John McLaughlin

You don't have to call him Mahavishnu anymore. John McLaughlin, one of the most
influential and accomplished electric guitarists of this decade, has finally ended his public
association with Sri Chinmoy and decided to concentrate exclusively on making music.
After virtually inventing the jazz-rock fusion style with Miles Davis, the Tony Williams
Lifetime and his own Mahavishnu Orchestra, McLaughlin became so concerned... More >

In which the top musicians in fusion are gathered by the man who made it all possible to show the genre off aesthetically--no funk vamps, no one-run solos, no twaddle about the harmony of the universe. The project has a certain stillborn aura--it doesn't swing a lot, there is a reliance on Speedy Gonzalez climaxes, and snatches of such deathless melodies as "Holiday for Strings" and "Mohammed's Radio" are audible. Still, repetitiousness is minimized, and there are good ideas and lots of sensitive interaction. And it didn't sell diddley. (Grade: B+)