SHAKTI WITH JOHN MCLAUGHLIN

As a fan of the incredible jazz virtuosos of Mahavishnu Orchestra, it was inevitable that I would eventually get hold of John McLaughlin's other projects. He remains one of the most innovative guitarists on the planet. When he teamed with Shankar on violin, Hussain on tabla, Vinayakram on ghatam and mridangam, and Raghavan on mridangam the result was Shakti. To describe the music in terms of comparing it to Mahavishnu Orchestra is unfair though, as the music is on an entirely different world, borrowing heavily on Indian and Eastern influences, almost giving it a world music genre feel, the type of music you would typically hear in India.

The Indian music begins with the frenetic pace of 'Joy' where McLaughlin picks and slides the guitar to accompany the violin that incessantly keeps the pace. It is rather good to begin with but I soon tired of the improvisational style as there seemed to be little structure and I was never a huge fan of free form jazz that continues at length with little change. It is repetitive and really not my taste at all.

'Lotus Feet' is a softer piece with a melancholy ambience featuring beautiful violin and guitar. On the last track, 'What Need Have I for This - What Need Have I for That - I Am Dancing at the Feet of My Lord - All Is Bliss - All Is Bliss', the Indian flavour completely dominates the Western aspects of the music. The crowd rise as one voice when McLaughlin spirals out of control on his specially constructed guitar, and I particularly like the percussion section that is played with breakneck speed on the tabla and casings of instruments.

It was recorded live in 1975, and perhaps feels a little dated now, but there is an appreciation of this type of music and it caters admirably to that fan base. However, for the rest of us who like our prog served up with a dash of eclectic heavy guitars chilled over with time signature changes and the occasional structure, the album begins to drain dry of innovation. Certainly the instruments are played with virtuoso musicianship, but this is really for collectors only who appreciate Indian music or who enjoy the free form improvisational style of Eastern music.