast in. "Lila" covers familiar ground and says something new at the same time. The blues breakdown in the middle is more than a tad like "Dance of Maya" from the band's debut. The melodies here though are fresh and memorable and help it to sound like a more mature version of the above numbers.
"Can't Stand Your Funk" is a fun, funky number, but not anything amazing compositionally. Numbers like this seemed mandatory on any fusion album from that era. It has some cool playing but reminds me of background music for some 70s cop show. The acoustic "Pastoral" follows. This number lives up to it's name. It is a sweet sounding little tune with some particularly nice playing from Ponty. McLaughlin turns in some nice 12 string work too. Still it doesn't really go anywhere in particular. More a showcase for Ponty's cascading riffs.
"Faith" is another composition that stands out on Visions, but for the wrong reason. It starts with an epic beginning and then all is slient for a moment before McLaughlin breaks into a hot chordal sequence. The groove comes in and we are swept away. It seems things are flying and the tune is finally cooking and then it... ENDS! A girl is heard laughing in the background, as if she is amused that we got teased.
"Cosmic Strut" bears a strong resemblance to the type of stuff a friend and peer of McLaughlin's, Jeff Beck, was doing on his landmark album Blow by Blow around the same time. Not the strongest tune here, but enjoyable.
The remaining cuts cover more of the same ground. A sweet siren sings while epic bombast is unleashed on "If I Could See". "Be Happy" approaches the fire and intensity of some Inner Mounting Flame cuts. Moreso than any other cut on this album, although the drums meets ring modulator wank of the closing cut, "On the Way Home to Earth" has moments too. About three minutes in McLaughlin plays a solo that sounds eerily like Robert Fripp too. Check it out.
No, this may not be the classic lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but it still kicks some major ass! This album and the underrated, symphonic "Apocalypse" are worthy additions to anyones MO collection.
c2001 - 2003 Progressive Ears
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Apocalypse Progressive Ears Submit A Review
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Release Date: 1974
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Track Listing
1) Power of Love (McLaughlin) - 4:13
2) Vision Is a Naked Sword (McLaughlin) - 14:18
3) Smile of the Beyond (Mahalakshmi) - 8:00
4) Wings of Karma (McLaughlin) - 6:06
5) Hymn to Him (McLaughlin) - 19:19
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AMG Entry
Samples
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # New By Author
Member: Prog Owl (Profile) (All Album Reviews by Prog Owl)
Date: 11/19/2003
Format: CD (Album)
Ever the restless experimenter, John McLaughlin decided to soldier on after the acrimonious breakup of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra. He had an even grander musical vision in mind. First he put together a larger version of the band, and not being content to stop there, bought in the heavy artillery, known as the London Symphony Orchestra, tapped one Michael Gibbs to do the orchestral arrangements, enlisted the services of a young up and coming conductor in Michael Tilson Thomas, who had a taste for the adventurous and unconventional. And to cap it off, Johnny Mac enlisted the services of Beatles producer George Martin to capture this grand experiment on tape.
Did the bold experiment work? For the most part, it did.
We begin with "Power of Love", where the orchestra plays a quiet and somber understated theme as Jean Luc Ponty spins forth a haunting melody on his electric violin. But this is just a prelude to something very unsettling.
That unsettling something being "Vision Is A Naked Sword". Beginning with a rumbling gong, both the band and the Symphony unleash an ominous "Wrath of God" reworking of the main theme of "Dance of The Maya" and in doing so, nearly scaring the crap out of you, with Johnny Mac peeking out with his trademark scary dissonant arpeggios. From there things get even more jarring and intense, as Mac and Ponty trade off phrases, Narada Michael Walden interjects and the band plays a fine game of volleying riffs back and forth before things draw to a terrifying orchestral close. WOW!!!!
Next up, "Smile Of The Beyond" is a attempt to lighten the mood after having the fear of God put in you. As the strings come in, Gayle Moran (the future Mrs. Chick Corea) does the wailing diva thing, howling at the moon with some rather preposterous pseudo-cosmic lyrics over a fairly saccharine string arrangement, then the band kicks in with the guys singing the song's signature line over a fairly active fusion groove, but somehow, this one just doesn't quite add up or succeed at what it attempted.
"Wings of Karma" is a nice orchestral interlude that leads into the fierce "Hymn to Him", a multi-part epic that has more than the minimum USDA daily requirements of instrumental fireworks, that reaches a fiery climax as Johnny Mac trades riffs with the whole London Symphony, quite fun to listen to actually.
This is not what one would call easy listening by any stretch.
The overall recording quality is spacious and crisp, thanks to George Martin's finely tuned ears and ace Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick manning the faders. The recording of this album was a pretty complicated affair according tot he participants, having to stay in synch by way of a closed circuit TV system in the studio.
Quibbles? I have some.
First, Johnny Mac's guitar is uncharacteristically low in the mix and doesn't come across with quite the fullness that it normally did on previous recordings. In fact, it sounds downright thin and overly metallic in a lot of places, almost hurting the ears sometimes.
Second, Gayle Moran. Her keyboard work here is adequate but not really anything outstanding or special in any manner. And yes, she can sing, but that wailing diva howling at the moon thing is more of a distraction than an asset. Those dippy pseudo-cosmic lyrics weren't much of a help either.
The new band overall kicked butt, especially Ralphe Armstrong and Narada Michael Walden, even if he does overplay a little now and then. I heard that MO Mark II were actually great on stage with just the 3 strings and a horn section. It had to be a monumental challenge to capture the essence of the dense orchestral sections and be able to convey it with a much smaller (relatively speaking) ensemble.
John McLaughlin could certainly not be faulted for being exploratory and wildly ambitious, and he is in fact to be commended, even when it didn't always fly. At least he learned from the mistakes.
In spite of the flaws, this is a disc definitely worth having, just to see how orchestral and electric textures can work together, and how one such as Johnny Mac always followed his musical heart wherever it took him, not having the least bit of concern for commerciality.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member: Prog Owl (Profile) (All Album Reviews by Prog Owl)
Date: 11/19/2003
Format: CD (Album)
Ever the restless experimenter, John McLaughlin decided to soldier on after the acrimonious breakup of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra. He had an even grander musical vision in mind. First he put together a larger version of the band, and not being content to stop there, bought in the heavy artillery, known as the London Symphony Orchestra, tapped one Michael Gibbs to do the orchestral arrangements, enlisted the services of a young up and coming conductor in Michael Tilson Thomas, who had a taste for the adventurous and unconventional. And to cap it off, Johnny Mac enlisted the services of Beatles producer George Martin to capture this grand experiment on tape.
Did the bold experiment work? For the most part, it did.
We begin with "Power of Love", where the orchestra plays a quiet and somber understated theme as Jean Luc Ponty spins forth a haunting melody on his electric violin. But this is just a prelude to something very unsettling.
That unsettling something being "Vision Is A Naked Sword". Beginning with a rumbling gong, both the band and the Symphony unleash an ominous "Wrath of God" reworking of the main theme of "Dance of The Maya" and in doing so, nearly scaring the crap out of you, with Johnny Mac peeking out with his trademark scary dissonant arpeggios. From there things get even more jarring and intense, as Mac and Ponty trade off phrases, Narada Michael Walden interjects and the band plays a fine game of volleying riffs back and forth before things draw to a terrifying orchestral close. WOW!!!!
Next up, "Smile Of The Beyond" is a attempt to lighten the mood after having the fear of God put in you. As the strings come in, Gayle Moran (the future Mrs. Chick Corea) does the wailing diva thing, howling at the moon with some rather preposterous pseudo-cosmic lyrics over a fairly saccharine string arrangement, then the band kicks in with the guys singing the song's signature line over a fairly active fusion groove, but somehow, this one just doesn't quite add up or succeed at what it attempted.
"Wings of Karma" is a nice orchestral interlude that leads into the fierce "Hymn to Him", a multi-part epic that has more than the minimum USDA daily requirements of instrumental fireworks, that reaches a fiery climax as Johnny Mac trades riffs with the whole London Symphony, quite fun to listen to actually.
This is not what one would call easy listening by any stretch.
The overall recording quality is spacious and crisp, thanks to George Martin's finely tuned ears and ace Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick manning the faders. The recording of this album was a pretty complicated affair according tot he participants, having to stay in synch by way of a closed circuit TV system in the studio.
Quibbles? I have some.
First, Johnny Mac's guitar is uncharacteristically low in the mix and doesn't come across with quite the fullness that it normally did on previous recordings. In fact, it sounds downright thin and overly metallic in a lot of places, almost hurting the ears sometimes.
Second, Gayle Moran. Her keyboard work here is adequate but not really anything outstanding or special in any manner. And yes, she can sing, but that wailing diva howling at the moon thing is more of a distraction than an asset. Those dippy pseudo-cosmic lyrics weren't much of a help either.
The new band overall kicked butt, especially Ralphe Armstrong and Narada Michael Walden, even if he does overplay a little now and then. I heard that MO Mark II were actually great on stage with just the 3 strings and a horn section. It had to be a monumental challenge to capture the essence of the dense orchestral sections and be able to convey it with a much smaller (relatively speaking) ensemble.
John McLaughlin could certainly not be faulted for being exploratory and wildly ambitious, and he is in fact to be commended, even when it didn't always fly. At least he learned from the mistakes.
In spite of the flaws, this is a disc definitely worth having, just to see how orchestral and electric textures can work together, and how one such as Johnny Mac always followed his musical heart wherever it took him, not having the least bit of concern for commerciality.
John McLaughlin - Guitars, Composer
Jean-Luc Ponty - Electric Violin, Baritone Violin
Ralphe Armstrong - Bass, Vocals
Phillip Herschi - Cello, Vocals
Narada Michael Walden - Percussion, Drums, Vocals
Gayle Moran - Keyboards, Vocals
Carol Shive - Violin, Vocals
The London Symphony Orchestra
Mike Gibbs - Orchestration
Michael Tilson Thomas - Conductor, Piano
George Martin - Producer
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