John McLaughlin--you can go home again

[Milestones]

I’ve been listening a lot to John McLaughlin, who strikes me as being in quite a renaissance. Certainly one of the most eclectic musicians of all time, he has never been one to do a certain type of music and then leave it forever. I came to McLaughlin through Mahavisnu and electric Miles. These were the first jazz records I ever owned, and they remain some of the best. The excitement of Maha is just amazing, especially on the first record.

Anyway, I have followed the great guitarist through Shakti, orchestral stuff, fairly straight ahead jazz, acoustic guitar trios, etc. But I still think of McLaughlin as the great fusion man.

He has come back to fusion many times, such as a revitalized Mahavishnu (didn’t do much for me), the Heart of Things, and other projects. But nothing has sounded as good as the 4^th Dimension. To me it is very reminiscent of Maha—a bit stripped down, no violin. McLaughlin supposedly used the first record, To the One, as a tribute to Coltrane; but mainly it was a return to his own past. I don’t think it is fair to call the music nostalgic. This is fiery music that stands completely on its own, and McLaughlin has been cranking out plenty of new tunes. Only on the new Boston Record does he dig out an old Mahavishnu piece: “You Know, You Know.”

McLaughlin’s playing sounds as great as ever he sure has a tight band. I especially love the firestorm of percussion from Ranjit Barot. The McLaughlin/Cobham connection was special, but so is this current one with Barot.

Does McLaughlin love this group? I would say so, given the 3 straight releases. Each one is deeply rewarding.

[StarThrower]

I didn't care too much for Now Hear This. It's samey sounding all the way through with a lousy mix and drum sound. And McLaughlin has been using the same chorus heavy guitar tone for over 20 years now. It pretty much bored me to death.

[mjzee]

I was really disappointed with Floating Point. It just sounded like loud, hammering noise; there was no room for the music to breathe. This has dampened my enthusiasm to explore newer releases of his.

[A Lark Ascending]

And McLaughlin has been using the same chorus heavy guitar tone for over 20 years now.

Yes, I check in every few albums but it's still there. Robs his music of much that I loved about it in the late-60s/early 70s. I've often found it hard to distinguish him from the keyboards.

[erwbol]

There were other 4th Dimension live releases before Boston Record. The Belgrade DVD has a bad reputation (production quality issues), but the band's contribution to the double CD Abstract Logix Live: The New Universe Music Festival 2010 is outstanding.

Unfortunately Now Here This was almost unlistenable due to the lousy mix.

Edited June 16, 2014 by erwbol

[CJ Shearn]

I have "Floating Point" and really want to hear "The Boston Record", which not surprisingly, John Kelman has raved at AAJ.

[Milestones]

I don't find Now Here This unlistenable in any respect.

Man, some tough customers here.

[erwbol]

Don't the drums bother you? Too up front? Generally, no room to breath? I know I'm on headphones, but on Amazon.com there are similar complaints.

[7/4]

A twisted thought: I'd love to hear John do a few albums of standards, solo even.

[PHILLYQ]

Here's a concert by Spectrum Road, McLaughlin appears around the 29:00 mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHqVEG5jp9c

[7/4]

Here's a concert by Spectrum Road, McLaughlin appears around the 29:00 mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHqVEG5jp9c

ah....great band!

[StarThrower]

I have "Floating Point" and really want to hear "The Boston Record", which not surprisingly, John Kelman has raved at AAJ.

He raves about a lot of stuff, but I can't share his enthusiasm for many of the releases.

[clifford_thornton]

A twisted thought: I'd love to hear John do a few albums of standards, solo even.

i.e., the second side of My Goal's Beyond.

Really love records like Where Fortune Smiles and Extrapolation, as well as his appearances with Kenny Wheeler and Gordon Beck in the '60s. I can't say I get too excited about his hard-prog moves, though the above Indo-jazz excursions are pretty nice.

[7/4]

A twisted thought: I'd love to hear John do a few albums of standards, solo even.

i.e., the second side of My Goal's Beyond.

That's along the lines of what I was thinking of....but I want more, more, more!

He had a pretty good sound on that album with Elvin. Nylon string guitar.

[erwbol]

A twisted thought: I'd love to hear John do a few albums of standards, solo even.

i.e., the second side of My Goal's Beyond.

That's along the lines of what I was thinking of....but I want more, more, more!

He had a pretty good sound on that album with Elvin. Nylon string guitar.

There are four more standards on Thieves and Poets (2003). Also an acoustic effort.

Edited June 18, 2014 by erwbol

[Shawn]

Count me amongst those that hate his later guitar sound. You can add Allan Holdsworth to that list as well.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Shawn

[Milestones]

My god, there is hardly any love for Johnny McLaughlin and any of this recent music (count that as 30 or 40 years).

I'm not a fan of everything, but I certainly respect his adventure and eclecticism. And 4th Dimension strikes me as the best fusion band he's had since Mahavishnu. It should appeal to those who long for those days.

[7/4]

My god, there is hardly any love for Johnny McLaughlin and any of this recent music (count that as 30 or 40 years).

I'm not a fan of everything, but I certainly respect his adventure and eclecticism. And 4th Dimension strikes me as the best fusion band he's had since Mahavishnu. It should appeal to those who long for those days.

Same here...I love it all. I just have some special requests.

[CJ Shearn]

I have "Floating Point" and really want to hear "The Boston Record", which not surprisingly, John Kelman has raved at AAJ.

He raves about a lot of stuff, but I can't share his enthusiasm for many of the releases.

Same......... like I had bought Jan Garbarek's "Dresden" cuz he raved about it. It's quite good but I never played it much so I got rid of it. It's still in my Amazon cloud though. I don't share his enthusiasm for all the ECM stuff in the same way. Steve Khan "Live in Koln" I felt a bit underwhelmed by after Kelman's review. We do share the same love of Pat Metheny though

[xybert]

My god, there is hardly any love for Johnny McLaughlin and any of this recent music (count that as 30 or 40 years).

I'm not a fan of everything, but I certainly respect his adventure and eclecticism. And 4th Dimension strikes me as the best fusion band he's had since Mahavishnu. It should appeal to those who long for those days.

LOVE Extrapolation, like one of my most favourite albums ever love, like his playing on Infinite Search, some of the Miles stuff, but for some reason i've not gone much further with him. First Mahavishnu album was good but the second one left me flat and that's pretty much that. It's odd because i do dig fusion, i guess i should do some listening. For some reason i didn't really like his playing that much on the Five Peace Band record, although it wasn't that bad. Maybe he just doesn't have the poppy quality that i like in my fusion. He's a bit more earthy and jam bandy (at least that's my impression) whereas i like my fusion tight and polished with a hint of cheese. Never been a fan of the Shakti type stuff.

[CJ Shearn]

Kenny Garrett's playing on the FPB record makes up for his own fairly dissapointing overall (the first track is great, and the next two are good) live album "Sketches of MD"

[Jay]

You can add Allan Holdsworth to that list as well.

Them's fightin' words!

I agree with Milestones. Been loving the new group and Gary Husband in particular (who is touring Chicago with Holdsy this fall).

[clifford_thornton]

Still want to hear those tapes with Gunter Hampel.

[A Lark Ascending]

The initial Shakti band has some of my favourite JM.

I also really like the Remembering Shakti bands but it's more for the other musicians and the overall band. I think JM plays well but I find it hard to focus on him because of that guitar sound.

Edited June 19, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[StarThrower]

I'm a big fan of his early 90s trio. And his 1981 album, Belo Horizonte is a favorite.