INDUSTRIAL ZEN

One of the best releases of this year (ie 2006), in many ways this harks back to a previous album, "The Promise", from some 10 years ago - indeed some of the same players are here including two great drummers, Dennis Chambers (used extensively) and Vinnie Colaiuta (just one track here). As is the style of the album: McLaughlin is in experimental mode, and here it works well (not always the case with JM!), although the title of the album - "Industrial Zen"!!??? - is banal. McLaughlin uses synth a lot here and to good effect - a blistering solo on "To Bop or Not To Bop", and again on "Dear Dalai Lama", in duet with Dennis Chambers in the way he used to duel with Cobham. Some interesting musicians - Shankar Mahadevan provides a great Eastern vocal line on the final track, "Mother Nature". It is one of McLaughlins' true fusion outings and all credit for him pushing the boundaries when he could easily sit back and relax. Solid 4 stars.