Friday, February 4, 2011

Mahavishnu Orchestra


Well, with Greg Ginn coming to the bay area soon, and my buddy and bandmate Nick asking me to co-DJ some tunes at the show, I thought I'd post what supposedly influenced Greg to get more experimental with Black Flag (for better or worse): Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Birds of Fire".
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was formed by John McLaughlin, guitar player for the Miles Davis Band who had played on the classics Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way. Birds of Fire is actually MO's second LP; their first release was the equally great The Inner Mounting Flame with the face melting track "The Dance of Maya". Check it out if you like this one. After Birds of Fire, John McLaughlin continued to play for Davis and release Mahavishnu Orchestra reocrds with different line ups. Call it prog, rock, call it jazz fusion or just jazz this is a great record that should appeal to most anyone who digs Focus, Goblin, Eloy, Miles Davis, ELP, and even Black Flag.
If you're hearing it for the first time, find out why (according to Wikipedia) Jeff Beck calls McLaughlin "the best guitarist alive".

Unlike most of this blog, copies are easily found for cheap online with used copies as low as $3.60 ― so if you like it buy it!

Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love

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