BETWEEN NOTHINGNESS & ETERNITY

For some reason it was decided to release this live album instead of the studio recordings which were to become The Lost Trident Sessions released on CD in 1999. It was recorded in Central Park in the summer of 1973 and most of the material from those sessions can be found here.

Everything that you would expect from the early Mahavishnu Orchestra can be found here, tempos clocking in at the speed of light, time signatures that only Albert Einstein could comprehend and amps cranked to eleven. Play this one loud and be afraid. Be very afraid. There was absolutely no band playing at altitudes this high in the the stratosphere in 1973 or ever!

At first one might suspect that it was an all out pedal to the metal jam session with all the material made up on the spot, but if one consults the Lost Trident sessions one will discover that these were well played compositions sticking to the program more or less albeit with more energy in the live environment. Jazz critics in the past have slammed the album for being non-musical and I would have to agree with this to a certain extent. Each track does start off with a melodic theme but that`s not what we`re here for is it? What we want here is speed and determination of the individual players to pulverize each other in this last man standing wins fusion battle royale of battle royales.

Because it was recorded outdoors it suffers from some flaws most obvious being the recording of the bass parts. Also at times it can be difficult to discern which instrument is playing what which is probably because amps are turned up to eleven and due to the sheer intensity of the playing. Another qualm I have is the absence of material from the previous studio albums The Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire. One must consult shoddy bootleg albums which were circulating back in the seventies for live recordings of this material.

Recommended for those into demonstrations of technical wizardry or escape velocity freakouts. The last Mahavishnu Orchestra album with this unbeatable combination of musicianship.