Black Light

I remember 1st hearing John in college..back in the late 70's. I immediately asked, Who the hell is that on Guitar? My friend smiled and replied, thats Johnny Boy!! He was playin with his Mahavishnu Orchestra. And he and the drummer (BC) stood out. I went back and brought his old stuff and have been following him ever since. He's always palying great with something..different to express. Still good and still..on time!

Having been fortunate enough to listen to John McLaughlin since the early 1970’s, and to have seen him live many times (from Mahavishnu Orchestra to Shakti to the Guitar Trio and Remember Shakti) I can certainly say that at age 73(!) he’s playing with the same divine fire he’s always had, and with more joy than ever. In my opinion this is the strongest of his albums with The 4th Dimension, which I’m finally willing to concede really is his best electric band ever, surpassing even the rightly legendary Orchestra. Black Light is both innovative and retrospective. There’s the fire of a raw live Mahavishnu Orchestra performance, strong Indian influence in both vocals and percussion a la Remember Shakti, the glossy production of Industrial Zen, innovative keyboard sounds that bring to mind Jan Hammer back in the day (as well as McLaughlin’s long friendship with Joe Zawinul), Ranjit Barot’s Billy Cobham-meets-Zakir Hussain manically precise drumming, Etienne Mbappe’s Jaco-on-speed bass playing and everywhere Gary Husband coloring the proceedings with gorgeous keyboard sounds. The CD starts off with “Here Comes the Jiis,” which I’ve read is a tribute to the unbelievably talented, sadly gone U. Srinivas. It’s an excellent composition and the playing is spectacular. Next there’s the jazzy, Miles-ish “Clap Your Hands,” the lovely ballad “Being You, Being Me” and more variety to come, with surprising elements of techno and hip-hop in “Panditji” and of course the album’s emotional core, the gorgeous “Un Hombre Que Sabia,” McLaughlin’s tender, fiery tribute to his dear friend Paco de Lucia, where his acoustic playing brings to mind the best of his Belo Horizante CD but with even more fire and finesse, impossible as that seems. I thought “Gaza City” was the only forgettable composition here, but it may still grow on me. Otherwise these are all keeper tunes and the passion, precision, supreme virtuosity and infectious joy of this ensemble truly does put them a full Dimension beyond any other fusion group out there. Blazing brilliance from one of the great innovators in modern music.

Every time John puts a new album out is a big deal for every guitarist in the world. This album features a special homages to his partners Paco de Lucia and U. Srinivas. Both musical geniuses that left us too soon. Thank you John!

JM is great, an innovator and a important presence in modern music and guitar. That being said I wish he would get out of his comfort zone as he gets older. He was an explorer in the 70's and 80's and was refreshing and exciting. As technically great as this performance is it sounds the same as many of his previous recordings. I understand that jumping around stylistically makes less money.... but when you have the talent and abilities of JM the creative world is wide open to you. I bet if one had the opportunity to sit in his living room and just listen to him play, without thought to audience or production, it would be an incredible experience. I hope he makes that available in the future.

Just dowloaded Black Light and am enjoying listening to the tracks. My “early” favorites are Being You Being Me, a tune that is reminiscent of the sound of Shakti, Here come the Jiis, John’s tribute to U. Srinivas (“Mandolin” Srinivas) who tragically passed away last year, El Hombre que Sabia, an acoustic tribute to Paco de Lucia, and Gaza City.