LIVE AT THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

This is actually an excellent album of John McLaughlin playing fusion primarily on acoustic guitar. It's nice to hear a musician of this caliber using an acoustic guitar to play something other than latin flavored jazz.

McLaughlin and sidemen Kai Eckhardt (on acoustic bass) and Trilok Gurtu (on percussion) start out slow (perhaps to warm up) with Miles Davis' Blue In Green. They then continue with a trio of pieces from the eighties Mahavishnu band. First a medley of Just Ideas and Jozy shows the trio gaining momentum. But things get hot with Florianopolis, expanded out to almost fifteen minutes. Both McLaughlin and Eckhardt stretch out completely on this tune, far exceeding the original version.

But the true highpoint of the set is Pasha's Love. This piece by Gurtu features amazing drumming and astounding licks for both guitar and bass. Mother Tongue another long piece is almost as good as the two preceding tracks, but not quite. And Blues For L.W. brings the set back for a peaceful conclusion.

One of the best acoustic fusion albums in my collection.