John McLaughlin
Biography:
One of fusion's most virtuosic guitar soloists, John McLaughlin placed his blazing speed in the service of a searching spiritual passion that has kept his music evolving and open to new influences. Whether shredding on electric, or simmering quietly on acoustic, McLaughlin's intensity and under-appreciated versatility nearly always kept his playing vital, and his best moments -- whether as a solo artist or bandmember -- represent some of fusion's greatest recordings. McLaughlin was born January 4, 1942, in Yorkshire, England, and began playing guitar at age 11. Initially attracted to blues and swing, he worked with British artists like Georgie Fame, Graham Bond, Brian Auger, and Ginger Baker...
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1970 - Where Fortune Smiles
Where Fortune Smiles is really a John Surman recording, but subsequent re-releases have passed the credit on to John McLaughlin (for obvious reasons). The music is similar to but more dense than Extrapolation. McLaughlin's raw sound was starting to take shape by this time and his impeccable chops are on full display. So too are those of the underrated vibraphonist Karl Berger and, of course, soprano saxophonist Surman. The foundation is held loosely in place by bassist Dave Holland and drummer Stu Martin. It's a challenging but interesting listen, especially given McLaughlin's later success and popularity. Although his creativity would peak with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti, he never sounded more free and exploratory than he does here. Highly recommended for its historical significance as well as some excellent playing.
1 Glancing Backwards - 8:54
2 Earth Bound Hearts McLaughlin - 4:15
3 Where Fortune Smiles - 4:01
4 New Old Place - 10:24
5 Hope - 7:19
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1970 - My Goal's Beyond
After bouncing around on a couple of labels (Douglas/Polydor/Ryko,) the CD reissue of this album ultimately ended up on KnitMedia. The startling thing about this record is that it points the way toward two directions McLaughlin would take in the future � exploring Indian music and the acoustic guitar � and this while he was in the thick of the burgeoning electronic jazz-rock movement. The first half is a John McLaughlin acoustic guitar tour de force, where he thwacks away with his energetic, single-minded intensity on three jazz standards and five originals (including one genuine self-penned classic, "Follow Your Heart") and adds a few percussion effects via overdubbing. The second half is devoted to a pair of marvelously intricate fusions of Indian rhythms and drones called "Peace One" and "Peace Two," with jazz flights from flutist/soprano saxophonist Dave Liebman, a simpatico encounter with future Mahavishnu cohorts Billy Cobham on drums and Jerry Goodman on violin, and Airto blending his sounds seamlessly with the Indian tambura and tabla. Throughout, McLaughlin's acoustic lines faultlessly straddle the line between the subcontinent and jazz, and the ethereal results still hold up beautifully today.
1 Peace One - 7:18
2 Peace Two - 12:15
3 Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - 3:20
4 Something Spiritual - 3:29
5 Hearts and Flowers - 2:10
6 Phillip Lane - 2:36
7 Waltz for Bill Evans - 2:01
8 Follow Your Heart - 3:19
9 Song for My Mother - 2:34
10 Blue in Green - 2:38
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1970 - Devotion
This album is from a pivotal moment in McLaughlin's history. This was just after he left Miles' group, but before Mahavishnu Orchestra started, and the music captures this moment perfectly. McLaughlin's technique had not progressed to "Mahavishnu" perfection yet, but the music has the in-your-face rock drive of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. This recording date grew out of sessions Alan Douglas put together, featuring McLaughlin and Larry Young jamming with Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles (Billy Rich was the bass player). McLaughlin sounded timid next to Hendrix (none of the material with Hendrix has been officially released), but really comes to life on Devotion. This is arguably one of the finest acid rock albums of all time. McLaughlin is on fire, using fuzzboxes and phasers, over Larry Young's swirling Hammond B-3, with Billy Rich and Buddy Miles as the rock-solid rhythm section. If you think that McLaughlin's solo at the end of "Right Off" (from A Tribute to Jack Johnson) is one of the high points of his career, then this is the album for you. Soon after this album was recorded, McLaughlin holed up, practiced like crazy, and re-emerged as "Mahavishnu" John McLaughlin, with both a new sound and a new band. Documenting the period just before that transition, Devotion is a complete anomaly in his catalog, as well as one of his finest achievements.
1 Devotion - 11:22
2 Dragon Song - 4:13
3 Marbles - 4:13
4 Siren - 5:42
5 Don't Let the Dragon Eat Your Mother - 5:16
6 Purpose of When - 4:44
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1978 - Electric Dreams
At this point, it is easy to see that the John McLaughlin story has become a peripatetic journey of electric-acoustic switchbacks, with the formation of the One Truth Band that plays on this CD being just another short chapter in the saga. And this time, McLaughlin is thoroughly in charge -- there is little of the competitive dueling or tightly drilled, high-volume unison lines of the past; it's the guitarist and his sidemen, although sometimes keyboardist Stu Goldberg steps out with some wicked chops. McLaughlin returns Miles Davis' favor of naming a piece on ~censored~ Brew after him by turning the tables -- and indeed, "Miles Davis" often has the loose, jamming feeling (and a quote of "It's About That Time") of the maestro's own jazz-rock sessions. There are also some aftershocks from the Shakti experience on "Love and Understanding." For the most part, though, McLaughlin conforms to the controlled funk and electronic sounds of the times, with generally more restraint and a considerable musical payoff.
1 Guardian Angels - 0:52
2 Miles Davis - 4:54
3 Electric Dreams, Electric Sighs - 6:27
4 Desire and the Comforter - 7:35
5 Love and Understanding - 6:39
6 Singing Earth - 0:38
7 The Dark Prince - 5:17
8 The Unknown Dissident - 6:18
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1979 - Electric Guitarist
Electric Guitarist is an album of reconciliation and penance, a series of reunions with several former colleagues from the early jazz-rock days, some of whom had parted on bitter terms with John McLaughlin. But there are no egos out of control here; everyone has grown up, and partly as a result, there is a high level of musical inspiration devoid of pointless decibel wars. Jerry Goodman and Billy Cobham of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra show up first, then a genial reunion with Carlos Santana, which has some of the old fire. From this point on, the CD undergoes a clever systematic reduction in numbers -- first to five players, then four (the great combination of Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette), then three (a delightfully loose reunion of Lifetimers Tony Williams and Jack Bruce), then two (a fierce duel with Cobham), and finally just McLaughlin himself delivering the benediction on, of all things, "My Foolish Heart." Jazz is the dominant flavor in these fusions, often in a more restrained manner than the early-'70s sessions, and it pointed the way toward a new musical maturity for McLaughlin the electric guitarist.
1 New York on My Mind - 5:45
2 Friendship - 7:00
3 Every Tear from Every Eye - 6:50
4 Do You Hear the Voices That You Left Behind? - 7:39
5 Are You the One? Are You the One? - 4:41
6 Phenomenon: Compulsion - 3:21
7 My Foolish Heart - 3:22
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1980 - Friday Night in San Francisco
Loose and spontaneous, this (mainly) live album is a meeting of three of the greatest guitarists in the world for an acoustic summit the likes of which the guitar-playing community rarely sees. Broken up into three duo and two trio performances, Friday Night in San Francisco catches all three players at the peaks of their quite formidable powers. The first track features Al di Meola and Paco de Luc�a teaming up for a medley of di Meola's "Mediterranean Sundance" (first recorded by the duo on di Meola's classic 1976 album Elegant Gypsy) and de Luc�a's own "Rio Ancho." It is a delightful performance, full of the fire and inhuman chops that one expects from two players of this caliber. However, the two guitarists obviously have big ears, and they complement each other's solos with percussive, driving rhythm parts. There is a laid-back, humorous element to Friday Night in San Francisco as well, best witnessed in di Meola and John McLaughlin's performance of Chick Corea's "Short Tales of the Black Forest." Rapid-fire licks from the pair soon give way to atonal striking of the body of the guitar, running picks along the strings, etc. Before the farce is completed, they have played a blues and quoted the Pink Panther theme. It is funny stuff, and it serves to dispel the image of the trio, especially di Meola, as super-serious clinicians more concerned with technique than music. The other great piece of evidence against such a narrow-minded claim can be found in both the quality of the compositions featured on Friday Night in San Francisco as well as the sensitivity and dynamic variation brought to the performances. A perfect example of this is the sole studio track, a McLaughlin composition entitled "Guardian Angel" (the opening theme of which is taken straight from "Guardian Angels," a song that appears on McLaughlin's 1978 Electric Dreams album). It is a fine piece, and one that features a haunting melody as well as some of the best solos on the record. All in all, Friday Night in San Francisco is a fantastic album and one of the best entries in all of these guitarists' fine discographies.
1 Mediterranean Sundance/Rio Ancho - 11:31
2 Short Tales of the Black Forest - 8:43
3 Frevo Rasgado - 7:55
4 Fantasia Suite - 8:50
5 Guardian Angel [Studio Recording] - 4:01
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1981 - Belo Horizonte
Recorded in 1981, this is a diverse and somewhat obscure John McLaughlin outing recorded in France, mostly with French musicians. Classical pianist Katia Lab�que makes appearances on acoustic piano and synthesizer; there is a thoughtful version of "Very Early" recorded in tribute to Bill Evans, and a collaboration with flamenco guitarist Paco de Luc�a, "Manitas d'Oro." In general, McLaughlin is in fine shape on this worthwhile set, both on acoustic and electric guitars, occasionally showing some fire.
1 Belo Horizonte - 4:28
2 La Baleine - 5:58
3 Very Early (Homage to Bill Evans) - 1:12
4 One Melody - 6:27
5 Stardust on Your Sleeve - 6:03
6 Waltz for Katia - 3:26
7 Zamfir - 5:47
8 Manitas d'Oro (For Paco de Lucia) - 4:13
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1982 - Passion Grace & Fire
Two years after they recorded Friday Night in San Francisco, John McLaughlin, Al di Meola and Paco de Luc�a reunited for another set of acoustic guitar trios, Passion, Grace and Fire, If this can be considered a guitar "battle" (some of the playing is ferocious and these speed demons do not let up too often), then the result is a three-way tie. This guitar summit lives up to its title.
1 Aspen - 4:09
2 Orient Blue - 7:08
3 Chiquito - 4:46
4 Sichia - 3:50
5 David - 6:30
6 Passion, Grace and Fire - 5:26
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1983 - Music Spoken Here
Though this fitfully inspired yet always intelligently musical record is an electric album, McLaughlin is more often heard on acoustic guitar in something resembling his electric manner, along with more pronounced classical and flamenco influences. This quintet, along with bass and drums, contained two keyboard players, Francois Couturier and the noted classical pianist Katia Labeque (who was McLaughlin's companion). Labeque, seated at a Synclavier and a grand piano, has acres of technique and almost no feeling for jazz, though she is adept at providing moody backdrops, and her rapid-fire synth runs and Jarrett-like etudes on the Steinway aren't too far away stylistically from McLaughlin's helter-skelter flurries. In a continued homage to McLaughlin's once and future employer Miles Davis, "Blues for L.W." brazenly quotes "Blues for Pablo," and sometimes the music texturally resembles the heavily synthesized things that Miles would soon be putting out.
1 Aspan - 5:42
2 Blues for L.W. - 6:21
3 The Translators - 2:38
4 Honky Tonk Haven - 4:08
5 Viene Clareando - 0:32
6 David - 7:47
7 Negative Ions - 3:52
8 Brise de Coeur - 5:20
9 Loro - 2:11
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1988 - Mediterranean Concerto
Back in the classical arena, McLaughlin conceived an ambitious guitar concerto, unveiling it with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November 1985, but waited until 1988 to record it with his old colleagues Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra. The big difference between this and the music on Apocalypse is that McLaughlin dispenses with jazz and rock entirely, writing a neo-Romantic classical piece (lushly orchestrated again by Michael Gibbs) quite obviously modeled in style and sentiment after Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. As such, it isn't nearly as important a statement as the bold pan-stylistic fusions of Apocalypse. But it is a notable personal achievement, for McLaughlin plays beautifully, and aside from a few awkward moments, the music's Spanish-tinged charms, especially in the first movement, grow richer upon further hearings. The rest of the CD is devoted to duos between McLaughlin and classical pianist Katia Labeque that speak volumes about intimacy and also heavy absorption in Keith Jarrett.
1 Rhythmic - 11:58
2 Slow and Sad - 15:34
3 Animato - 8:36
4 Brise de Coeur - 7:45
5 Montana - 4:28
6 Two Sisters - 3:53
7 Until Such Time - 4:29
8 Zakir - 4:13
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1989 - Live at the Royal Festival Hall
The Mahavishnu revival misadventure now over and done with, John McLaughlin fields a quieter, stripped-down trio in London's Royal Festival Hall and gets far more pleasingly musical results. Engaging in interplay at all kinds of tempos with bassist Kai Eckhardt and supported by the fleet, subtle drums and percussion of Trilok Gurtu, McLaughlin concentrates his energies on the acoustic guitar. Now and then, he flips a switch and plays through a guitar synthesizer whose broad attacks and occasional organ-like timbres often compensate nicely for the lack of a keyboardist. This trio encourages McLaughlin to display a funkier touch on his instrument without giving up any blinding speed; "Pasha's Love" contains unison flurries as furious as any from the first Mahavishnu group, only at a lower volume level. The final "Blues for L.W." (Lech Walesa) climaxes with some vocal Indian syllabic jamming that joyously rounds out the concert.
1 Blue in Green - 6:36
2 Just Ideas/Jozy - 5:32
3 Florianapolis - 15:12
4 Pasha's Love - 7:54
5 Mother Tongues - 19:20
6 Blues for L.W. - 9:37
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1991 - Qu� Alegr�a
The John McLaughlin Trio goes into the studio and broadens its stylistic range considerably in another musically satisfying, open-minded outing. Again, McLaughlin sounds rejuvenated and refreshed in this format, as he switches between acoustic guitar and a guitar synthesizer attachment that softens and rounds his attacks while creating some luminous timbres and textures. McLaughlin's on-again, off-again Indian kick rises prominently into view here as Trilok Gurtu's role broadens into that of an all-purpose percussionist, producing some amazing sounds as backdrops. Pastorius-influenced bassist Kai Eckhardt gets downright funky on "1 Nite Stand" but gives way to the equally accomplished Dominque Di Piazza on most tracks. Yes, there is even some fantastic straight-ahead blues grooving on "Hijacked" -- if one may be permitted to use the terms guitar synthesizer and straight-ahead in the same sentence.
1 Belo Horizonte - 6:35
2 Baba [For Ramana Maharshi] - 6:51
3 Reincarnation - 11:52
4 1 Nite Stand - 5:26
5 Marie [Bass Solo] - 1:59
6 Hijacked - 8:35
7 Mila Repa - 7:31
8 Qu� Alegr�a - 10:32
9 3 Willows - 5:14
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