Live at the Royal Festival Hall

Artist: John McLaughlin Trio
Label: Polygram Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Live
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 042283443624
EAN: 0042283443624
ASIN: B00000476R

Release Date: 1990-05-02

Related Categories:

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Jazz Fusion

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Listmania:

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Tracks:

Blue In Green
Just Ideas
Florianapolis
Pasha's Love
Mother Tongues
Blues For L.W.

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Customer Reviews:

Sit down, buckle up........2006-12-07

This was my earliest exposure to John McL, together with Apocalypse by Mahavishnu Orchestra. A friend loaned me a couple of cassette tapes during my student days. It's everything the folks here have written about and more. Reading a review would do it 0.2% justice. You have to listen to it.

There's nothing that can describe what you feel when you hear Mother Tongues and Blues for LW. Their absolutely incredible raw energy, phrasing and musicality knocked me flat like nothing else I'd heard. When I got a job and started earning, this was among the first CD's I bought.

I listened to this yesterday, 15 years after I first heard it, and it still knocks me flat like nothing else. If you are even remotely interested in jazz of any sort, you owe it to yourself to listen to this.

Amazing.......2006-01-27

Amazing! Certainly one of the best albums I own. I can't imagine anyone not finding something thrilling on this album.

Pure Genius and Inspired Musical Chemistry!.......2004-12-15

What a breath of fresh air this disc was when it first came out and still is to this very day! After the disastrous resurrection of the Mahavishnu name in the 80's (with NONE of the brilliance), Johnny Mac regrouped and set off on a new course, armed with a customized acoustic axe (w/ midi) and the combined innovativve brilliance of percussionist Trilok Gurtu and a rotating cast of soulful bassists (here, it's Kai Eckhardt).

The end result was nothing short of beautiful, where nuance, beauty and detail combine with ferocity and mystery.

Energized by an appreciative audience, our heroes unfurl Miles Davis' "Blue In Green" which takes on a whole new set of colors in McLaughlin's capable hands as Gurtu and Eckhardt lend empathetic support and Eckhardt turning ina very soulful bass solo as well. "Just Ideas/Jozy" gets downright funky and then leads into the fiery reworking of "Florianapolis" from "Adventures in Radioland". Here, the melody really comes to the fore even as the tempo is DANGEROUSLY high, yet the fearsome threesome keep it together, turning in melodious ideas and never letting the high-velocity get in the way of them. This version absolutely DESTROYS the original (I sure don't miss the shrill high-tech overkill of the 80's Mahavishnu at all here). "Pasha's Love" is a Trilok Gurtu piece that features raga-like exchanges alternating with beautifully yearning segments.

The real piece de resistance is "Mother Tongues", which builds slowly with McLaughlin's tasteful use of guitar-synth and the rhythm section's inventive slow smoldering swing, things get more fiery and then, the big feature, Trilok's percussion extravaganza as McLaughlin and Eckhardt receded quietly into the background. Trilok begins very quietly with all kinds of forest sounds and builds to a monstrous climax, something like a huge steam locomotive pulling out of the station and gathering speed, eventually coming to rest with a beautiful mysterious close.

For an encore, there's "Blues For LW" featuring a feisty vocal-jamming section with all 3 musicians and before long, the crowd roars its approval as our heroes exit triumphantly.

The next best thing to being there.

Simply beautiful.......2004-09-22

Having been lucky enough to be at the Royal Festival Hall for this recording I can heartily reccomend. McLaughlin, Eckhardt and Gurtu held the audience absolutely spellbound for the entire duration. The focus and intensity of their complex interplay was simply astounding. When this is coupled with the originality of their soundscapes and the emotional depth of the music then you have a truly exceptional recording. I bought it on vinyl when it first came out, now I've got it on CD. I urge you to do so.

I Thought He Was Done!.......2003-03-03

When this CD came out in 1990, I did not expect it to be as wonderful and creative as it is! John had spend the 80's playing more straight up jazz stuff. Honestly, he was boring then. This record brought fusion back, even though it is not a fusion record. This also exposed me to Trilok Gurtu for the first time. He is astounding and John is focused and alive on this recording. This is fusion but it is not at the same time. Intelligent playing and arranging, I can not believe that it was live... but it is! Fantastic spin!

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