THE LOST TRIDENT SESSIONS

Well, that's exactly printed at the jewel case of my CD. This might be a marketing gimmick from the label. But deep in my mind I ask myself, how come the band did not realize it during the period of this album that they recorded something already?

While this mythic scenario may be fun to fantasize about - a kind of musicologist's take on Indiana Jones And The Lost Ark - it actually happened to producer Bob Belden. In November 1998, while in the midst of gathering up tapes for Sony Legacy remastering and reissue of the Mahavishnu triumphant 1972 release of Birds of Fire, Belden came across two extra unmarked quarter-inch tapes that had been lying in Columbia's Los Angeles vault. These mysterious tapes indicated that they had been recorded in London but no other information was provided. After a bit of sleuthing, Belden realized he had stumbled upon a major find. These were in fact two-track mixes of The Lost Trident Sessions, what was to have been the Mahavishnu Orchestra's third studio album for Columbia Records. [excerpts from CD liner notes]

When I got the "Between Nothingness and Eternity" (live) cassette at the time I was wondering each track performed in this live album was taken from which albums? I could not find it and finally I concluded that this is something like Rick Wakeman's "Journey To The Center of The Earth" where it was recorded live with real audience surrounding the musicians. But with the release of "The Lost Trident Sessions", I know now that this was supposed to be released before the "Between Nothingness and Eternity" was released so the crowd was aware on songs they performed.

The songs presented in this album, three of them were performed and presented at the "Between Nothingness and Eternity" live album, namely: "Dream", "Trilogy", and "Sister Andrea". All of these three tracks are great track at studio as well as live. "Dream" is recorded at studio with shorter duration (11 minutes) while during live version was 21 minutes duration. But it's still a great one.

"I wonder" is a great track in medium tempo, featuring John McLaughlin's stunning guitar solo, augmented with keyboard and violin. There is powerful drumming by Billy Cobham as well. "Stepping Tones" is a slow tempo track featuring Jerry Goodman's violin solo. "John's Song" closes the album in jazzy style with John and Jerry improvisations.

It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Share this MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Gatot
• Report this review (#75809)
• Buy MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA music online with PA partners
• Show all MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA MP3/Stream
• Go to MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Lost Trident Sessions page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA related discussions