Search - John McLaughlin :: John Mclaughlin Montreux Concerts (Bonus CD)

Want 20+ Hours of Music That Truly BURNS? Look No Further

TUCO H. | Los Angeles, CA | 12/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great Stuff. Lots and lots of great stuff here.



The 17 minute version of "Meeting of the Spirits" on the One Truth Band 1977 CD with Shankar and Sonship Theus is MINDBLOWING, second only to the FRIGHTENING, GODLIKE version on the legendary Mahavishnu Cleveland 1972 concert.



The SHAKTI discs are all PRIME, just fantastic stuff, as good and often better than any of the previously released Shakti & Remember Shakti albums. The Chick Duet Disc is considered by some fans I've talked to, a masterpiece concert, but for me it was only quietly impressive with a little too much we-are-geniuses-jazzifying posturing, especially on Corea's part.



The Live version of "Seven Sisters" on the Heart of Things Concert is amazing. The simultaneous soloing by John and Gary Thomas on this tune is the quintessence of all that is great about fusion.



The ULTIMATE CONCERT though or at least the one with the highest quotient of SHEER FUN is the De Lucia /McLaughlin Duets disc. They both do a crazy solo set each before they start jamming and it quickly turns into the most jaw-dropping acoustic playing you've ever heard. On a par and often surpassing anything on "Friday Night in San Francisco," (Di Meola being absent notwithstanding, in fact, this seems to make things a little more loose and soulful). The versions of "Spain," "Florianapolis," "David" and "Guardian Angel" on here are so intense and so awesome, I would pay 230 dollars just for that one concert alone! The first time you hear it, you will swear De Lucia has no peer on acoustic guitar and never will have one. The tenth time you listen, once you're more into what's actually being played than clarity of tone and sheer warp speed, you realize that McLaughlin is the man, that he's the one that truly keeps these tunes endlessly DEEP & interesting with his superior knowledge of scales and restless inventiveness. Because of this, he plays stuff in improvisation that De Lucia, as great as he is, absolutely could not play without having to sit down and run through it a few times first."

If you're a fan, get it before it disappears...

Jonathan W. Brown | Chelsea, ME USA | 04/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening intently to McLaughlin for thirty years or so, and this set contains great experiences with all his many guises, delivered in high quality audio of the best way to hear him - live in concert. It's like finding seventeen undiscovered Beethoven symphonies or a dozen Bach oratorios. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Stunning

Georgia Guitarist | Marietta, GA United States | 07/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wasn't aware of this release until I saw it on amazon in July 2006. Being a John McLaughlin devotee, I ordered it immediately.



I've had this set about a week, and so far have made it through the first nine discs, plus the bonus disc. With seven discs still to go, I already know that this is one of the best purchases I've ever made, despite its heavy price tag.



This set captures everything that makes John McLaughlin who he is. Blazing fast guitar licks, sometimes downright tasteless and rude (..that's not a complaint...), sometimes playing with the utmost restraint and taste, sometimes hogging the spotlight (...once again, not a complaint...), sometimes generously sharing the spotlight and virtually always stretching song lengths well beyond those of the original versions.



This set certainly has its imperfections. These sound like soundboard recordings, so sometimes the mix is not great and sometimes it takes a few seconds for the sound person to locate the soloist and increase the volume to the right level. On the first two discs (Mahavishnu Orchestra circa 1974, with Jean Luc Ponty) the sound levels are too high, and therefore distorted although I think this gets a little better by the second disc. In short, this sounds like a bootleg, although a generally very high quality bootleg.



Negatives from my listening so far? I wish there were fewer or shorter drum solos (but I love the Shakti percussion solos) and I find the duets with Chick Corea to be downright boring. Finally, sometimes the songs really do just carry on too long; the band runs out of things to say and just meanders.



Despite the weaknesses in the recorded mix and my "complaints" in the preceding paragraph, I give this set 5 stars. Such issues are inherent in live recordings and I expected them.



This set traces the many musical environments in which a brilliant guitarist honed his craft and became even more brilliant. I can't wait to continue my explorations of the final seven discs."