Mahavishnu in '72

[drogulus]

     I saw these guys a few times in '72 and '73, most notably at the now legendary Battle of Hempstead Turnpike where Zappa and McLaughlin faced off. The tension was palpable in the audience and apparently onstage as Ruth Underwood tells it.

     Anyway, here we go:

     https://www.youtube.com/v/rD36-Zn2bA4&t=1809s

[NJ Joe]

I've seen this before, but thanks for posting.  I'm enjoying watching it again.  One of my favorite bands. Must have been great seeing them live!
Love the McLaughlin/Cobham combination. 
I recently read McLaughlin's original choice for bass was Tony Levin, which I never knew.

[drogulus]

I've seen this before, but thanks for posting.  I'm enjoying watching it again.  One of my favorite bands. Must have been great seeing them live!
Love the McLaughlin/Cobham combination. 
I recently read McLaughlin's original choice for bass was Tony Levin, which I never knew.

     The first time I saw McLaughlin was with Lifetime. Jack Bruce, who'd played with McLaughlin in the Graham Bond group (along with Ginger Baker), was sitting in on bass, reading his part on a music stand (!).

     Lifetime was a bigger shock than MO because there was nothing remotely like it before. We sat there in a state of shock and befuddlement, guitarists influenced by blues, rock and Jazz, Bloomfield, Hendrix, Coryell, and now this? At some point we both burst out laughing, my brother and me, totally nervous laughter. This guy was fucking with us! He comes out in his short hair and a Fender Mustang like he was some kind of mildly autistic savant. A Fender Mustang....how could he do that? It was like the biggest "fuck you, where I'm going you can't follow" I ever saw.

[NJ Joe]

     The first time I saw McLaughlin was with Lifetime. Jack Bruce, who'd played with McLaughlin in the Graham Bond group (along with Ginger Baker), was sitting in on bass, reading his part on a music stand (!).

     Lifetime was a bigger shock than MO because there was nothing remotely like it before. We sat there in a state of shock and befuddlement, guitarists influenced by blues, rock and Jazz, Bloomfield, Hendrix, Coryell, and now this? At some point we both burst out laughing, my brother and me, totally nervous laughter. This guy was fucking with us! He comes out in his short hair and a Fender Mustang like he was some kind of mildly autistic savant. A Fender Mustang....how could he do that? It was like the biggest "fuck you, where I'm going you can't follow" I ever saw.

Great story, thanks for sharing.

The only time I ever saw him was acoustic with DiMeola and DeLucia at a theater in northern New Jersey in 1983.  Your story reminds me of similar feelings I had that night, because he sat in the center, leaning back in his seat with his leg crossed over his knee, as though he was casually relaxing and playing.

[NJ Joe]

Are you talking about McLaughlin or DeLucia?  That posture is the traditional Flamenco way of sitting and playing.  Of those three, I liked Paco DeLucia's early work when he was doing Flamenco Puro the best.  McLaughlin is very good, but I have usually preferred his acoustic stuff, e.g. Shatki, as opposed to Mahavishnu Orchestra (which blew me away when I first heard it but I soon grew tired of the sound of the band).  I also liked his work with Miles.

McLaughlin. Paco sat in the traditional Flamenco posture, but John looked like he was there for a casual jam session. I was amazed he could play like that while appearing so relaxed.
I enjoy Shakti as well, but I've yet to tire of the MO sound.

[drogulus]

 

      Here we have a bunch of drummers/percussionists from the various Zappa bands telling stories, including the time Mahavishnu opened for them at Nassau Memorial Coliseum. I remember the feeling sitting there, this is going to be really interesting. I mean it wasn't supposed to be a competition, right? But, you know it couldn't help being that, and so finding out that it wasn't just me, or us, it was like that for the participants, as I just did looking at this for the first time just the other day, was kind of nice.

      Without further ado, and ado is certainly something we can do without, this:

     https://www.youtube.com/v/ztoeFXJsxJI

     

     

[Scion7]

Saw them four times. Masterful guitarist.
Jeff Beck said in a 1974 interview, "I can't do 25% of what McLaughlin can do on guitar."
This, of course, was a wild exaggeration from a great admirer, but it is a fitting tribute to JM.