Birds of Fire

---

---

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
After mastering bebop in London in the 1960s, guitarist John McLaughlin took a sharp left turn in 1969-70 when he recorded with Miles Davis and Tony Williams. By 1971 he was seeking a little stadium rock action with a group of likeminded virtuosos in the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Despite its bravura juxtapositions of hard rock, raga, classical music and assorted time signatures, Mahavishnu lacked the harmonic depth of the jazz McLaughlin had relinquished. It was left to others, such as Weather Report and The Brecker Brothers, to keep alive the harmonic richness of jazz in fusion, but Mahavishnu took to heart the early 70s idea that everything could--and should--be mixed with everything else. "Open Country Joy", leaping violently from laidback country to frenzied rock, is a case in point. This reissue comes with a handsome, well-illustrated booklet containing a new essay on the group. --IMark Gilbert/I

---

From Amazon.com
If not for the Mahavishnu Orchestra's first album, iThe Inner Mounting Flame/i, this second, 1973 outing might well be considered the greatest of all jazz-fusion essays. Both are staggering calls to celestial coursing and reckoning, and to resolution. All is breathtakingly purposeful and assured, with vast group cohesion, and phenomenal contributions by keyboardist Jan Hammer, violinist Jerry Goodman, bassist Rick Laird, torrential drummer Billy Cobham, and foremost, by the leader, guitarist John McLaughlin. One hears all the elements of his musical makeup: Tal Farlow; Django Reinhart's stunning single-note runs; flamenco guitar; sophisticated Delta blues; way-over-the-top arena-rock distortion, feedback, and power amplification; and Indian classical and folk music. All that, plus childhood lessons in classical piano and violin and recent studies with spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, set the cosmic stew to boil. I-- Peter Monaghan/I

---

Customer reviews

review by: Cirenor date: 2008-08-27 rating:
35 Years later and it's got better
When it came out in 1973 this was one of those 'never heard anything like it before moments'. I was aware of the previous The Inner Mounting Flame which had felt somewhat bitty and disconected to me (but maybe it's time I gave that another try too), but nothing prepared me for the sheer venomousness of this album. I've ummed and ahhd about reacquiring it for a while, but it arrived yesterday, and as it hit my deck it immediately plastered me to to the opposite wall. br / br /At the time McLaughlin was an anomoly. While everyone else wore jeans and raggy tea-shirts and had hair down on their shoulders, this guy dressed in white and had a crew cut that made him look like a suspiciously friendly marine. In an age where anyone with a brain was 'looking for something' John was considered the archetypal 'spiritual' musician. One of those who'd seemed to have found what the rest of us were 'looking for'. Even then though, there was such a clear contradiction - how does such a spiritual man compose and play such utterly demonic music? It certainly caused me to rethink what the term 'spiritual' might actually mean.

---

review by: davidbirkett date: 2007-09-24 rating:
Even better than I remember it.
Probably because I'm listening on a much better sound system. The coolest album I have ever heard.

---

review by: Chris date: 2006-09-24 rating:
Weird Wonderful
I came to Birds Of Fire after discovering John McLaughlin on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew - the best record of all time i.m.o.. Initially I thought the music sounded a little dated, but I was soon entranced by the strange rhythms, beautiful melodies and (almost) ludicrous virtuosity of the musicians. After listening to it a couple of times I am hooked - it is a truly breathtaking ride that skips, without a hint of contrivance, between different musical styles (mainly rock and folk) and back again in the blink of an eye. One shouldn't really single out individual musicians in such a brilliant ensemble but McLaughlin has got to be a candidate for the most complete guitarist of all time and Cobham's drumming is so fast, light and inventive as to defy belief. br / br /Buy this record, put any prog rock prejudices you might have on one side, and be astonished by the music.

---

review by: date: 2005-02-16 rating:
Truly amazing
This is, in two words, virtuoso musicianship. The ability to just pick a time signature out at random and play it is something only the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report can do well.brMc Laughlin's woozy guitar and Cobham's lightning speed drumming are the force behind Birds Of Fire, Mahavishnu's best album. It knocks The Inner Mounting Flame and Inner Worlds for six. As I am only 14, I wasn't around when Mahavishnu were in full flight, but I can imagine the impression this record made.brIf you want to try something modern in a similar vein, try "Deloused In The Comatorium" by The Mars Volta. This is an awesome record and they follow a lot of Mahavishnu's playing styles.brSo, Birds Of Fire, awesome, five stars.


review by: Enjilos date: 2004-05-15 rating:
Loud, energetic but spiritual ... Mahavishnu in full flight
John McLaughlin's five-piece Mahavishnu were really flying when they made 'Birds of Fire', a record that brings together the power of rock with the swing of jazz (Rick Laird had a pure jazz pedigree) and a lightness of lyrical touch that was almost Celtic.pThere was a spontaneity and an experimentation about this music that carried on the spirit of Miles' 'Bitches Brew', a record on which McLaughlin made a distinctive contribution and which hinted at so much that was to come. pBut 'Birds of Fire' has a coherence to it, as well, that a lot of electric jazz from that time lacked. There was always a huge integrity and effort in what McLaughlin did, even when playing at 120 miles an hour with drummer Billy Cobham powering through and Jan Hamer's electric keyboards slicing through the octaves and the ozone.pLoud, energetic but somehow spiritual music. Blew me away when I heard it in the early 1970s and still gives me the shivers.

---

Similar products

The Inner Mounting Flame
Visions of the Emerald Beyond
The Inner Mounting Flame
Apocalypse
Between Nothingness Eternity

---

Similar categories

Music . Special Features . Bargain CDs . Budget
Music . Styles . Rock . General AAS
Music . Styles . Jazz . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Jazz . Hard Bop
Music . Styles . Jazz . Post-bop . General AAS
Music . Styles . Jazz . Fusion . General AAS
Music . Styles . Jazz . Labels . Sony
Music . Substores . Regular Stores . Artist Pages Filter Nodes . Main Albums
Music . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . CD . CD Album

---