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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This CD is excellent, October 5, 2000
John McLaughlin has been the most incredible and versatile guitarists to grace jazz and pretty much any style, and he took this ability to a greater level in 1975. Having been a disciple of a famous Indian yogi Shri Chinmoy and delving into Indian philosophy for years, John did what any genius would do: he mastered the classical Indian style. Along with virtuoso tabla player Zakir Hussain, gifted L. Shankar, and master ghatam player T.H. Vinyakaram, John gave life to a style of music that had basked in virtuosity and intensity secretly for centuries. This CD alone changed the way that a whole lot of people listened to music. It's a live concert, and undoubtedly most the audience is either of Indian nativity or Mahavishnu Orchestra fans. However, the power and beauty of the music turned these people into believers. The first track, "Joy", is incredible. The tempo is super fast, the solos are great by John and L. Shankar on violin, and it is a 20 minute experience that never gets tiresome no matter how often I listen to it. Track two, "Lotus Feet", is probably the least impressive, being strictly improvisational and the melody only coming in as the tune fades out (probably in order to keep the other songs at entirety). Track three has a lenghty title, and John even dryly quips on that fact at the beginning of it. It is just absolutely mind blowing, a good 30+ minute romp of improvisation and utter creativity. The percussion take over the last 10 or 15 minutes, after John played his heart out, Zakir and T.H. just slammed and banged their instruments with such amazing ability that the audience went nuts before the jam was even over!! I recommend this CD to fans of guitar music who are wanted to go beyond jazz and rock and get into something that's beyond the limits of western music, beyond scales and modes, beyond chords, just playing with all your heart. I've written a lot, I know, but I just love this CD so much....buy it already!!!!
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wild brilliance., March 8, 2003
John McLaughlin's Shakti was (and still is) a musical marvel like no other, blending Indian elements with the finest in-the-moment spontaneity of true jazz - and, as per usual for McLaughlin, often doing it at a dizzying pace that borders on the utterly insane. "Joy" lets us know that from the first note, kicking off with a hyper start and never letting up for its entire 18 minutes. John's acoustic guitar trades licks with L. Shankar's violin, one right after another, somehow never letting the lightning pace get in the way of the melody itself. Ahh, that's the remarkable thing about this album - they constantly weave through, over and around the central groove, never slipping into an atonal blizzard of notes but always keeping that tight control.. no matter how fast things get. McLaughlin and Shankar take shorter and shorter turns as the track builds, finally reaching a thunderous release as everyone wails away like mad. If those adjectives sound like an exaggeration for an acoustic string band, then you just haven't experienced this particular adrenaline rush for yourself.Though the sizzling-hot group interaction stems from the jazz tradition, the compositions and instruments involved are Indian in nature: ghatam, mridangam and tabla form the basis of rhythm (and there's PLENTY of rhythm underpinning everything as well). If you don't quite know what those are, well, they basically stand for a lot of earthy tapping and thumping. They're absent through the quick "Lotus Feet," which basically serves as a peaceful breather before things fire up for the closing half-hour, but they return with a vengeance later on. A sizable portion of "What Need Have I..." gives John and Shankar a chance to catch their breath while the percussion section whips up a heady rhythmic stew all their own.. almost sounding as if there's a whole dance company pounding away rather than just three men. The track overall follows a similar approach to "Joy," but with more of a gradual buildup than a constant frenzy. I'm pretty sure that if they'd tried to keep that pace through another entire tune, half the group would have ended up collapsing onstage. Oh yeah - did I mention that all this stuff is happening live? For all its head-spinning complexity and incredible virtuosity, this disc is eminently listenable and easily enjoyable by anyone - jazz fan or not, Indian music lover or not, fellow musician or not. If you're the least bit curious about Shakti, start right here.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mind blowing, January 2, 2004
As a long time fan of John McLaughlin, I was intrested to hear this album. In short I found this CD to be absolutely exhilarating to listen to. It is recorded live in the mid 70's and captures the band at their explosive best. Rarely have I seen or heard music played as fast or paradoxically as melodic as this. They navigate their way through some impossibly dense compositions with such ease that you barely notice how complex the music is. There also seems to be a joyus attitude that pervades the songs, with McLaughlin in particular playing with an almost manic intensity. Thoroughly recommended for fans of John and of fusion in general.
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~ John McLaughlin
~ John McLaughlin
~ John McLaughlin
~ John McLaughlin
~ Mahavishnu Orchestra
by Shakti 
