MAHAVISHNU

John McLaughlin did the unthinkable and raised the Mahvishnu Orchestra name in the mid eighties yet with only one other member, despite himself-or even in spite of himself, who was part of the original unit that created such titanic fusion albums with Inner Mounting Flame and Birds Of Fire plus the frenetic live From Nothingness To Eternity album in a two year period from 1971 to 1973. Not forgetting the Lost Trident Sessions which recorded in 1973 finally saw light in 1999. While the early albums were timeless and superb creations Mahavishnu is an album caught in the eighties and suffers from the trappings of a mid eighties mentality and lacking the soul which McLaughlin/Cobham/Evans/Hellborg may have brought to the party if under a different moniker and ambition. Anything released under the Mahavisnhu Orchestra name is going to be compared with those two first albums at least and there would obviously be that feeling and atmopsphere involved in the recording, which could well be part of the failings of this album. That and the expectation that would come with the ushering of a Mahavishnu Orchestra revival. Experimental sometimes but bordering on lethargic, there is little here to excite anyone and only sparks of the exhilarating music McLaughlin is known for. Even the die hard fan would and should have trouble relating to this work. Soon after this albums completion Billy Cobham saw the error of the resurrection and washed his hands of the whole sorry affair.