BIRDS OF FIRE

How does one better perfection? How could MO possibly top their incredible Inner Mounting Flame debut album? Well for one, they didn't know that it couldn't be bettered and for two, they actually did it by fiddling and twiddling the tiny imperfections and an increase tightness as they were now well acquainted with each other after pulling 300 concerts over two years, whereas for TIMF, MO had been together a matter of weeks. So in the early fall of 72 came out Birds Of Fire with an outstanding artwork halfway between Rothko and Folon and incendiary music to match both the cover and the title. With an unchanged line-up, MO was now soaring so high that the air is getting thin.

Unlike the debut who had only one track under the 5 minute-mark, Birds Of Fire is made of a myriad of shorter tracks with the just two well over that same 5 minute-mark. One of those being the opening title track that sets the standard even higher than Meeting did on TIMF, with Hammer and McLaughlin trading riffs and links over a wild rhythm section, which violinist Goodman choose to accompany to great affects. This track is most likely imbedded in the vast majority of 40-something western music fans' subconscious mind, because it sounds familiar to almost everyone. A slower Miles Beyond (obviously dedicated to the man with the horn) crescendoes slowly until a huge riff takes the track upside down and once there, only Hammer and Goodman are keeping it alive until Mc and Cob come to the rescue and bring it back on its toes. An amazing trick that shouldn't let anyone

The rest of the tracks on the first side are short thingies insuring quick changes, starting with Celestial Terrestrial Commuting, which obviously influenced Steve Hillage's early solo works (Fish Rising to Open), Sapphire Bullets being just an electronic frenzy. A Spanish piano and guitar duo introducing a Flamenco ambiance where Mc's fiery guitar goes to extreme, while Laird's bass provide plenty of underlying drama and the needle lifts off another Meeting motif reworking, this time called Hope.

The monstrous 10-mins One World (an oldie from the Lifetime days) opens up the flipside, first gently under Cobham4S gentle drive morphing into a martial beat and bringing the track up to 200 MPH, with Hammer, Mc and Goodman trading licks, motifs and soloing away, before Cobham takes a solo (even if he's the best in the world, it's still a boring solo, no matter how overstretched it is) and thankfully closing up the track with some powerful instrumental interplay. Sanctuary is a slow-developing track, opening on Goodman's uber-absolute violin than the rest of the musicians slowly entering the track, in full restraint, the listener can hear the quintet containing their energies to avoid exploding and respect the superb track. Open Country joy is often a bit overlooked, with its pastoral violin line, then a slight explosion before bringing us to one of the world's best album endings: Resolution, which starts on a solemn martial chill-inducing crescendoing track bringing the tension to a max allowable (Goodman's violin is incredibly efficient at this) before the burst.. Which will never come as the track ends and the needle lifts off, leaving us to imagine the explosion of molten volcanic rock in fusion. What a bunch of bloody teasers

Well, MO managed to perfect perfection, and they probably did it without being aware of the feat and actually rushing it up. Indeed the album was done between two tours and most members think they could've twiddled a few more knobs and refined the compositions to better it further still. As can be heard in One World, the three soloists where in a very competitive environment and the egos where now acting up a bit, although in this album it remains at a healthy level.

As a side note, regarding the egos, Mc had been recording his collab with buddy Carlos Santana and taking with him Cobham, eventually touring to promote the Love Devotion Supreme album, hand coming within hours of missing the opening the first concert of MO's tour of Japan, thus being under-rehearsed for a while and creating much bad vibes for the next six months before the group implodes, taking in the abyss the recording sessions of their next album >> see Lost Trident and Nothingness reviews for more details.

For those who love (like me) progressive fusion jazz/rock will need to get your hands on this masterpiece. Without a question the first few MAHAV albums are some of the most aggressive and mind stretching albums of all time. The MAHAV's output from the Trident Studio days are to treasure in your collection for sure. Once again here we get a fantastic collaboration of musical instumentation and musical ideas. John McLaughlin's guitar solos are simply killer and being back by Hammer (keyboards), Laird (bass), Cobham (drums) and Goodman on violin makes this a real keeper. At times "Birds Of Fire" identifies a quasi - KING CRIMSON feel with lots of originality and musical sophistication. If you have high blood pressure, you may not want to plug in this album to your stereo. Absolutely stunning musicanship and one of the best fusion/prog albums your money can buy... Even a Miles Davis tune to boot

This is an absolute masterpiece!

Honestly i met Mclaughin´s music because of the trio with Paco de Lucia and Al Di Meola, then i found an album of him with Santana, in both cases i noticed his exquisite and awesome guitar playing, then because i was really interested on his music, i found a lot of info about Mahavishnu Orchestra, and also i found that Birds of Fire was a very suggested album with excellent critics, so i got Birds of Fire then.

And actually this was my introduction to Mahavishnu´s albums, sometimes the introduction is the most difficult period , i mean because of your introduction to the artist you will determinate if you are interested in other albums or not, if you like it or not, this was the best choice, im not saying that maybe Birds of Fire is the best way to start with Mahavishnu Orchestra, but ít could be, and also if you love jazz fusion, this album is an obligation to you.

Im not so familiarized with jazz, i like it a bit, but this album is simply awesome, it shows us the great musicianship in the band, Mclaughlin is a god of guitar, he plays so fast and so well, along with the violin player who is Jerry Goodman here, they make and excellent couple of superb music, all the band is great ,the drummer is also superb and actually i dont think this albus have weak moments, every song is great and every song make you clear your mind and enjoy the music.

Mahavishnu Orchestra's second effort, Birds of Fire saw the band continue on the raw energy of Inner Mounting Flame. However, the textures are more defined this time around. With Billy Cobham at the top of his art, and flaming solos by the three soloists, John Mclaughlin on guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards, and Jerry Goodman on electric violin. The album starts with of the most furious songthe band would ever write, the anthemic title track. The song ''One Word'' saw a real battle of solos between the three soloists, and finishing with a wonderful drum solo by Cobham. Mclaughlin took some heat off with beautiful low tempos songs, such as Thousand Island Park, where Hammer and Mclaughlin use acoustic intruments instead of their original furious eletric attacks. A true masterpiece of the fusion genre, Birds of Fire would be the last album of the first incarnation of Mahavishnu's idealogies. A must for any fan of fusion.

Birds Of Fire is Mahavishnu's follow-up to the ground breaking The Inner Mounting Flame, and if anything, it's an even better album. Even if the shock-value of the musicians' brilliance has diminished, the band seems more balanced (ie, less million-notes a minute solos from guitarist John McLaughlin and keyboardist Jan Hammer's presence is more noticable) and the compositions are more varied.

Not that you'd tell from the opening title track though. It's basically got more of the same, heavy rock jamming that coloured Inner Mounting Flame, with fiery playing by both violinist Jerry Goodman and McLaughlin. Although I think Goodman generally shows more taste in his soloing, this song contains one of McLaughlin's best solo spots and I still think Billy Cobham's drumming is outstanding in a group of titans. Miles Beyond is a more eclectic piece though. It starts off unbelievably cool with Hammer leading on electric piano, but then with a crash, McLaughlin and Goodman take over with some heavy soloing which is then followed by some great acoustic picking ... it takes some getting used to, but overall the piece is pretty awesome.

Celestial Terrestrial Commuters is another one of those rockers where Goodman and McLaughlin spew forth one fiery line after another, although on this track they actually interact more. The 21 second Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love is obviously not a substantial piece but Thousand Island Park is a stunning acoustic duet starring McLaughlin and Hammer. One of the group's best ever pieces, its starts off in reflective mode before each player shows his true genius with some delectable runs. It's definitely the highlight of this album as far as I'm concerned, even if One Word turns out to be more representative of the band's overall style.

Hope is a brief sweeping piece that starts off pretty interestingly but never really goes anywhere. One Word is the prog-epic jam that thankfully involves all five members of this brilliant band performing at the height of their collective powers, some of the movements and changes of pace here are stunning, Cobham is his usual awesome self and Laird gets to step into the spotlight too. McLaughlin's fills are great, the group's sound is alternatively funky and rocky and the three main soloists all exchange lead lines that range in nature from jazzy to avant-garde to Indian classical before Cobham puts in a great drum solo himself, it may run out of steam a bit towards the end, but I think this is the best of the group's "jam" songs.

Sanctuary is an atmospheric piece with an improvised feel that's interesting but perhaps goes on a little too long while Open Country Joy is sheer brilliance. It starts off with a gorgeous mellow acoustic riff with a violin lead (which I would rather have gone on for longer) before the band crashes back in with Goodman and McLaughlin to the fore as usual, and then just as Mac threatens to take the six-string thing too far, the piece returns to its mellow intro. It's lovely stuff. Resolution is another strong albeit brief guitar-driven piece to end the album.

Like Inner Mounting Flame, this is a brilliant album, and while it's a personal gripe that Hammer doesn't get enough soloing time, this is probably the finest acheivement of a fantastic outfit. ... 88% on the MPV scale

The first time I heard Mahavishnu Orchestra I was completely and utterly blown away by theior welth of power, urgency and thundering musicianship. At the time I was becoming bored with the lack lustre music the ninties had to offer and in particular needed something explosive to give me back the excitement that I first felt when I discovered the bands and acts and singers and songs that gave me a passion for music at what by then seemed a very long time ago. Music had become stagnant and I had lost complete faith in the whole fiasco and so stopped buying newly released music and tried to delve deeper in the history of rock and I decided to go beyond that restricting border and venture into the world of jazz rock fusion, it was time to explore new avenues and open up to the possibilities that the wider spectrum of music could offer .

I had heard Inner Mounting Flame very passively at a friends flat over a few joints of skunk but the music kept with me especially the musicianship of the players and the speed and intricate guitar playing of John McLaughlin juxtaposed with Jerry Goodman's violin. Birds Of Fire for me is an even better result. Explosive and white hot and each member pushing the borders and creating this overwhelming intense music saturated in a complicit beauty. The precision of the instrumental pieces is almost unbelievable in execution and it is not surprising that the Mahavishnu Orchestra have become arguably the most influential act from the fusion era. This album is a must have for any music lover and to hear McLaughlin/Goodman/Hammer playing off each other is stunning-the title track "Birds Of Fire" and "Open Country Joy" being but two examples- backed by one the finest and surely tightest rhythm sections ever in drummer extroardinaire Billy Cobham, and Northern Irish bassist Rick Laird. Essential.

As I recall, my first encounter with The Mahavishnu Orchestra came sometime in '73. I and some of my scalawag musician buddies were watching the late-night show "In Concert" on television in order to catch The Allman Brothers and MO was the opening act. I'd already read about the group in a magazine but with a name like that I figured them to be some kind of levitating, robed gurus that burned a lot of cheap incense and chanted weird mantras together. However, none of us gathered 'round the boob tube that evening were prepared for what we heard and saw when they started playing. It was one of those magical moments in my life when I knew I was witnessing true greatness and I sensed a permanent reboot and realignment in my mental concepts of what was possible in music. The musicians in the band were creating sounds that might as well have been beamed down to us from another galaxy. To say that it was foreign to our ears is putting it mildly. To say that I was immediately befuddled and galvanized by their tidal wave of sound is a profound understatement. I don't remember if any others in the room were as entranced by them as I was but I can assure you that I didn't give a rat's ass what they thought. I'd found a group that both amazed and excited me and I had to get them on my stereo ASAP.

Wanting to hear what they'd played on the show I opted to purchase their "Birds of Fire" album first. I doubt that it left my turntable for months. I was hopelessly addicted to them and I became a real nuisance to my friends by constantly talking about them and opining about how jazz/rock fusion would never be the same because of their wizardry. Little did I know at the time that this particular version of The Mahavishnu Orchestra had jumped the proverbial shark and were already splintering asunder. That news was to be a major disappointment for me yet the fact remains that while they were together they created what I consider a masterpiece of the genre that hasn't lost a single molecule of its ability to instill shock and awe in the listener. Even four decades down the line it is still unsurpassed and I expect that in a thousand years it will continue to make jazz musicians and aficionados go slack-jawed in stunned admiration. Personally, I have yet to get over my astonishment. To this day it blows me away with every spin. A note of caution is in order, though. When playing this disc at home keep anything flammable away from the speakers. There will be sparks.

Drummer extraordinaire Billy Cobham's clanging, flanged gong at the beginning of the record's title song dramatically announces that you're about to go on one of the wildest journeys your aural organs will ever embark on. Leave all preconceived notions behind because this isn't just five guys making a bunch of avant garde noises. This tune, as well as all the others to come, has a solid melodic structure (however frantic it may be due to the velocity involved) that links the individual solos together cohesively, making the incredible make sense. John McLaughlin's guitar, Jerry Goodman's violin and Jan Hammer's keyboard acumen is measured in astronomical terms and the group's intensity is beyond belief. I've never experienced anything similar to it since. "Miles Beyond (Miles Davis)" follows and Jan's soothing Rhodes piano is a much-needed tranquilizer after surviving the hurricane that blew through the opening cut. The song has another memorable melody to wrap your mind around, Goodman's nimble-fingered violin ride displays his versatility and Cobham confirms that he's an unrivaled beast of beats. The next number's name, "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters," says it all except that it's also rush hour in their corner of the universe. The highlight of this insane instrumental is the heated duel that occurs between John and Jerry. It's the stuff of fantasy. Another aspect of their music I love is how they don't stretch out the tracks just for the sake of stretching them out. They don't overstay their welcome.

"Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it psychedelic moment of Zen that leads to "Thousand Island Park." This is a quieter but no less fascinating piece that takes an all-acoustic approach wherein McLaughlin flies and Hammer soars while bassist Rick Laird holds it all together on the upright. The song is a breath of pure oxygen. "Hope" is a blissfully transcendent, repeating pattern of notes that not only grows brighter by the second but literally moves me to tears. My only complaint is that, lasting less than two minutes, it is cruelly short-lived. This is what a saint's ascension into heaven must use for a soundtrack. Billy's perfect closed roll on his snare at the start of "One World" is like an approaching hailstorm. The band then delivers the complex central theme as well as establishing the tune's blistering tempo. For dynamic tension Laird contributes a modest bass lead to set the stage for what's to come. McLaughlin, Hammer and Goodman then circle into a ménage a trois of virtuosos in which they engage in a contest of other-worldly one-upsmanship that blazes up in ferocity to the spontaneous combustion point where Cobham breaks up the fight with a dazzling drum solo. Even if you're allergic to such things, lend an ear. The man's no stick-mauler, he's a master technician worth paying attention to. The number's appropriately aggressive end segment will singe your eyebrows off. Sheesh McGeesh!

"Sanctuary" slips on a hypnotic waltzing rhythm to lull you into a false sense of knowing exactly where you are as they demonstrate their willingness to restrain their passion but not their emotions. The melody that John and Jerry perform in unison is as sad as a face full of tears. (I'd ask that they play this at my funeral but it would probably just freak folks out so never mind.) The beatific intro to "Open Country Joy" is misleading as they suddenly turn on a dime and switch to a funky groove that struts proudly beneath fiery spasms emanating from the torrid trio before non-chalantly restoring pastoral peace. The closer is the stupendous "Resolution." As is the earlier "Hope," it's a too-brief excursion into ecstasy that climbs and climbs higher and higher to an inexpressible apex that can only be compared to what it must feel like standing upon the summit of Mount Everest. It's not just music, it's an encounter with God.

What these relatively young geniuses do on this album is more than super-speed shredding, they trip the light fandango. They move as fast as bolts of lighting but with the grace of a gazelle. Their debut LP is great and I recommend it but "Birds of Fire" is in a class all its own. It fills me with childlike wonder as few bands have ever done every time I sit and let it wash over me. It just may be my favorite jazz/rock fusion album of all time but that assessment can change from day to day (It does have competition). One thing's for certain. It is without question a pristine masterpiece of modern music and a huge milestone in the evolution of jazz. To rate it as essential doesn't do it justice.

The second album "Birds of Fire" by Mahavishnu Orchestra, led by the incomparable guitar of John McLaughlin, is still at par excellent with the debut album. The Orchestra (the band) still consistent with its musical concept of combining jazz, rock, and eastern influences into a fiery, dynamic tour de force. "Birds of Fire" was the culmination of a solid year for the band as opening gigs for the likes of ELP and YES.

You can find this album is truly a masterpiece one even from the dazzling album opener "Birds of Fire" where violin and guitar played intertwined mode in a composition that rather can be classified under avant-garde. "Miles Beyond" brings the music in the same style but it has many breaks (without drumming) which demonstrate how guitar solo and bass play the part incredibly. The eastern nuance also appears right here. Billy Cobham plays his drum masterfully. "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" brings the music into a faster tempo and this time Jan Hammer is given a chance to demonstrate his keyboard skills in between guitar solo and violin solo. Interesting track! After a bridge "Saphire .." the band moves into "Thousand Island Park" - a kind like string music featuring electric piano which sounds like Chick Corea, acoustic guitar and acoustic bass. It's a kind of musical break with great performance especially with John with his speed guitar playing.

"One Word" is the longest track in this album and it kicks off beautifully with Billy Cobham's speed snare drum work. The music that follows bring the nuance of intricate and balanced combination of band members virtuosities. This might be the most powerful song compared to other tracks. Rick Laird is given a chance to perform his bass guitar dynamically augmented with guitar rhythm section and keyboard. "Sanctuary" is a mellow track with soft touch guitar and keyboard playing. "Open Country Joy" brings the music into jazzier style with Jan Hammer work together with Jerry Goodman (violin). The music then moves into a very intricate style with violin, guitar and keyboard play intertwiningly. "Resolution" concludes the album with an accessible style and medium tempo. Guitar plays the melody.

It's definitely a masterpiece of prog music. Highly recommended. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

For me, the pinnacle of jazz/fusion. This was the second album of the infamous first line-up of MO, and each player brings their own unique style to the music. From the lightning fast fingers of John McLaughlin to the awesome drumming power of Cobham - the whole band overflows with talent and energy. With Birds Of Fire, the band interaction had reached almost un-human levels - playing in such a way that had never before (or since) been matched. Spit-fire solo trade offs and much tighter composition set this album apart from it's more free-form counterpart Inner Mounting Flame, yet the band never loses it's improvisational edge. Even at it's most precise moments the album always has an essence of spontaneity. Some highlight's include the blistering title track, where John and Jerry play the main melody in unison, their instruments coming together to sound like something not of this world - face melting intensity! The first half of the album is rather heavy, before taking a meditative intermission with the beautiful little track "Thousand Island Park" - some very nice acoustic guitar and violin runs, very eastern feel. And of course one cannot ignore the jaw-dropping "One Word" a blistering intro followed by an atmospheric funky jam - soon overcome by some of the most awe inspiring solo trade off's in rock history - it is like the musicians are no longer several people, but one musical entity. Billy also gets to show off his chops in this track - listen for the powerful and complex drum solo (it's hard to miss!).

A mind-bending mixture of jazz, rock, and eastern influence, this album IS the defining moment in jazz fusion. 5/5

Most of what we now recognize as Jazz Rock Fusion dates back to the first two albums by John McLaughlin's MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, which ought to be enough reason to locate either on that (sadly, not very remote) Prog Archives plateau of certified five- star masterpieces. "Birds of Fire", in 1973, was the second and more popular of the pair: a sizable crossover hit at a time when even casual music fans were a lot more adventurous than they are today.

Significance aside, it was also an essential slice of unadulterated instrumental genius, allowing McLaughlin the chance to refine the lessons learned alongside Miles Davis during the legendary "Bitches Brew" sessions a few years earlier. Miles drew the blueprint; McLaughlin built the house, giving it some necessary structure (and brevity: compare any cut here to the monster 27+ minute title jam from Davis' 1969 album), and directing it toward an audience more accustomed to the sounds of Jimi Hendrix.

Like all the best so-called Fusion, this is actually Rock, but played with a jazzer's ear for timing and dexterity. Listen to the aptly titled twin tracks "Hope" and "Resolution", with their endlessly rising chords anticipating what would soon be heard from the "Larks Tongues" line-up of KING CRIMSON (Fripp and McLaughlin were clearly kindred musical spirits). Or the pinpoint speed and precision of "One Word", accelerating to a hypertense climax from an already alarming breakneck pace. Or the furious title track, with McLaughlin trading heat and friction with Jerry Goodman's (electric) violin and Jan Hammer's keyboards.

Loud and fast guitarists were of course not uncommon in the 1970s, but McLaughlin's style was something else entirely: raw and emotional, heartfelt but blistering, and matched only by the superlative talents of his fellow Mahavishnu bandmates, surely one of the most impressive group of musicians ever assembled. But it isn't all virtuoso fireworks. "Miles Beyond" (a tribute of sorts to McLaughlin's mentor, who on "Bitches Brew" had likewise named a song for his guitarist) digs an easygoing groove, and "Open Country Joy" should strike a chord with fans of the DIXIE DREGS more bucolic barnyard excursions. Then there's the 22-second "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love", a spurt of proto-ambient noise with a title longer than the track itself.

The band imploded during the sessions for an aborted third studio album (see "The Lost Trident Sessions"), but they left behind a long shadow, filled with countless Jazz Rock copycats. Imitation is said to be another form of flattery, but none of it could ever hope to match the original.

Birds of Fire is the Mahavishnu Orchestra's second outing after the ambitious and explosive debut, The Inner Mounting Flame. The classic lineup of McLaughlin, Goodman, Cobham, Hammer, and Laird is back with more fiery fusion and light-speed soloing. Members of the band have claimed, and rightly so in my opinion, that the MO was the first speed metal band. To me, the Mahavishnu Orchestra is what Dream Theater might sound like if the members functioned as a team. Birds of Fire is rightfully labelled the greatest fusion album of all time because it loses little to none of the ferocity of the debut, but it introduces new subtlety more prominent in jazz. You can switch to this album after hearing Coltrane and it fits; likewise, you can listen to it after Yngwie Malmsteen and it won't drop a beat. McLaughlin is the master of the 12 string guitar; most would say Jimmy Page is but anyone in the know credits McLaughlin's fiery solos over Jimmy's almost as inspiring riffing. Birds of Fire would prove to be the last studio album the classic lineup released for two decades. In the 90s, the masters of tracks the lineup was working on were found and the excellent Lost Trident Sessions arrived for a blast of fusion. This album is the pinnacle of fusion and one of, if not the greatest, rock instrumental albums of all time.

Grade: A

I really don't get what's so special with this album, for me the music is cold and purely technical, and that's just a no-no in my book. My ears can appreciate intriguing technicality but it should be accompanied by some feelings, and not just getting all wild for the sake of showing "the skill". Songwriting is not only virtuosity. Even harder than playing a guitar that fast is to manage to pass some actual soul to the listener, this is the really challenge and goal in music in my opinion, that's the reason i can't enjoy, even though i respect, this album. Maybe someday i'll change my mind, but for now this one didn't grow on me and leaves sleepy by the half of it.

Until today I never had the courage to review a MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA album, because I'm far from being an expert in Prog Fusion and to be honest this band has always been extremely complex for my limited understanding.

But this days I have decided to give a new chance to bands that I'm not very fond on, and it was the turn to listen again "Birds of Fire and honestly I was more impressed than ever before, I must admit they are not my cup of tea but the touch of the genius shines even for inexpert ears as mine.

The album opens with Birds of Fire, based in the excellent and ultra complex work of John Mc'Laughlin, adding that unique oriental touch (Enhanced by the gong sounds that Billy Cobham adds to his fantastic drumming), it's almost an uncontrolled chaos where all the instruments overplay one on the other passing the lead from John to Jerry Goodman and his wild violin, the interesting thing is that instead of explosions of power, the soft Jazzy moments are the ones that appear by drops as to give a touch of normality to this mixture of sounds and styles. Amazing track, even when extremely complex.

Miles Beyond acts as a reliever, the intro announces that the song will have more participation of Jan Hammer and his keyboards but soon the duo Mc'Laughlin and Goodman appear adding some sort of controlled wildness, even when this time they managing to avoid the uncontrolled cacophony of the previous track, nice bass work by Rick Laird, another good song closer to the canons of Jazz.

Celestial Terrestrial Commuters is an excellent track that crosses almost every sub-genre of Prog, the experimentation reaches the border of electronica, there's some sort of contrapuntist duel between all the instruments that keeps the listener interested, another wild song, pure adrenalin, Until today I don't know if the short and electronicSapphire Bullets of Pure Love is meant to be an individual song or just a coda to "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters"..Only Mc'Laughlin knows.

Thousand Island Park is my favorite song and one of the examples why I love Prog so much, mostly a duet between Hammer and Mc'Laughlin where John embraces everything he loves, blending his pure Flamenco style with the extreme beauty of Jan Hammer Neo Classical jamming, simply outstanding.

Hope is a short and disappointing track, keeps going in crescendo as announcing something interesting but fails to reach the peak, simply keeps going nowhere, of course the skills of Hammer are evident but skills alone are not enough, probably a filler.

One Word is the longest track of the album and one rare examples of Prog Fusion mixed with some sort of Space Oriented Rock and free jamming, every member is allowed to prove their skills, but always manage to keep the coherence of the track, Cobham's speed drumming is simply breathtaking and Rick Laird is brilliant.

Sanctuary starts dark and haunting with Hammer creating atmospheres (Something very unusual at this point) and then incredibly the music turns into some sort of Symphonic Jazz where the melody takes the central role instead of the aggressiveness of the previous tracks, extremely beautiful.

Open Country Joy is another soft and short track closer to melodic side of MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, for the first time Jerry Goodman sounds like a traditional violin player rather than as a force of nature, adding fine textures, but again in some moment of the song they open the cage and John starts challenging Jerry to a duel (Which he accepts), a duel that has no winner but the audience, at the end and as to prove his versatility, Goodman adds some soft Country music lines.

Resolution closes the album with a martial sound that again goes "in crescendo" but never reaching the climax, honestly each time I listen this track I keep expecting some development of the musical idea, frustrating is the word to describe it.

Now my dilemma is how to rate the album, it's obvious that the skills of the band are incredible and the music is very good but still feel like something is missing (maybe I'm the one not able to find it), so five stars is out of the equation. Three stars would be unfair because it's essential to have this album in a decent Prog collection, so I would go to a four stars option, even when I believe 3.5 stars is the exact rating, sadly it's not an possibility in Prog Archives.

This is one of those albums I appreciate and respect but do not personally like. That said, this or the debut MAHAVISHNU album deserve a place in the collection of any true fan of progressive music.

It's certainly a fine example of jazz/rock fusion, with the amazing technical proficiency the musicians demonstrate reminding us that truly great musicians are adults among children. They certainly make most bands sound amateurish, and are a long way ahead of the current darlings of the 'technical proficiency' set, DREAM THEATER.

But, I repeat, I don't like it. Notice that not many of the reviews of this album talk about the superior songwriting. This is, I think, because songwriting was a secondary concern. This is often true of jazz/rock fusion, but the very best albums of any genre should invoke deeper emotions than envy or astonishment. I admit a bias toward symphonic prog (my first love), but I've tried to listen widely, and I've given this album a great deal of my time.

The title track and opener, 'Birds of Fire', is an excellent example of what I mean. Within a minute or so it's told us all it has to say. A fabulous violin-led main theme presages the first of many soulless McLaughlin guitar solos. Problem is, when the music is already racing along at 110%, where can a solo take it? The song - and the album - needs a greater dynamic range to work for me. Give me one of FRANK ZAPPA'S fusion albums any day: though they are nowhere near as technically proficient, they're a great deal more enjoyable.

Four stars, then, in recognition of the power and skill of the musicians. But, in terms of enjoyment, it barely scrapes three stars for me.

Unlike the consensus according to ratings on this site, I think The Inner Mounting Flame is the better album by a slight margin. That having been said, I do believe both are masterpieces, and thus I am awarding Birds of Fire with 5 stars also. The opener, the title track, is a killer tune featuing a triple polyrhythm in 9/8 between the guitar, drums and violin/bass and along with the cornerstone piece "One Word," a ten-minute powerhouse, is one of two highlights for me. The album as a whole is a bit more abstract and "out there," so its a bit more difficult to get into and features fewer melodies and easily memorized sections. Of course, repeated listens will be rewarded.

One really has to wonder just how much planning went into this album--did these guys just roughly sketch out the basic format of the songs and then let it rip? I imagine that is the case, which makes some of the things you hear on Birds of Fire absolutely jaw-dropping. Although these songs mostly feature catchy tunes, the true magnificence lies in the interplay--Mahavishnu Orchestra really did push each other beyond their already formidable individual capabilities. If there is one quintessential fusion album, it is probably Birds of Fire.

Ironically, that is also why I don't view this album as a masterpiece. Some of the songs (Hope, Resolution, Celestial Terrestrial Commuters) are relatively simple music ideas that are to be carried solely by the technical prowess of the players. It is a tribute to the skill and fusion of these guys that these songs are still memorable, but they also really prevent Birds of Fire from having an overall cohesion, diversity, and progression that I am looking for in a masterpiece album.

Birds of Fire, Miles Beyond, Thousand Island Park, One Word. These are the highlights for me, and each is an incredible piece in its own right; however, they also sample such diverse styles that it's remarkable to find them all on one album. If the rest of this album was this high in quality, Birds of Fire would be a hands-down masterpiece in my book. Birds of Fire represents Mahavishnu Orchestra at its most chaotic, energetic, and creative, full of unique violin/guitar interplay and explosive drumming by Cobham, all to an irregular time signature. Miles Beyond completely changes gears, with a groovy, playful rhythm that reminds somewhat of Cobham's work on Spectrum. Thousand Island Park moves in yet another direction, being a structureless, impressionistic, yet beautiful portrait of music. Then we eventually reach the highlight--One Word. One of the absolute high points in all of fusion, the boys really take their time in developing one of the coolest grooves you will ever hear, leading to some awesome synth/violin/guitar dueling. The rhythm section absolutely simmers with coolness on this track--I personally can't get enough of this song and probably never will.

All in all, Birds of Fire contains some incredible playing and represents the epitome of fusion. I will stop just short of calling it a masterpiece, because simply cutting things loose and playing as opposed to creating a complete and cohesive album are two different things. One thing is certain: By any standard, you need this in your collection.

An absolute shred fest ! That is what I kept saying over and over when I first heard this masterpiece. This is the best Jazz / Fusion album I have ever heard, and I am especially blown away by the light speed playing of John McLaughlin and the monster drumming of Billy Cobham, both are overwhelming. And while there is a lot of unearthly playing at incredible speeds, there is also lots of variety on here as well. When they recorded this album you have to remember they had toured relentlessly in support of their debut record,opening for bands like YES, ELP and the ALLMAN BROTHERS. So they came into the studio knowing each other very well, and were as tight as a band could possibly be. I can only imagine what people in the audience would have felt when they saw these guys live for the first time.

"Birds Of Fire" opens with the clashing sound of a gong over and over before guitar, drums and bass come in. Violin arrives and is really prominant along with the drumming. That is until McLaughlin sets the song on fire ! We're not worthy ! He just wails on that thing, making it cry out and do pretty much what he wants it to do. Unbelievable. Violin comes and goes. "Miles Beyond" is a Miles Davis cover. You have to remember that both McLaughlin and Cobham played previously with the great trumpet player. This one opens with Hammer on keys as drums join in as the sound gets louder as guitar and violin join in.There is a pastoral section before Cobham shows off his astonishing talent. Not to be out done the gunslinger McLaughlin fires off a few rounds at high speed 3 minutes in. Violin returns to end it. "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" features Cobham and McLaughlin again showing off their outlandish talents.The guitar and vioin trade solos wonderfully. Hammer offers up a dose of mini-moog.

"Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love" is 21 seconds of experimental and spacey sounds. "Thousand Island Park" is a beautiful track where we are treated to grand piano, upright bass and intricately, complex acoustic guitar melodies. The only acoustic track on here. "Hope" is an intense song with drums, violin and keys leading the way. Check out the drum intro on "One Word" as guitar, keys and bass arrive a minute in. Cobham is relentless as his drumming builds. Laird on bass joins Cobham to create magic as they go on and on until the guitar comes ripping in followed by the violin as they trade solos. Cobham is the only one left standing after 6 minutes and he puts on a clinic for over 2 minutes and then everyone returns to the fray to end it. "Sanctuary" is a darker track with drums, bass and keys dominating as the guitar and violin come and go.This is a time to catch our breaths and reflect. Cool song. "Open Country Joy" is such a good song.The liquid keys are so inviting as tasteful violin comes in. Then a minute in after a brief silence we get an outburst as violin and guitar rip it up. The mellow melody from the beginning returns to end it. Nice contrast. "Resolution" is the 2 minute closer that is so powerful, catchy and amazing. It builds slowly right to the end.

This is so technical yet so emotional, a rare combination that makes this recording extraordinary to say the least.

No one could really deny the importance and the appeal of this extraordinary album. Since its starting point the listener is subdued by arrogant electric guitar playing of McLaughlin even when it duets within violin. Simply wonderful. Nothing to say.

The only remark is that it's not on my list of the all time jazz-rock favourites just because it's not able to catch my attention until the end. Not that it means I dislike such fabulous composition. They make me shiver especially when acoustic guitar and piano softly whisper. Maybe is a light lack of variety. I don't know. That's not important, after all.

If you really wish to listen to something original, aggressively pure and involving jazz-rock with harder shaded guitar, violin and excellent but not of primarly importance keyboards, then this is one for you. A classic, indeeed. A must have in every respectable discography, if you want. And I'm proud to have my copy too.

Mahavishnu Orchestra is type of jazz-rock / fusion / progressive that impressed me a lot when I first got into it. Nowadays I mainly appreciate the existance of these type of records because of their strong influence on other groups; like for instance the Finnish group 'Finnforest' (of which I can highly recommend the debut album). Or the Polish group 'SBB' and 'Leb I Sol' from Yugoslavia. On 'Birds of Fire' Mahavishnu offers some of their better pieces. The opening track 'Birds of Fire' sound like a reworked version of the opening track of their debut album, but the violins and the fast paced rhythms do create that typical Mahavishnu world-music infused feel. The cover of 'Miles beyond' has John McLaughlin playing some great sounding electric guitar riffs. The short instrumental 'Hope' is my favorite of the band; truly a majestic little piece of celestial grandeur. On side two the band first turns to its improvisational skills that I don't consider to be that creative; fingers moving fast isn't a goal in and of itself. The atmospheric melodic pieces that follow are way better in my opinion. Mahavishnu is a particular bold fusion group and progressive rock listeners expecting that beloved subtle artistry might just end up disappointed.

Since I am no musician and I can't count time signatures I can't fully enjoy this release which is full of technical prowness. But " Birds of Fire " goes beyond being complex for it's own sake and showing off , this guys were breaking barriers at the time and that's a fact.

This record is a bit more polished than " The Inner Mountain Flame" but it offers the same features: Godspeed solos by John Mc Laughlin and Jerry Goodman , incredible precision on the kit by Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer including the Mini Moog on the record. The opener is one of the most fierce and earthshaking numbers ever. The interplay between Cobham Mc Laughlin and Goodman is insane!! The good thing about the album is that there are some shorter and more relaxing numbers in the middle like "Thousand island park" which includes acustic guitar and piano work.

Setting a contrast "Hope" has quite a frightening mood , mostly given by the violin and the subtle crescendo the song has. "One Word" is probably the less structured number of the bunch , as well as the longest taking 1/4 of the album. The song reminds me of the "Get up With it" album by Miles. Jan Hammer and the Mini Moog get a solo spot here , but the bass lines are the main feature to keep me entertained for 10 minutes Rick Laird stoles the show here! There is a little drum solo in the middle until the groove returns , nothing special about it.

On the first couple of times I heard "Birds of Fire" I was kind of dissapointed because the last 3 songs smelled like filler and lacked the intensity of their debut. But listen after listen I realized that their goal is to keep some balance on the record. My favourite of them is "Open Country Joy" because it has a pastoral mood that is quite rare in a MU record.

In the end , I can't say that Birds of Fire is the best Jazz Fusion record of all time since I have some other favourites first. But sure is a genre defining album and lives up to it's expectations.

This is a solid follow-up to the massive overhaul that is INNER MOUNTING FLAME. There's a lot of great material on this album as well, but hearing the debut album first soured some appreciation I have for BIRDS OF FIRE. This shouldn't happen though since BIRDS OF FIRE has plenty of awesome songs like the title track, ''Celestial Terrestrial Commuters'', ''Hope'' and ''Resolution''.

I think my overlying problem comes from the fact that BIRDS OF FIRE sounds very similar to the debut in plenty of spots. I feel the first three songs here copy the pattern found on the first three song of the debut, just shorter. ''Thousand Island Park'' is the acoustic track of the album, sort of mimicing ''A Lotus...'' from IMF with the violin being traded for a stand-up bass and the overall song being a bit more boring. However, I find this just a small peeve I have.

Sometimes, songs can drag. ''One Word'' and ''Sanctuary'' are notorious for this aspect as they are two of the longest songs here. ''One Word'' is excellent in spots (particularly the very end), but the confusing, dry drum solo, the noneventful bass solo (the only thing I like about them is that Cobham and Laird have their own solos finally), and the general pace of the piece make it very hard to sit through; at almost ten minutes, the length makes it harder.

I feel BIRDS OF FIRE tried to outdo INNER MOUNTING FLAME, yet fails on a couple of counts. Other than the unnecessarily long solos, this is a very good album to pick up. I have the (dis)advantage of hearing INNER MOUNTING FLAME first, so this one will never sound as good to me, but I'm willing to stand behind it nevertheless.

'Birds of Fire', the followup to the incredible debut album, is as good, in some ways perhaps better, than 'Inner Mounting Flame', the jazz fusion masterwork. This second album begins with a gong and then we are off with John McLaughlin's relentless inimitable guitar style. Once again the album is fully instrumental with some of the best virtuoso musicianship of the genre. This band virtually wrote the book on jazz fusion and there are nods to the work and influence of Miles Davis, particularly on the track Miles Beyond, paying homage to the landmark album 'Bitches Brew' from the jazz legend.

The music is a fusion of heavy guitar, using jazz metrical patterns, Indian influences and a dash of Celtic thrown into the mix. The music ranges from intense and off kilter with a range of time signatures, to a beautiful and melancholy pathos. That is the same style as the debut album but this time the sound seems more refined and easily accessible to the average jazz fan. It does not feature the absolute best of MO but as a whole it is a tighter package.

Goodman is once again incredible on violin and the keyboards of Hammer feature a range of crescendos and allegros intermixed with the frenetic guitar of John McLaughlin.

Highlights include Birds of Fire, Miles Beyond (Miles Davis), Thousand Island Park, One Word and Sanctuary.

There are other highlights interspersed in the other tracks but it needs to be listened to as a whole to fully appreciate the innovation and ferociously original style of the band. This album is as legendary and highly revered in the jazz world as the debut album, making the band the revolutionary progenitors of jazz fusion.

The CD does not include any bonus feature tracks which is maddening as it is very short for a CD. But it is still a great musical experience and worthy of at least 4 stars. I am not a huge fan of this genre but I can appreciate the musicianship and originality.

Birds Of Fire, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, 1973

How you judge two albums like The Inner Mounting Flame and Birds Of Fire against each other is, for budding rock critics like me, a conundrum. OK, I like the former a bit more, and guess I have done for a while, but the exact comparisons escaped me for a while. Well, here we go: It's stronger in that McLaughlin has pulled his guitar ideas together into a more compact form, Jan Hammer has moved onto to Moog as well as e-piano, and the band's a bit more unpredictable. Where it suffers in comparison is that it's more of a jazz/rock record and less of an art one: for the clever and classy puzzle content of pieces like Dawn or The Dance Of Maya we just get more fun, often novel and always well-played jazz/rock material (and the track order is baffling sometimes). So, the preference goes, I think, by listener. If you love twisted e-piano and completed the original monkey island with no reference to internet advice at all, I'd start with the former, if you think you're just looking for great jazz/rock with a bit of moog thrown in, this is the cookie. I'm a synthesis of the two, so, really, I can say that The Inner Mounting Flame is my favourite, but this one really deserves no less than the same rating, if I'm working as objectively as I can.

Cobham's gong (I think; don't trust the non-drummer writing this review) crashes are the album's statement of intent, heady, mystic sounds from under which McLaughlin's twisted, distorted, reverent guitar creeps, and Jerry Goodman launches his serpentine violin assault, before Cobham single-handedly redoubles the pace with his blistering percussion work and choice fills, and McLaughlin launches into a rare state of electric-heroism, played off by Goodman's twisting violins and a brief funk-gelled interlude featuring Hammer's first effective moog entrance and a fantastic Laird bassline, and now Goodman's serpentine theme returns; the denouement was but an illusion, and the band is now an altogether, all barrels firing, broadside of insane musicality and mood without ever losing touch with a classy structure and main theme, escalating the explosive Birds Of Fire into their self-destructive disappearance. Eh, a fade is admittedly almost a disappointment at the end of it, but it fits the title's connotations, and I really can't complain after they've given us such a mind-blowing opener.

Miles Beyond, a tribute to the great Miles Davis, offers us something quite different, a quietly upbeat electric piano introduction and a subtle McLaughlin guitar noise playing off against it, before Laird pulls off one of his cleverest bass performances, setting us up for a thick block-bass explosion, Jerry Goodman putting out a near-country flavoured part to which McLaughlin attaches a tantalising little tail and from which McLaughlin's able to pull out the weirdest miniscule picked interplay with Hammer's main theme. I mean, this is a guitar-performance and a half, electric shredwork predicted by delicate, tingling acoustics, but with no sense of it at the time; Jan Hammer is the ideal prop for the piece, Cobham's drumming is an ideal mix of touch and fire. Again, an example of the sort of piece that shows the Mahavishnu Orchestra's talent ? not only as near-unparalleled players, but also as thoughtful arrangers and intelligent musicians.

Celestial Terrestrial Commuters gives us a bit of a break from the clever back-thought, and that's good too. Variety never hurt anyone. Anyway, the main theme, a roaring McLaughlin guitar part, is the most memorable riff I've yet to hear from the MO (and as a Brubeck fan, I've increasingly come to think that sort of melodic sensibility, even in jazz, is crucial to creating good stuff), and the solos, Jan Hammer on a brass-like moog (he really uses the non-fixed nature of the instrument to good effect in the relationship between his first obvious solo and his second more subtle one ? it's different somehow, the same base sound, but it's certainly not the same actual sound), McLaughlin's twisty guitar runs and Jerry Goodman's snaking violin entwined together in a sort of adjectival overload, and all the while a rhythm section with Rick Laird's calm reserve and Billy Cobham's full I AM A DRUMMER attitude coming into play. I mean, as I said, this piece isn't maybe as subtly clever as the previous couple appear to be, but there's a lot of thought clearly going into the way the solos work together, the main theme is great, the solos are great. What else do you need for a great song?

Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love is a twenty-second flash of moog underpinned with various guitar, bass and violin feedback. Pure weird as an inclusion ? maybe just offering Hammer somewhere to show off his skills without the pretence of musical relevance, and it sort of leads nicely to the subdued Thousand Island Park, but really a novelty piece like this was not meant to be put in the middle of the album. It's not bad, but novelty pieces go at the start or end, or the start of sides or something ? it's just a terrible place for it.

The one area in which Birds Of Fire really smokes its predecessor is the quality of the acoustic piece. Lush as A Lotus On Irish Streams was, Thousand Island Park has an acoustic guitar-driven attack and sort of American-mysticism flavour. Rick Laird's thick, but delicate upright bass plays off over the top of McLaughlin and Hammer's interweaving acoustic and grand piano lines, coalescing from their tentative interplay into full-speed mystical affairs, challenging each other to come up with something more impressive and yet still delicate, and just about every line is met with something just ever so slightly more distinguished. How do you follow something like that? Apparently with what the CD booklet fairly terms proto-speed metal. Hope is a two minute or so jam, with one very well-played Goodman theme underpinning the whole thing, and a menacing, thick and threatening rhythm section (I mean, OK, the rest of the titles appear very fitting, so I'll forgive them, and in the context of its spiritual trilogy with Sanctuary and Resolution, it seems much more fitting), and a slowly building McLaughlin contribution, along with a flourish or two of twinkling electric piano in all this chaos. Again, a fade; previously, it didn't matter so much, and it's hardly my favourite piece on the album anyway, but really, MO is a jam/jazz-band, and sometimes I want to hear their idea of the conclusion of a piece, not just the two minutes of bleak build-up.

One Word is probably the album's deciding factor for a listener, I'd guess. Cobham is given centre-stage, with his water-fall flourish turning into a smoking, subtle, brilliantly played and incredibly fast bit of drum soloing over which the rest of the band initially contributes mysterious themes, and then brief quality solos over a good Laird bass. Laird's bass solo is one of the album's better moments, and it's nice seeing his usually masked and murky obligatory bedrock status transformed into a sort of rhythmic lead, with a really nice amount of contrast and a fantastic sound. Great stuff, Mclaughlin puts his pyrotechnics to rest and switches to an upbeat, classy, and fantastic funk-styled tone, which he's able to replace with his archetypal unanticipated solo working off against Hammer (now firmly on moog) and Goodman (a real gem of a distorted violin solo coming off in the mix), and suddenly, a sort of false conclusion leads us onto Cobham completely solo; he's focussed, sharp and continues to give a real impression of musicality. OK, it's not my favourite drum solo ever, it's not even his best solo, and its impact really does depend on whether you're ready for it, but it's good, and the return of the whole unit over this jerky, energetic rhythm and a thin Laird bass which allows Cobham to continue his centrality for brief soloing bursts preparing for different parts of the previous music to be reprised. And we get to see a real ending, which is always great. A very draining piece, and in light of the following piece and its position in the album, its impressiveness and quality is almost excessive. I am actually just taking a break mid review and mid listen to go make coffee so I can treat the following number without my head feeling like it's going to break. A rare occasion where a strong track is a liability, but man, what a liability!

The reason One Word's positioning isn't maybe the best is that Sanctuary goes out of its way to be quite haunting, dark and unrelenting. McLaughlin's weepy guitar (somewhat reminiscent of Miles Davis' slower trumpet parts) and Goodman's violin twine together in a smooth, balladic fashion and work on squeezing out of every note all possible emotion and movement. A weird flute-like lead appears from somewhere, and I'm really not too sure where, Goodman, possibly, Hammer, possibly, McLaughlin, possibly, and it takes one of the album's finest solos, a moment of real emotion trapped within the pounding sketch of Cobham's drums. Even the ending offers only a limited sense of resolution. This piece is challenging, and there are a couple of really great ideas in there, but I can't say it's one I ever feel like listening to independently, and in the album's context it's almost painful to endure. I just don't like this one, maybe I just don't get it; it could be a real gem in another context, I sense, but for this album, it's five minutes of music that I can only think of as accomplished, not as enjoyable.

Open Country Joy, thankfully, is a complete reversal of fortunes, and the best piece of the album, opening pastorially with a low-key McLaughlin guitar, gentle, drifting piano and a quiet violin. Cobham shifts around a bit on a select kit and it resolves itself in a gentle blur. And then it hits you. Stomach, brain, heart, everywhere. Worth the price of the album. Just make sure you've got the volume pretty loud when you first hear this one. A short section for my favourite track, but sometimes it's just not worth spoiling the initial impact to make the review a bit more complete.

Resolution is the album's third menacing piece and also its conclusion, but this time it works, with a really insistent bass rhythm, a detached and precise drum marking it, a gradual development by McLaughlin and Hammer from certain anger into a real soul-searching declaration of intent. As far as the album's perceived mini-story of personal philosophy and spiritual development goes, it's a great ending choice.

So, not the consistency I think the first album had, there are a couple of tracks that are really out of place ? whether the stunning One Word or the fun, but nonetheless novel, Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love. However, rearranging these ones to the end and start removes some of the album's other enormous strengths. Additionally, there's one piece that is strong independently, but so draining as to be really out of place among such bursting-with-energy companions, and just too draining to be listened to independently. And there are a couple of moments that are just not as good as the others on the album. So, that's going to make this album a 'mere' four stars.

However, in case the first half of the review didn't stress it enough, this is a brilliant jazz/rock album. Six of the Mahavishnu Orchestra's crowning achievements, some real development in terms of sheer musicality from the already mind-bending debut, and a sense of the emotional power and compositional, or at least arrangement-based, talent that makes this band so highly regarded even among, essentially, rock fans.

Rating: Four Stars, 12/15 (for comparison, The Inner Mounting Flame is a 5 stars, 14/15, but really, either album is a good starting point) Favourite Track: Open Country Joy

Edit: cut to three in accordance with my newfound cruelty. It's as good an album as I conveyed in the review, probably, but I wanted four and five star albums to be a slightly more exclusive plateau and with the album's structural issues and weak points, I figured this should possibly go down... very much worth having, anyway.

I hesitated long and hard before daring to tackle this monster mainly because I remember the day in 1973 when I bought this fresh off the vinyl shelves where it caused a major hoopla in rock circles and I am glad to see that the furor has not abated since. It was without a qualm, the most insane album at the time, the exhilarated confidence of supreme musicians blistering their way into the deepest prog abyss "with the mission to go where no one has gone before". Impact? Like really! The devastating title opener instills an immediate blizzard of technical prowess welded to some wizard playing. MacLaughlin's brash guitar licking power flames of sublime expression, while legendary drummer Cobham bombards with his usual grandiloquent style. "Miles Beyond": the title implies a Miles Davis feel coz it's a Miles Davis comp! The drums are pure bedlam and the guitar raging like a phosphorus canister. "Celestial Commuters" is brief and torrid; Hammer's astounding synth buzzing like a manic bumble-bee, Baba and violinist Goodman exchange some ferocious solos, while Laird's bass lurks in the background. The next twenty-two seconds are some of the oddest atmospheric stuff you will here, a mere appetizer for the majestic "Thousand Island Park" , a hypnotic oasis with mid-eastern motifs, some Iberian influences (the almost flamenco picking THE man), piano swings and most astoundedly, a clever melody! Laird shows a glimpse of his talent on the 4 string beast. Tremendous music. The barely 2 minute "Hope" is a colossal melody that veers into the neo-classical, led by the transcendent violin, an upward swirling vortex of pure emotion that is simply spellbinding. The epic arrives "One World" with a drum roll straight from Nirvana, a polyrhythmic hyper-shuffle that is downright scary, the 3 soloists defiantly blazing with utter zeal often at breakneck speed, with occasional pools of calm technical mastery (as the brief and insatiable Laird solo), whilst Cobham urges it along with apparent ease. Simply ridiculous, a lesson in percussive bliss! The guitar, the violin and the synth chase each like some bullying brats playing tag in the schoolyard, whipping, lashing and devouring all in one session. Cobham shies not away from extolling his prowess, wolfing down a solo that will excite and confuse. When many of us here rightfully go gaga over him, here is why! The jazz purists at the time hated everything jazz-rock but this was the album that convinced them of their biased idiocy, the technical merits alone sufficed. Case in point! As if that was not yet their last word, "Sanctuary" remains another highlight track, scratching their musical spires through the clouds of lofty creativity, a living organism of sound and emotion, very laid back and showing skills of restraint, as well the power and the fury we know and love. Goodman showcases his immense talent with classy reserve. "Open Country Joy" has been a perennial fave since day one, a breezy, loopy affair that enchants and illuminates, Hammer's e-piano and the suave violin carving delicately with elegant precision which suddenly erupts into a volcanic storm where once again each soloist gets to out do the other, a real "shootout at the fantasy factory" prog style, The slight country fiddle adds so much gracefulness to the proceedings, a total open joy. The grandiose "Resolution" closes out this masterpiece of music, all genres combined. For those few of you who do not get it, perhaps its time to refine what your concept of good music is. This is Miles (oops!) beyond just good. Obviously in the top ten all-time. 5 Flaming Wings

I came to second MO album right after I finished with the debut one. The same perfect work, absolutely classic in fusion from 70-th.

So -what is the difference? If their debut is generally McLaughlin superb guitar work with highest class support from the band, the second one is different. The music here ( the same style) is a subtle mix between ALL musicians, where McLaughlin guitar is important, but just one of a few instruments. It is very difficult to find that kind of balance, but it was done there!

You can hear a single sound of every instrument, every musician, and at the same time you hear how all this are melted in what we name FUSION. It's like you are the part of magical action, woodoo act. And it works as magic!

For me, both two fist albums are perfect. But the first one is more raw guitar energy, and mainly perfect illustration of his guitar stardom. The second one is more mature and real mixture of magical sounds, rhytms and techniques, one of the best fusion examples we ever had.

"Birds of Fire" is the 2nd full-length studio album by multi-national jazz rock/fusion act Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was released through C.B.S./Columbia Records in March 1973. It´s the second and last album by the Mahavishnu Orchestra mark I lineup of John McLaughlin (guitars), Jerry Goodman (violin), Jan Hammer (piano/Keys), Rick Laird (bass) and Billy Cobham (drums), before Mahavishnu Orchestra split-up the first time. This lineup ended up not being on good terms with each other and it took many years (26 years to be precise) before their failed attempt at recording a third album was released as "The Lost Trident Sessions (1999)".

All involved are highly skilled musicians and they deliver performances here that´s technically incredibly challenging. Stylistically they pretty much continue the jazz rock/fusion style of their debut album "Inner Mounting Flame (1971)". The more prominant use of synths on "Birds of Fire" is the most major difference between the albums. Compositionally the two albums also have a lot in common even though the compositional structures are generally a bit more developed on "Birds of Fire". There are still a lot of focus on long solo sections and not so much on reoccuring themes and recognisable melodies. To my ears that´s a bit of a shame, because when Mahavishnu Orchestra chose to focus on composed parts like they do on "Hope" or in the last minute of "One Word", they are absolutely brilliant. And don´t get me wrong here, those noodling solo sections are very well played and make my jaw drop several times, but too many of the tracks on the album have an unfinished feel to them. It´s as if they were hurriedly composed for the band to have something to jam over in a live setting.

So while "Birds of Fire" is the better album compared to "Inner Mounting Flame (1971)" (which featured even more unfinished sounding tracks), and it features both a strong organic sound production and outstanding musicianship, I´m still tempted to use words like cold and emotionless about it. Too much improvisational noodling and not enough compositional depth. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.

Birds Of Fire is a big improvement of the Inner Mountain Flame. The interplay between the musicians is much tighter, the soloing is more purposeful, the overall sound is more dynamic and best of all, the compositions have greatly improved.

Birds of Fire is an excellent opener. The violin and guitar almost dance around each other in this stunning piece. That's what I call musical interaction. Miles Beyond is another excellent composition with a gorgeous groove set by Jan Hammer. Contrary to the debut, the quality never weakens and the songs have a much greater personality. Thousand Islands Park is one of their most beautiful gentle pieces and Hope can almost be called ecstatic. It has a very intense feel of longing and craving.

One World has an almost funky groove, well, you can certainly boogie to it if you would like to do so. Sanctuary is entirely different again. Very melancholic, while Resolution is very invigorating again.

One of the strongest albums in the genre and very recommended. 4.5 stars, as the Trident Sessions are even better in my point of view.

A fusion masterpiece. Probably the best fusion album ever, in fact. Birds Of Fire, MO's second album, is indeed an unforgettable piece of music, so rare to find such a jewel. 1971 was one of greatest years in prog (Nursery Cryme, Acquiring the Taste, In Search Of Space, Pawn Hearts, Aqualung, and many many more), and this is the proof. Haunting in many points, excellent passages, face melting solos, and much more is included in "Birds Of Fire".

the first three songs are amazing, all of them played with outstanding and refined musicianship, the melodies are great, which is rare in Fusion, where often there's no melody at all. But the two songs after these, are beyond imagination. "Thousand Island Park" has extremely elegant arrangements, as well as beautiful and delicate melodies, played with the acoustic guitar. "Hope" is another unbelievable step beyond, a brief track, very enlivened thanks to the amazing melody of the violin, accompanied by a furious band that can really rock. "One Word" is another masterpiece, the longest song of the album, so full of solos of different instruments, it blew my mind right away. The following two tracks are great, but not as much as the previous ones. "Sanctuary", in fact, is a little boring, but very nice in some moments. The ending pieces is a great closer, maybe the best closer for a fusion album.

An amazing album, a total classic, that will remain impressed to all prog and jazz fans for the rest of their lives.

If you thought that Mahavishnu Orchestral did their best on their debut album Inner Mounting Flame then please reconsider this opinion by experiencing Birds Of Fire. This album takes the same basic formula and improves almost every aspect of it!

John McLaughlin and the band begin this record with the excellent title-track that sets the tone and quality bar for all the compositions to come. This performance shows the perfect difference between why I enjoy McLaughlin's style while being somewhat negative about other jazz guitarists like Al Di Meola and Allan Holdsworth. John McLaughlin-penned compositions have a sense of progression which means that his guitar play doesn't feel like meaningless jamming around the same basic theme but instead like a composition where his intricate play fills in the void that is left by other members. It's true that even McLaughlin can fall victim of the useless jamming syndrome, which seems to be impossible to avoid if you're in this line of work, but those moments aren't as common and are far between.

Now that we've got this discussion out of the way, let's breeze through the rest of the album. Miles Beyond is a nice tribute to the master even though this composition does come off sounding a bit out of place with the rest of the tracks due to its unique build-up approach to composition structuring. Celestial Terrestrial Commuters, on the other hand, is where the band returns to the familiar landscapes of the opening title-track which is also probably why I find this composition both highly appealing and disappointingly short. After a brief sound experiment of Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love the music on Thousand Island Park returns to the low key realm of A Lotus On Irish Streams, from , with excellent melodies and great interplay between the instruments.

Hope is another disappointedly short number that offers a highly enjoyable build-up which then fades out only to be replaced by a 10 minute extensive jam track called One Word. The description of this long improv gives an impression that I should find it very tedious but instead it turns out to be quite an intricate prolonged jam. It's true that the prominent bass and drum sections might get slightly tiresome especially during the drum-solo, still it's a privilege to hear a solo spot by Billy Cobham and the surprising restrain of John McLaughlin only shows that less can definitely be more. Sanctuary cools the experience down after the intensive jam by indulging us in the atmospheric realm of meditation music.

The final six minutes of the album turn out to be quite an unexpected change of direction with Open Country Joy sounding at times almost like a country music performance with Jerry Goodman's violin only adding to this misconception. I always get the feeling that this 4 minute composition is played out as conceptual piece where we're literally taken on a trip exploring the open country site, where the sudden bursts of energy represent the spontaneous reaction that we might have to this whole experience. If anything, this track always manages to make me chuckle. Resolution is quite a different story featuring a very strict and almost melancholic sound that might give the impression of an intensional swan song from the first Mahavishnu Orchestral lineup. If this description doesn't convince you, then think of it more as a grand conclusion to the experience that is Birds Of Fire!

***** star songs: Birds Of Fire (5:42) Celestial Terrestrial Commuters (2:53) Thousand Island Park (3:19)

**** star songs: Miles Beyond (4:38) Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love (0:22) Hope (1:56) One Word (9:54) Sanctuary (5:01) Open Country Joy (3:42) Resolution (2:08)

One thing about this album and band is undeniably true and that's the fact that this is progressive music. Progressive music of the highest caliber that is. And it's more that than jazz rock/ fusion in my opinion. Ok, of course it's pretty jazzy and in the end it fits in this subgenre but it strikes me most that this is intricate music primary and jazz just secondary.

Another big plus for Mahavishnu Orchestra is the fact that it's a unique group of musicians creating a sound and style that's never heard before nor after their era. The distorted violin is very significant for the band's sound and is the main reason the band sounds so unique. On One Word the band has some resemblance with Brand X, another leading jazz progband. But also here MO is very distinctive.

Other huge tracks are of course the title track, Sanctuary and Open Country. Objectively this is indeed a masterpiece but I will also have to let my personal taste interfere with the final rating. This means I will have to leave it at 4 stars because in the end this is not music I will play for my sheer enjoyment. I will play this only at moments I want to hear something special and unique. In that case Mahavishnu Orchestra is just about the best example I can think of.

The second MO album is generally in the same territory as the first. It features the same line up and once again John McLaughlin composed all the songs. He will be the only remaining member on the next album. One major difference is Jan Hammer has now started using a Moog synthesizer, which contributes to the sound greatly here. The music is a great mix of jazz-rock, hard rock, country and symphonic rock. The playing is fantastic and the sound and production of the album is well done.

The title track opens with a gong. Love the sound of McLaughlin's chorused and phased guitars. Guitar and violin play in unison at points in the song. The drumming and electric piano playing fit the mood of the song perfectly. This track sort of sounds similar to later LTIA-era Crimson. The title of "Miles Beyond" is obviously a reference to John's former employer. This begins with spacey Moog and jazzy Fender Rhodes playing. Drums and bass come in and plays a groove. Guitar and violin later. Some jazzy acoustic guitar at one point.

"Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" not only has a cool title but some great trumpet-like sounds on the Moog. "Thousand Island Park" is just classical piano and acoustic guitar with some jazzy acoustic upright bass. "Hope" is the most frustrating part of the album. It's one of the better musical ideas on the album, but it's so short it almost becomes filler here. There are much longer live versions of this song out there. The song on this album is the musical equivalent of taking candy away from a child.

"One Word" is one of the better songs. Terrific playing from everyone. The drum solo goes on a little too long and seems pointless. What were they thinking? "You know what this album needs? A drum solo! Nobody else is doing drum solos these days." "Open Country Joy" opens on an almost country-rock vibe. Great violin in this part. After a minute the music stops before coming back as a jazz-rock groove with some cool Moog and guitar soloing. Goes back to the country-rock part.

After this album, Hammer and drummer Billy Cobham will start successful solo careers. Violinist Jerry Goodman will be replaced by Jean Luc Ponty, who was McLaughlin's first choice for MO violinist. The group will experiment with orchestras and guitar synthesizers before calling it a day later in the decade. I guess you could put me in the camp that thinks this is the group's finest hour. Definately one of the best fusion albums from the 1970s. If it weren't for the drum solo in "One Word", the short "Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love" being nothing but static, and "Hope" being way too short, I would be tempted to give this 5 stars. As it is, this gets 4 stars.

For their second album the Mahavishnu Orchestra wisely decided not to try and top the explosive fury of their debut, instead seeking to diversify their sound. The closing Resolution recalls the dark tones of their first album, but other songs show a breathtaking versatility on the part of the band - for instance, Open Country Joy somehow manages to incorporate both gentle folk segments and pulsing funk sections. Particularly notable on this album is Jan Hammer's incorporation of a Moog into his arsenal of instruments, allowing him to add synthesiser touches above and beyond his already important electric piano contributions. I don't think it's quite as groundbreaking as the first album, which is an absolutely essential piece of the fusion puzzle, but it's very, very good indeed.

This is the first fusion LP that I've ever bought, without knowing exactly what to expect. I didn't know anything of the band. The remind of the Indian period of Beatles was still close so I thought "Mahavishnu" was meaning something psychedelic with sitar and acid suggestions.... The only band member I was aware of was actually Billy Cobham that I had heard from friends that was a great drummer.

You can imagine how much I was disappointed at the first spin.

Years after, not very much, I started listening to some fusion, mainly Al Di Meola and Weather Report so it led me back to McLaughlin and his band.

My problem with this album was likely the track order. "Bird of Fire", the title track is not easy, specially for a newbie of the genre. It starts dark and dissonant. I've just listened to a Kayo Dot album and the mood is not so different. It takes 2 minutes before one understands what the main theme is. Excellent guitar and violin, by the way. Once one is able to catch the main theme lead by the violin, it makes the listening easier. It's a pity that the track fades out. I have never liked this way to finish a song.

Maybe "Miles Beyond" is a joke and may be read as "Beyond Miles (Davis)" I don't know. It's opened by a nice electric piano but then becomes a bit chaotic, then piano again, and what a piano! Again I think to Kayo Dot: are those guitar chords and drums intervals so different from "Gemini Becomes the Tripod"? However if ones wants to have an idea of how a master of guitar plays this is the right place. Don't try it at home....

"Celestial Terrestrial Commuter" is the first track that I liked immediately at the first listen, when I was trying to understand what I had bought. Not an easy track also this, but it's more rocking, so closer to my actual tastes.

Let's skip the 20 seconds psych filler and concentrate to the very prog "Thousand Island Park". It goes from Renaissance to Pekka Pohjola but also gives McLaughlin the possibility to play some incredibly fast flamenco like he will later do in trio with Di Meola and De Lucia.

"Hope" is another short track, quite challenging and dissonant. Call me fool, but I still think that it's not too different from Kayo Dot.

"One Word" is the longest track. This is jazz. There's room for each component's solo, but it's not an easy one also this. Well, I don't have any problem with tracks like this, today, but in a period during which I was listening mainly to blues and country-rock it was hard for me. The fact that I didn't sell back the album, trying to explore it better, is significant. I was already able to glimpse the good behind. And in any case there's a lot of funk on this track, plus the only one long drum solo that's what I had actually bought the album for.

I found the slow violin based "Sanctuary" boring. If myself only knew what kind of music I'm used to today....I think Fripp likes this track.

"Open Country Joy" has a "happy" start with piano and violin. It's one of the few parts based on major chords. What follows is pure funky. A great track in every sense.

Finally, "Resolution" is another quite dark track with a bit of funky and a crescendo that's like an ascending canon.

It's a fantastic album that I didn't understand initially, but it was more than 30 years ago. Not one that I listen to very often, but the first that comes to my mind when I think to the genre.

I'm still not sure that it's a masterpiece, but it's surely excellent so I'm cautious and go for 4 stars with the possibility that sooner or later I edit this review.

This album is the true definition of jazz rock; it's on the rockier end of fusion rather than the Miles Davis end, and what an album! McLaughlin and co deliver some of the greatest riffs, most explosive ensembles, and most shocking instrumental virtuosity I have ever heard (particularly in the guitar and drums department). The east-meets-west agenda of Birds of Fire is fuelled by high-energy rhythms and riffs, topped off with all manner of jazzy, oriental and more classical harmonies, and some of the best guitar, violin and Moog synth solos ever recorded on tape. There is only one weak track and that is a 24 second pastiche of avant-garde music.

The opening title track introduces us to this band's seamless grasp of every time signature under the sun, romping along with it's main riff primarily in 9/8. Goodman's violin is of particular significance here, although McLaughlin's guitar steals the show. The more laid-back 'Miles Beyond' is a tribute to the man who pretty much invented this genre of music, Mr Davis, of course. Electric piano is groovy here and the violin performs a pizzicato solo, a technique that is rarely seen outside classical music. 'Celestial Terrestrial Commuters' is the definition of cool; cool name, cool metre, cool harmony, and insanely cool Moog solo. I love it when so much is achieved in under 3 minutes. Then, the fittingly calm 'Thousand Island Park', the album's venture into acoustic instruments, contains some beautiful melodies and rhythmic ideas. 'Hope', which closes side one, builds tension around a single, terrifyingly hopeless riff.

That's all positive, but the real coup de grace comes with the album's lengthier centrepiece, 'One Word', which is basically a high-speed vehicle for each band member to solo in. Because the guitarist, violinist and keyboardist take most of the solos elsewhere on the record, they share the same passage, in which they dual frantically in brilliant stereo surround sound. The bass solo is cool and funky, while Billy Cobham's drum solo is just jaw-dropping.... I mean, really, jaw-dropping. He must be an octopus. 'Sanctuary' is more fusion in the tense, chilling vein, slowly building up into some very dark, foreboding territory (it seems to be a theme on the album that the music creates the opposite impression to the name of each piece). 'Open Country Joy' blends western, in fact, wild-western styles with pure jazz rock, in a humorously jagged way. The finale is called 'Resolution', and is another tune that repeats a few bars until things get chaotic, before the crescendo reaches boiling point and we can all have a rest, especially the musicians.

I'd be hard pushed to find music as powerful as this in jazz, or as masterfully composed as this in rock. The Mahavishnu Orchestra found their niche early, and with Birds of Fire, totally conquered it. This album is an unsurpassable peak in a uniquely thrilling area of music.

Absolutely Essential - A World in an Album

I acquired BIRDS OF FIRE late in my tour of the great rock guitarists, actually a few years after I'd left my shred phase behind. I'd submerged myself in blues and jazz, and actually began my slow descent into prog. I was at a college used record store and there I saw this legendary album. I figured I needed it just to shore up my guitar nerd cred, so I picked it up actually having no idea what I was getting. I remember listening in my car on the way home and just thinking "What is this???" McLaughlin's picking certainly was fast as quicksand, but the music was simply way over my head even then. I don't think I even listened to the album all the way through in one sitting at that stage of life. My brain just couldn't get it. And I tried, many times.

Over the last five years, immersing myself in prog, my musical palette has grown a bit. Listening to alot of music in odd time signatures and plenty of counterpoint has allowed me to finally appreciate (though not fully understand) what's going on here. Dozens of listens haven't hurt anything either. I now count BIRDS OF FIRE as one of the highest examples of jazz fusion and classic progressive rock in general.

The long "One Word" is the most typical track, the one that will seem most familiar to listeners of other fusion bands. The groove is frolicking and open, and there are extended solo / jam sections. The central lines that the band returns to, however, are pure insanity. Fast, odd time, with dissonant intervals, the composed sections push against the limits of organized complexity. Though I enjoy the solos on this track very much, this is the least impressive track of the record for me.

The reason for this is that the rest of the record flips the ratio of composition to jam. Shared or intertwining lines dominate the best and most challenging tracks including the colossal title track and "Celestial Commuters." The theme lines on these tracks are just beyond my imagination. How anyone came up with these melodies (if you can call them that) is just so far outside my theoretical understanding...

There are several wide open, beautifully serene acoustic tinged pieces that are absolutely essential to the flow of the record. I believe it was "Sanctuary" that finally turned the light on for me for this band. John McLaughlin's mastery of acoustic guitar is also in evidence, and his voice on the instrument is so definingly his own. (In my opinion far above chief rival Al DiMeola.)

Bottom Line: This is what's behind the last curtain. This is the grand prize of fusion.

''The inner mounting flame'' was really succesful, reaching the top 11 at the Billboard Jazz charts and in 1972 Mahavishnu Orchestra toured extensively, covering almost every possible ground in the USA and also visiting the major countries in Europe.Although shadows of conflicts between the members were starting to appear, the band recorded a second album during August 72' at the CBS Studios in New York and the Trident Studios in London.''Birds of fire'' was its title and it was released in March 1973 on Columbia for the US market, although the album was also released in Canada and several European countries around the time.

There were no particular changes compared to the debut, again the opening eponymous track was the absolute masterpiece of a nevertheless very solid Fusion album, featuring McLaughlin's psychedelic guitars and Goodman's frenetic violins over a complex rhythm section.However ''Birds of fire'' sound less tight and with a few weak moments throughout, of course this was another great album by Mahavishnu Orchestra with some real highlights.A couple of tracks are closer to light Jazz Rock with a more constant use of minimoog synthesizer by Hammer, offering a breezy and airy atmosphere.The rest of the album though offers extreme instrumental Jazz/Fusion with a very dark atmosphere, definitely with a progressive vibe.Classical-inspired violin themes, hypnotic guitars that move towards powerful, psychedelic solos, dense and complicated drumming to go along with some beautiful work on synths by Hammer and the always solid bass lines of Laird.The atmosphere ranges from pleasant Fusion with funky rhythms and semi-improvised moments to adventurous Progressive Jazz Rock with tons of breaks and endless instrumental battles.And the Eastern influencers are still apparent in the compositions through series of Indian-inspired tunes.

It would have been really a miracle for the band if having achieved to reach the ultimate pinnacle of the debut.''Birds of fire'' has rather a bit of a limited depth than ''The inner mounting flame'', still it is a very good album of solid and energetic Prog/Fusion, as around the time many bands started to copy the absolutely original sound of the masters.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

The nearly-universally acclaimed peak of Jazz-Rock Fusion, the Orchestra's second studio album. The band, still in its first incarnation, was still fresh, still inspired, not yet road-weary and spiritually-exhausted by Mahavishnu John's uncompromising rule and order. The performances here are of five virtuosi all at the top of their skills, all fully-engaged in the studio recording sessions.

1. "Birds of Fire" (5:41) gongs and tightly fingered guitar and keyboard arpeggi open this, a two-chord major/minor flow, over which the virtuosi take turns expressing their pent-up energies with pyroclastic displays--John McLaughlin taking up more of that solo time than the others. Sometimes it's the instrumental play of the artists on "standby" that impress as much as the front-and-center man, but it's always the multi-player mirrored solos, like the fifth minute here, that impress the most. (9.25/10) 2. "Miles Beyond" (Miles Davis) (4:39) bluesy-jazz from Jan Hammer's keys open this one before the funk bass and drums join in. Jerry Goodman and the Mahavishnu take the first turn at expressing (Mile's) melody line before a stripped-down gap of Fender Rhodes support allows Goodman an odd pizzicato violin solo. Ramping back up into full-band repetition of the six-chord progression, John and Jerry take turns unleashing their demons--performing at the end in tandem. Not my favorite song melodically but the musicianship cannot help but impress. (8.75/10)

3. "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" (2:53) The drumming and keys are so tight but this is one of Rick Laird's more impressive displays. It is remarkable that Jan Hammer can maintain the rhythmic support on the Fender Rhodes while also joining in on the triple-enunciation runs of such fast, fluid lines with the guitar and violin. (9/10)

4. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" (0:22) a sudden cacophony of electric sounds produced by all of the musicians flailing away at once.

5. "Thousand Island Park" (3:19) opening with a Baroque-classical feeling--played on all-acoustic instruments! Rick's loud double bass being the only offset to the tight weave between piano, steel-string acoustic guitar, and violin. Feels very much like the inspiration for RTF's "Medieval Overture." Nice! (9.25/10)

6. "Hope" (1:55) a cool, tension-filled piece that is brief but very powerful; like an antithesis to the album's final song, "Resolution." This song could/should have been expanded into something bigger. (5/5)

7. "One Word" (9:54) Billy Cobham's amazing drumming open this one before the band join in with a couple ominous deep chord progressions. Things quiet down at the end of the first minute, but then what sounds like a freight train barreling out from behind a desert mountain comes speeding at us before arriving to settle into a DEODATO/WHO-like funk rhythm pattern within which Rick Laird gets the first solo. I love the way the rest of the virtuosi support with wild flourishes of their pent up energy, all the while Billy (and amazing rhythm guitar) just keeps the train rolling along at top open-road speed. When Rick falls back into the rhythm flow, his lines are as flawlessly impressive as Billy's. In the meantime Jan, Jerry, and John take turns spitting out quick licks from their instruments until at 5:50 they can no longer abide by the turn-taking rule. But then Billy jumps in to stop them as he launches into a solo that just gets jaw-droppingly more and more complex as it goes on. After two minutes Jan and the others try to push back into the mix but only after the third minute is over does Billy finally lets the others back in. From there it is four person sprint to the end. Who one this one? I have to give it to Billy. (19.5/20)

8. "Sanctuary" (5:01) a serene yet surprisingly-disturbing song to follow the frantic pace of the previous ten minutes. Great slow-developing melodies over Billy's punctuating drumming and a some awesome Minimoog play from Jan Hammer. Feels unresolved at the end: remitting and surrendering. (9.5/10)

9. "Open Country Joy" (3:52) opens like some happy-go-lucky song coming out of a Grateful Dead jam--from one of their good trips. Violinist Jerry Goodman is particularly central to the "country" melody in the opening minute, but then there is this terribly confusing, long pause, out of which the full band bursts with unbound passion and energy, flying through their solos (and collective bridges) with unheard-of speeds. At 2:40 we slow down and once again fall into that devil-may-care "Afternoon Delight" space. Very interesting song. (9/10)

10. "Resolution" (2:08) One of my all-time favorite Mahavishnu songs, I know it's just a continuous chord progression over which John, Jerry, and Jan climb chord by chord to the top of their scales, but it's so beautiful: an étude we would all love to have recorded. (5/5)

Total Time 39:44

It took me a long time to really like the funk-oriented or screaming guitar work of early jazz fusion artist John McLaughlin. His sound, his speed and emotion awed me, but I never found myself really liking it--until the sound smoothed out in the collaboration with Carlos Santana, when Stanley and Al joined RTF, when Jean-Luc and Narada Michael Walden came to join the later incarnation of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Again, I attribute this phenomenon to my untrained ears--I was too young and inexperience to be able to take in all of the notes--"too many notes" the Emperor says in Amadeus. Well, as a thirteen and fourteen year old, I definitely had the mushy, malleable brain and sensibilities of Emperor Joseph II. "There are just so many notes that the human ear can tolerate in the course of one sitting" (paraphrased and adapted to this particular situation). Now as I listen to this music I am awed but at the same time I am enjoying the music, the collaborative, instinctual journeys each musician is prodded and provoked to explore due to their companions' virtuosic daring. At the same time, there are some songs on the album that are not up to the standards of quality sound recording that I've come accustomed to--especially with regards to the keyboards and guitar (or perhaps it's just over use of distortion). The highlights for me are not when the individual musicians are trading machine gun insults but when the whole band are working a melody/riff together. As Inner Mounting Flame announced the arrival of a new form of music, Birds of Fire showed resoundingly that this music was real, was not going away, while also perfecting it, thus making it a masterpiece of jazz fusion and one of its shining representatives to the world of progressive rock music.

A/five stars; a shining masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion--one that fully expresses the many variables and influences available to J-R Fuse artists. Not only a landmark album for the sub-genre but probably one of THE most influential albums of any genre on future music and musicians. For me this is definitely a Top 10 Jazz-Rock Fusion from the "Classic Era," but an album that fails to earn a place in my Top 10 of "Favorites."

I downloaded Birds of Fire a few years ago, and it was one of the first "fusion" albums I ever listened to closely. In fact, the only other fusion-related albums I owned all featured Bill Bruford: Moraz & Bruford, Earthworks, and the Bruford band. (Later, I found Miles Davis, including some of his work with John McLaughlin.)

Coming in to Birds of Fire, I knew of John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham. I knew Jan Hammer from his "Miami Vice Theme." And I knew the song "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" by heart (the They Might Be Giants song, that was - - named after the song on Birds of Fire, as I found out). Oh, and I recognized that Roger Dean must have done the cover.

As I began to listen, I was of the opinion that this album was simply jazz, but with electric guitar, violin, and synthesizer replacing the stereotypical trumpet and saxophone. That was fine for a working theory, and it fit several of the songs on the first vinyl side, as well as "One World." But it was a poor fit for "Thousand Island Park," it failed to explain either of the last two songs on the album, "Open Country Joy" and "Resolution."

After the solid opening song, the Mahavishnu Orchestra really announces its presence with "Miles Beyond" and the incredible "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters." Things return to earth a bit for the next three songs (whose total time is less than that of "Miles Beyond:" "Sapphire Bullets," "Thousand Island," and "Hope." The jazzy "One Word," with its drum solo, is the centerpiece of the album, and harkens back to the sound of the beginning of the record. It's followed by the simmering "Sanctuary," which at five minutes in length is about twice as long as it has to be.

After its opening minute, the penultimate song, "Open Country Joy," threatens to become a mellower "Sanctuary." But its down-home fiddlin' gives way to some awesome jazz-rock. The song ends with a reprise of the opening passage. Finally, "Resolution" (couldn't they have come up with a more creative name?) is a fitting close to the album, even without the unnecessary, drawn-out finality I would've expected from this kind of album. It's more like a coda than a finale, I guess.

Everyone on Birds of Fire is a virtuoso. I'm convinced that even the guy who dusted the mixing desk each morning was one of the world's best at his job. The sound quality is very good overall, although in a few places, the soloing instrument (usually a synthesizer of the violin) is mixed up front and loud, which conflicts with the mixing style on most of the record. I recognize that this is a common practice in jazz, but on jazz records, the effect is achieved more so by having the supporting instruments play more quietly. Anyway, minor quibble.

The composition is also very good. If I had to cite a weakness, it would be that of the rhythm, dissonance, and melody which comprise a work of fusion like Birds of Fire, the melody seems to be in relatively short supply.

Birds of Fire is a very good album. I'd recommend it to any fan of progressive-rock music, even to those who aren't fans of jazz. Fans of instrumental rock will also probably find a lot to like here.

After revolutionizing the world of jazz-rock with its stunning debut "Inner Mounting Flame," John McLaughlin and his MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA experienced an unexpected crossover success that catapulted these five musicians onto the world's stage virtually overnight with the groundbreaking fusion style that incorporated complex arrangements of jazz, progressive rock, gypsy folk, funk and Indian classical music. This first lauded lineup of drummer Billy Cobham, bassist Rick Laird, keyboard wizard Jan Hammer and violinist Jerry Goodman with band leader and virtuoso guitarist John McLaughlin took the rock music paradigm to new unthinkable complexities with intricately designed compositions crafted by McLaughlin which offered refreshing original arrangements that immediately resonated with the public.

The first lineup engaged in a very intense existence from 1971-74 before infighting and the pressures of superstardom conspired to shatter the unity that the music suggested. Two years after the debut the band's sophomore release BIRDS OF FIRE was released by Columbia Records and continued the trajectory of the MAHAVISHNU's fiery passion that mixed the harmonic confluences of jazz with blitzkrieg guitar, violin and keyboard deliveries that took rock music into a whole new level of energetic prowess which without a doubt was one of the main influences of the faster tempo styles of music such as punk and metal that followed. Slightly more varied and bristling with sizzling solos, BIRDS OF FIRE offered ten outstanding instrumental outbursts of five musicians who seemed to work in telepathic tandem with some of the tightest musical tradeoffs that had ever been performed.

BIRDS OF FIRE opens with a few gong sounds before launching into a high-octane procession of blitzkrieg drumming patterns, frenzied violin melodies and McLaughlin's signature guitar wizardry. Crafting the fiery rhythm is a funk fueled bass line and the keyboard provides various embellishments to the overall sound. The jazz effect resonates with colorful chord patterns and highly sophisticated harmonic confluences and best of all the musicians know how and when to trade off so that the entire shebang doesn't come off as a non-stop jamming session. The album alternates between sizzling action packed numbers such as the title track, the funky "One Word" and the determined "Resolution" and the more sensual emotive numbers such as "Miles Beyond," a tender dedication to McLaughlin's lengthy gig with the jazz superstar Miles Davis. The album is surprisingly paced perfectly and offers a wide range of textures and motifs to paint a colorful representation of jazz-fusion magnanimity.

Situated somewhere between absorptive harmonic convergence and atonal angularities, BIRDS OF FIRE has enough to draw anyone in and offers a series of contrasts decorated by extremely seasoned veterans of various musical genres with an amazing display of control by all five members which has rightfully placed this album as one of the great jazz-fusion masterpieces of the ages. The free spirit of the early 70s found an album of such complexity to reach the Billboard #15 position and made MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA one of the most critically acclaimed jazz-related acts to emerge from this era but it was this very sudden ascent to the top that proved to be too much for these shy musicians not accustomed to the glitz and glamor of fame.

Despite reaching the top of their game in a short time, the five members soon found that personal differences and incessant touring was too much. This would be the last album by this first lineup and it would take a couple more decades for all those extra recordings that were supposed to be the third album to be released in 1999 as the long-awaited "Lost Trident Sessions." While phase one of the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA only existed for a short three years, it is uncanny how brilliant these first two albums remain all these decades after their initial release. The sheer magnificence of the myriad genres thrown into the blender without sacrificing that emotive connection is nothing less than a miracle. This has been one of my all time favorite albums for a long time now and after revisiting it lately, i can happily say that it seems likely that it will remain that way for as long as this carbon-based life form is around.

The English guitarist John McLaughin (1942) was a young prodigy who formed instrumental groups capable of blending free jazz, progressive-rock, psychedelia, raga, post-bop melodies. His guitar had an original sound thanks to electric pickups and thick strings. After collaborating with Miles Davis, and having already released three albums, in 1971 McLaughlin formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, an electric fusion group. Joining him were violinist Jerry Goodman, pianist Jan Hammer, bassist Rick Laird and drummer Billy Cobham.

With this group McLaughin gave his best from 1971 to 1973, the years of the heyday of the prog.

Birds of Fire, year 1971, is perhaps his masterpiece-of him and of the band, made up of excellent instrumentalists.

1. Birds Of Fire (5:41) it's an electric bluesy track with a very aggressive Hendrix-style guitar that keeps the listener attached to the headphones. Besides him, Goodman's violin stands out, which actually outlines the melody (while the guitar plays solos and the drums overflow). Great track. Rating 8+.

2. Miles Beyond (Miles Davis) (4:39) It is a more varied piece, closer to prog where an acoustic guitar plucked in the most relaxed moments alternates with a more bluesy electric guitar. The melody is made up of keyboards and violin. Every so often the guitar alternates in tracing the melody. Rating 8.

3. Celestial Terrestrial Commuters (2:53) Hard-blues a la Hendrix short piece, with overwhelming drums and guitar. Rating 7.5.

4. Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love (0:22) ;5. Thousand Island Park (3:19) After a short atmospheric intro comes 5), a classical piece with acoustic guitar, chamber music. McLaughin wants to show off his virtuosity. Rating 7.5.

6. Hope (1:55) Guided by the violin, it always repeats the same theme. Rating 7.

These four short, heterogeneous and impromptu pieces have undermined the homogeneity of the first ones and brought down the quality of the music.

7. One Word (9:54) It is the most ambitious track on the album, 10 minutes of jam and fusion, with jazz touches (Rick Laird's bass in evidence) and then an explosion of hard-blues with almost wah wah touches (Hendrix is ​​around the corner) which reaches an excellent climax. This is followed by a pedantic drum solo that unfortunately lasts a long time, partly ruining this bluesy jam that ends with a crescendo. Rating 8,5.

8. Sanctuary (5:01) Slow, meditative, vaguely raga instrumental piece, guided by the guitar, nice atmosphere but ... I don't see a nice melody. Rating 6,5/7.

9. Open Country Joy (3:52) Instrumental piece that starts slowly but has a bluesy explosion after a minute. McLaughin's lead guitar is heard on three channels simultaneously, the three melodic lines alternating in the texture of the music. The violin gives a folk touch to this beautiful bluesy jam, which unfortunately suddenly ends. Rating 7.5

10. Resolution (2:08) Very percussive short piece thanks to Goodman's violin, good tension but the piece remains a fragment. Rating 6,5

Total Time: 39:48

I don't see in this record a prog masterpiece, I see an heterogeneous good blues album, a jam fusion where a great guitarist stands out who, thanks above all to Goodman's violin, managed to fuse blues with folk. It is great in the firsts two pieces and in the Jam of One World, mediocre in the other parts.

Rating 8. Three an a half Stars.