VISIONS OF THE EMERALD BEYOND

This is a great album and I am tired of seeing people downgrade it just because it doesn't sound like the first two. Quite frankly, although Birds of Fire is a wonderful album, some of the sounds and ideas are already becoming tired and are repetitious in themselves and when compared with The Inner Mounting Flame. But I guess it is human nature for us to want our favourite bands to continue on in the same vein. On its own, this is a fantastic album. More polished and more produced - Yes! But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. And in this case it could be said that the production lends itself to the impression that this album operates on a conceptual level as a whole - more so than its predecessors? Perhaps. It is full of spine-tingling and hauntingly beautiful moments and Jean-Luc is playing his tits off here with great eloquence. Nerada Michael Walden pounds the drums in a way that Billy Cobham never did - check Pastoral out - it blows me away every time as he slays the kit. Ralph Armstrong on bass is certainly a step-up from the ever-reliable yet plodding and somewhat limited efforts of Rick Laird. And the Mahavishnu himself is of course in fine touch. So check this album out and if you really give it a go it will give you at least a month of solid pleasure.