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Editorial Reviews
Review
John McLaughlin has created many high notes in his career, and just as many superb albums: Devotion, The Mahavishnu Orchestra's Birds Of Fire, Shakti, Electric Guitarist and Friday Night In San Francisco. Add Floating Point to that rarefied list. Seemingly cut from the same cloth as last year's Industrial Zen, Floating Point is by far the superior record. Recorded in India with a resident cast (save exceptional bassist Hadrien Feraud and saxophonist George Brooks), Floating Point features similar guitar synth overtones as Industrial Zen, and similarly polished production, but this brilliant collective plays as a single unit, not a band of hired studio guns. A shared sense of exhilaration, intensity, joy and purpose emerged in tracks like Off The One, Abbaji, and Five Peace Band, much of the propulsive fury created by the team of drummer Ranjit Barot and percussionist Anant Sivamani. This is a case of Indian musicians using their extraordinary skills to explore U.S. fusion, giving the guitarist an amazing platform for compositional/improvisational development. Barot and Sivamani rattle and shake their tubs like mad in Abbaji; later Barot double-times the tempo below as keyboardist Louiz Banks blows above - a ferocious whirlwind. Vocalist Shankar Mahadevan leads The Voice, a dancing drill of willowy synth riffs and Barot's endlessly percolating drum conversation. Mahadevan's dark, melancholic tones spread like dark clouds as bassist Feraud spins decidedly Jaco-ish commentary. This is a landmark recording, marked by detail, subtlety, and extraordinarily moving performances. -- Ken Micallef, Downbeat
Product Description
John McLaughlin (guitar) and Shankar Mahadevan (vocals), Debashish Bhattacharya (slide guitar), U. Rajesh (electric mandolin); Naveen Kumar (bamboo flute), George Brooks (soprano saxophone), Loiuz Banks (keyboards, Hadrien Feraud (electric bass), Ranjit Barot (drums), Shashank, Sivamani (percussion) and Niladri Kumar.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Bodhi Heeren
Format:Audio CD
Well into his 60s the illustrious John Mclaughlin is as creative as ever. Having made music history with Miles Davis, Lifetime, Mahavishnu, Shakti he never rests on his laurels but continue to explore and expand his musical universe.
And in many ways is this new release a mixture of everything from his past yet given a new twist. Sounding most of all like the criminally underrated 80s version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, not least thanks to John's widespread use of the guitarsynth.
The album is recorded in India with a host of talented (mostly young) Indian musicians - some of which, like John himself, also participates on the highly interesting "Miles From India" tribute-album. The core on all tracks consiting of the excellent and rather Trilok Gurtu like drummer Ranjit Barat, percussionist Sivamani, the rather discreet Louiz Banks on keyborards and the stunning young French bassvirtuoso Hadrien Feraud. While McLaughlin's claim that he is the 'new Pastorius' might be slightly exaggerated, Feraud is none the less a formidable force on the low
end.
On each track except "Maharina" these are supplemented by a host of guest soloists, all young Indian supertalents except for the fine, lyrical sopranosax of George Brooks. All of them showing the stunning ability of Indian musicians to combine the virtuosic with the profound and the
spiritual. The fluteplaying of Shasanti on "Off The One" and Naveen Kumar on "1 4 U" simply breathtaking.
It's not Indian music like (Remember)Shakti, but jazz-world-fusion, or rather uniquely McLaughlin music. Not just great and inspired improvisations and solos, but also complex, moving and well-crafted compositions. And all of it infused with a tangible feeling of plain Joy. Endning on a very high note with a beautiful exchange between Niladri Kumar on electric sitar, sounding so much like McLaughlin in his younger days and the maestro himself.
As every McLaughlin-release in recent years, this is quite simply an important musical event.
And in many ways is this new release a mixture of everything from his past yet given a new twist. Sounding most of all like the criminally underrated 80s version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, not least thanks to John's widespread use of the guitarsynth.
The album is recorded in India with a host of talented (mostly young) Indian musicians - some of which, like John himself, also participates on the highly interesting "Miles From India" tribute-album. The core on all tracks consiting of the excellent and rather Trilok Gurtu like drummer Ranjit Barat, percussionist Sivamani, the rather discreet Louiz Banks on keyborards and the stunning young French bassvirtuoso Hadrien Feraud. While McLaughlin's claim that he is the 'new Pastorius' might be slightly exaggerated, Feraud is none the less a formidable force on the low
end.
On each track except "Maharina" these are supplemented by a host of guest soloists, all young Indian supertalents except for the fine, lyrical sopranosax of George Brooks. All of them showing the stunning ability of Indian musicians to combine the virtuosic with the profound and the
spiritual. The fluteplaying of Shasanti on "Off The One" and Naveen Kumar on "1 4 U" simply breathtaking.
It's not Indian music like (Remember)Shakti, but jazz-world-fusion, or rather uniquely McLaughlin music. Not just great and inspired improvisations and solos, but also complex, moving and well-crafted compositions. And all of it infused with a tangible feeling of plain Joy. Endning on a very high note with a beautiful exchange between Niladri Kumar on electric sitar, sounding so much like McLaughlin in his younger days and the maestro himself.
As every McLaughlin-release in recent years, this is quite simply an important musical event.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By StephenDvd
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
No. I was not expecting Mahavishnu. Nor was I expecting Shakti. And certainly not flamenco-jazz fusion ala "Guitar Trio."
John was great in all of these groups. He was great in his work with Miles (Bitches Brew, Silent Way, etc). He was great in his solo recordings, such as "My Goal's Beyond" and "Electric Guitarist".
Where John got off the track was when he became enamored with Guitar Synthesizer. The albums he released in the mid-70s, esp "Inner Worlds", were a real let down. I bought the vinyl as they were released and was sadly disappointed. The albums sat on my shelf for years, while his Mahavishnu #1 (IMF, BOF, BNAE), Shakti, and Guitar Trio albums got heavy play.
Unfortunately, Floating Point is more closely related to these mediocre mid-70s albums such as Inner Worlds than to any of his truly great albums. If I were to hear any of these cuts on the radio without knowing who it was, I would not guess it was John McLaughlin. His extensive use of Guitar Synthesizer simply does not demonstrate his guitar chops.
Having heard John play a blistering version of Maharina on Clapton's "Crossroads 2007" DVD, I was indeed expecting some really excellent guitar playing on this album. It just wasn't there. Even Maharina makes use of guitar synthesizer and is nothing comparable to what he did on Crossroads.
Another issue is his use of predominantly Indian musicians. I am a big fan of Indian (Hindustani) music. Niladri Kumar is one of my favorite young sitarists. One of the reasons I bought this albums was to hear one of my favorite guitarists playing with one of my favorite sitarists. I expected this album to be some kind of combination of Jazz-Fusion guitar with indian instruments, and some kind of Jazz-Rock-Indian fusion. Or at least "indian-flavored" Jazz fusion.
Not to be.
Although the liner notes are in tiny print and difficult to read, from the best I can tell, Niladri only plays on one song. And listening closely to that song a number of times, I cannot tell that there is ANY sitar at all on that song. Perhaps it was run through so many special effects that the distinctive sitar sound was lost. I don't know, but you certainly can't tell there is any sitar at all on this album.
"The Voice" does indeed make use of vocals that are a cross between traditional indian vocals and Jazz scat, but that is the entire indian influence I can tell on the entire album.
I am not sure why anyone would assemble such a great group of indian musicians and then put out such a mediocre run of the mill non-indian-influenced music. Was this some kind of "charity" thing -- McLaughlin wanted to promote these artists to the west doing strictly western jazz fusion? I don't really think Niladri Kumar needs him to do that!
I suspect over the years, my opinion of this album may increase to 3 stars, simply because it is a pleasant pretty sounding album. Right now I am ticked off that I wasted money on this album when there are so many other albums I could have bought, that I know I would thoroughly enjoy.
But I can't see ever considering giving this "4 stars" or placing it on the same high pedestal as his earlier albums.
I would NOT recommend purchasing this album unless you are a true "completist".
UPDATE
I just read all the other reviews. One thing I noticed in common with a lot of the "positive" reviews is the claim that this is a mix of Jazz-fusion and Indian music. This demonstrates how superficial these reviewers understand the music. They read in the liner notes that there are Indian musicians on this album, so assume that the music has Indian elements to it.
One of the reasons I bought this is because I did not read all of the reviews. I only read the first few reviews listed, and they all gave this high recommendations and claimed it included Indian elements.
As I mentioned previously, the Indian influence is next to nil. I suspect none of these reviewers even owns any Indian music albums. I have no problems with someone saying they like this (or any other) album. But you need to be accurate in your descriptions so other people will know what they are purchasing.
John was great in all of these groups. He was great in his work with Miles (Bitches Brew, Silent Way, etc). He was great in his solo recordings, such as "My Goal's Beyond" and "Electric Guitarist".
Where John got off the track was when he became enamored with Guitar Synthesizer. The albums he released in the mid-70s, esp "Inner Worlds", were a real let down. I bought the vinyl as they were released and was sadly disappointed. The albums sat on my shelf for years, while his Mahavishnu #1 (IMF, BOF, BNAE), Shakti, and Guitar Trio albums got heavy play.
Unfortunately, Floating Point is more closely related to these mediocre mid-70s albums such as Inner Worlds than to any of his truly great albums. If I were to hear any of these cuts on the radio without knowing who it was, I would not guess it was John McLaughlin. His extensive use of Guitar Synthesizer simply does not demonstrate his guitar chops.
Having heard John play a blistering version of Maharina on Clapton's "Crossroads 2007" DVD, I was indeed expecting some really excellent guitar playing on this album. It just wasn't there. Even Maharina makes use of guitar synthesizer and is nothing comparable to what he did on Crossroads.
Another issue is his use of predominantly Indian musicians. I am a big fan of Indian (Hindustani) music. Niladri Kumar is one of my favorite young sitarists. One of the reasons I bought this albums was to hear one of my favorite guitarists playing with one of my favorite sitarists. I expected this album to be some kind of combination of Jazz-Fusion guitar with indian instruments, and some kind of Jazz-Rock-Indian fusion. Or at least "indian-flavored" Jazz fusion.
Not to be.
Although the liner notes are in tiny print and difficult to read, from the best I can tell, Niladri only plays on one song. And listening closely to that song a number of times, I cannot tell that there is ANY sitar at all on that song. Perhaps it was run through so many special effects that the distinctive sitar sound was lost. I don't know, but you certainly can't tell there is any sitar at all on this album.
"The Voice" does indeed make use of vocals that are a cross between traditional indian vocals and Jazz scat, but that is the entire indian influence I can tell on the entire album.
I am not sure why anyone would assemble such a great group of indian musicians and then put out such a mediocre run of the mill non-indian-influenced music. Was this some kind of "charity" thing -- McLaughlin wanted to promote these artists to the west doing strictly western jazz fusion? I don't really think Niladri Kumar needs him to do that!
I suspect over the years, my opinion of this album may increase to 3 stars, simply because it is a pleasant pretty sounding album. Right now I am ticked off that I wasted money on this album when there are so many other albums I could have bought, that I know I would thoroughly enjoy.
But I can't see ever considering giving this "4 stars" or placing it on the same high pedestal as his earlier albums.
I would NOT recommend purchasing this album unless you are a true "completist".
UPDATE
I just read all the other reviews. One thing I noticed in common with a lot of the "positive" reviews is the claim that this is a mix of Jazz-fusion and Indian music. This demonstrates how superficial these reviewers understand the music. They read in the liner notes that there are Indian musicians on this album, so assume that the music has Indian elements to it.
One of the reasons I bought this is because I did not read all of the reviews. I only read the first few reviews listed, and they all gave this high recommendations and claimed it included Indian elements.
As I mentioned previously, the Indian influence is next to nil. I suspect none of these reviewers even owns any Indian music albums. I have no problems with someone saying they like this (or any other) album. But you need to be accurate in your descriptions so other people will know what they are purchasing.
18 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Max Ridgway
Format:Audio CD
John McLaughlin's recordings are a reflection of his changing interests and pursuits. However, his playing has been a constant throughout his career, ever setting new standards of creativity and excellence. "Floating Point" presents McLaughlin's most lucid and musically interesting improvisations so far. His playing is highly chromatic and yet, at the same time, very bluesy. This recording is a good companion to "Industrial Zen" and has a very similar sound. There were some complaints in other reviews about the drummer. I found the drums to be very exciting and clever. This is an excellent recording by a guitarist whose style and taste have steadily improved with age.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Admire
I am a huge fan of John's but must admit to not listening to this one much. I am certainly not A Mahavisnu only fan nor do I have problems with John playing guitar synthesizer. Read more
Published 19 months ago by MUSIC FAN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't crucify John for a melodic tune (4U)
I have read all the previous reviews and frankly I see the reasons of the enthusiastics as much as the reasons of the guys disappointed (mostly old Mahavishnu nostalgics). Read more
Published on December 14, 2010 by Jazzcat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb!
This is a great record for performance, compositions and sound.
Great playing by all the musicians involved, all of them equally important in virtuosity and purpose. Read more
Great playing by all the musicians involved, all of them equally important in virtuosity and purpose. Read more
Published on May 26, 2010 by Pillar Corporation
5.0 out of 5 stars
John McLaughlin gets it right.
I have listened to John's work for a bit now, starting with his work with Mahavishnu through Shakti and beyond. Read more
Published on August 28, 2009 by KS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome musicianship
"John has already said Floating Point 'may be the best record I ever made.'"
And I agree .
Listen to his guitar improv on the last cut,amazing.
And I agree .
Listen to his guitar improv on the last cut,amazing.
Published on August 7, 2009 by Manuel Gonzalez
5.0 out of 5 stars
Floating Point
I'm a hardcore JM fan. I recommend listening to this CD AFTER watching the "making of" DVD "Meeting of the Minds". Read more
Published on February 28, 2009 by Steve V. Stittbergh
2.0 out of 5 stars
John phones in his performance
I suppose it's unfair to constantly expect John McLaughlin to reprise the fire of his first Mahavishnu album, but I do, and he constantly lets me down. Read more
Published on February 14, 2009 by Music maven
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible collection of talent--best jazz CD of 2008
I would recommend this CD very highly and it is nominated for a Grammy. I am a professional saxophonist and jazz instructor and own and have studied hundreds of recordings. Read more
Published on February 2, 2009 by Richard L. Zelinsky
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfull
This album is even better than the previous "Industrial Zen" .... quite some fantasy and listenability is improved .... nomore intellectual thoughts.
Go on Johnny !
Go on Johnny !
Published on December 24, 2008 by Georges Oscar Vandeweghe
2.0 out of 5 stars
bad point
One of the things i'll never understand is how John got so far away from the path he himself created to follow this 'empty' one. Read more
Published on November 27, 2008 by Speedy
