Customer Reviews

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension - Live At Belgrade

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This fabulous show, recorded live in Belgrade by Serbian TV, confirms the impression that the illustrious guitarvirtuoso never has sounded better than here in his mid 60s. Playing as visionary and innovative as ever, constantly going for the edge. And the more conservative John McLaughlin fans make take comfort in the fact that he here mostly plays his slightly phased jazzguitar, rarely using the laptop for synth effects.

The band is stellar with the versatile Gary Husband playing keys and sometimes supplementing Mark Mondesir on the drums. Whereas Dominique di Piazza is downright outstanding on the bass. I guess he might top my list of 'underrated basslegends'. Actually he had to jump in with short notice when the bands original bassplayer, the young superstar Hadrien Feraud had a fingerinjury. Di Piazza, a catholic pater, played with Mclaughlin on the landmark "Que Allegria" album and fortunately we get his feature number from that album "Hijacked". But that's really only one of several jawdropping solos, superfast but at the same time artistic and creative.

No Mahavishnu classics, but 3 songs from the brilliant "Floating Point"album, and the gorgous ballad "Nostalgia" from the MO3 period.

Like the Five Peace Band with Chick Corea this is fusion at its absolute best. Daring and mindexpanding.

I've been a McLaughlin fan ever since I heard The Mahavishnu Orchestra's Inner Mounting Flame. I saw The Original Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1973 in Chicago and been a JM fan ever since. I've seen JM in a least 25 different shows from M.O., Shakti, The One Truth Band and on & on. McLaughlin proves again he is vital as ever even at 67 years old. I highly recommend this DVD. The sound quality is excellent and the camera work is 1st class. His band is second to none as usual.

The feeling of joy and compassion emanate from this show like a bouquet emanates from the lilies of the field. The melodic, harmonic and rhythmic content of the show are equally fragrant, inspiring and diverse. The group is strong with each player able to contribute both backing and solos. All in all it is a wonderful evening of musical expression, especially for those who like to see the guitar express a broad spectrum of emotions.

I am old enough to have seen, THE GREATEST BAND THAT EVER WAS! The MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA! John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Jerry Goodman, Rick Laird, and Jan Hammer. Nobody had made that kind of music, before... or since.
Now, The Master, in his sixties, seems to be kicking back. His virtuosity still intact, but the inner mounting flame is gone.
His current music, ultimately, does nothing for me.
The video is a bit jerky at times, and can get a bit annoying.
This is obviously the kind of music John wants to perform these days. And any video of The Master, is worth obtaining. Fluid, masterful, amazing technique, but, unfortunately for me, emotionless. I will always remember him best, with The Original Mahavishnu Orchestra. A massive life changing experience.

In an era in which Madonna, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga get most of the music-related headlines, it's good to see that real music is still being made.

It doesn't get any better than this DVD. Here you have four virtuosos doing what they do best. In Rolling Stone's silly best guitarist poll (and most people's minds) McLaughlin is barely an afterthought - if that. One watch of this DVD and it's easy to see that he's pretty much in a class of his own.

A little too much sometimes? Well, maybe. Why does Gary Husband need to play the jungle drums, also? But, in sum, it all works perfectly.

Most people aren't musically sophisticated enough to appreciate this kind of music. You won't personally know anyone else who owns (or will own) this masterpiece. That's okay, too.

I just hope they release more of this stuff.

John McLaughlin is the best guitar player of all time, of course, and there is absolutely great!
Mark Mondesir absolutely rocks on the drums.
Gary Husband is one of the greatest key players around and (althought the drums looks like a toy set) he's a very very great drummer too: when I saw him live he played on a very big drum set, and he played as good as Mark, jumping from the keys like a rabbit.
The only weak point is the bass: the player only thinks about going fast, and not about being groovy or making a good personal style.
Most of the traks are great, some of them seem too sad to be John's powerful jazz composition: they are too lazy, but the others are ABSURDD!!!!!

Huge McLaughlin fan and there is some fantastic playing on this disc. Foremost is the incredible drumming sequencing between Gary Husband (keyboardist, Wow!) and the actual drummer. For all of that and more this could have been the best DVD he ever put out if it wasn't for the WORST sound I have ever heard on a DVD or CD!
Where was the sound engineer? Who recorded this? What were they smoking? The bass is totally distorted and muddy beyond comprehension, at least on my disc. A real shame. I plan to write the manufacturer in desperation.
Despite that, I suffered through the awful sound because the performance is otherwise that good. Too bad I can't actually HEAR it clearly much of the time!

The Music and players are awesome, but the DVD video quality and sound leave a lot to be desired.

I just watched this dvd so I thought I would put some thoughts down while it was fresh in my mind. I would highly recommend this to those who enjoy a group of extremely busy players with mega chops constantly blowing the doors off. If thats what you are into then this dvd is for you. And while I did like the show, quite frankly Mclaughlin's playing leaves me a bit flat in the emotional category. Like a hummingbird that is constantly flapping it's wings, John is never content to just let his playing soar some. There are very few sustained notes here, mostly high speed runs, and the rest of his group also play the same way. The bass player sounds like John on the bass and both the keyboard player and drummer are very busy players, taking the lead from the boss. So what you get is 2 hours of over the top, however masterful playing, that leaves this listener a bit bored and cold. The dvd does have excellent production values however so well done there. Just not my cup of tea. I would recommend the Mike Stern New Morning dvd instead. By comparison he is a guitar player equal to Mclaughlin chops wise but isn't afraid to let the music soar some too. He knows when to beat his wings but he also knows when to stop beating and soar with the music. I guess John forgot everything he ever learned from Miles. He should go back and listen to some of his own playing while he was with the master and even into his Mahavishnu days. Too much is just too much. Sometimes less is more!!

In short, I wished it would never end. Beautiful, varied and rich music, played magnificently. To the musicians, many thanks.