This is the one of the few of the many McLaughlin albums I
have no use for. It seems a case that JM had a bunch of new guitar synth toys
and had not yet figured out a way to make them remotely attractive in their
modulations, and that he had to put a band together pronto with little
rehearsal time. Especially the compositions, which recycle riffs from the
previous two studio albums or spend time abruptly moving from tonal
muddle-headedness, ersatz classicism, or the dreariest of vocal chorusing . The
band was not ready for prime time, distressing considering the talent in the
band, with Stu Goldberg (keyboards), Ralph Armstrong (bass) and Narada Michael
Walden (drums); all these players are superb in executing the roles the
sessions require of them, but no one shines here, which is a shame. I saw this
line up of musicians in 1974 for the tour supporting the orchestral Apocalypse
album (another least-played disc in my JM collection) with the addition of
Jean Luc Ponty (violin) and Gayle Moran (keyboards), and experienced a
wholesale blitzkrieg of fusion brilliance. It was a refreshing reminder how
often the musicians achieve those levels
of adlib brilliance in live settings, especially from a studio effort that collapsed
under it’s own portentious weight. This is a note that McLaughlin is a worth
composer of small ensemble composition, but lacked, at least at the time, the
where with all to score a piece for full orchestra. None of
that was evident on the 1976 release Inner World, and even JM seemed
overwhelmed by all the noise that resulted. Fortunately for the world,
McLaughlin is one who liked to move from style to style has remained an
inspiring artist. To this day, decades after he first rattled my tooth
fillings, it still takes one of his guitar solos to put me in touch with that
instinct that wants to transform rage and fury into a heady, fast thinking
lyricism. He has been that brilliant.
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