BIRDS OF FIRE

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.