Mahavishnu Orchestra Visions Of The Emerald Beyond CD

 Visions of the Emerald Beyond by the Mahavishnu Orchestra
Some of the very best music I have ever heard, and will ever have heard in my entire life. Although the sophisticated material recorded here runs the risk of being 'musicians' music', the sheer joyful virtuosity demonstrated can be enjoyed by one and all. One of the Mahavishnu Orchestra's best recordings. Not just jazz, but incredibly inspired music.
Submitted by Kenyon (Seattle, WA. USA)
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 Not The Best Is Right
A few people apparently dug this - I only partly did. After the disaster of Apocalypse, McL retrenched and modified his 'vision' down to a smaller group including a small acoustic section, but still doggedly incorporating some treacly female vocals & quasi-worship choruses. He still didn't get it - jamming pop-ethereal together with chamber classical under an umbrella of fusion and funk bombast was still forcing far too disparate elements together. They were a Grand Canyon apart in dynamics, aesthetics, and most important [though obviously not to the notoriously stubborn and sometimes elitist McL] in appeal to original MO listener's preferences. Sometimes it sort of worked; Visions has its moments, moreso than Apocalypse, but the parts that don't work or are unengaging are still too many to make this a completely satisfying FUSION album. In that, it's still neither fish nor fowl. And, as if to flaunt self-indulgence, there is the future specter of disco in "Can't Stand Your Funk," a harbinger of the crass music industry commercialism that would soon strangle what was left of jazz-rock fusion's original promise out of existence by the end of the 70's. If you weren't a million seller like the BeeGees or K.C. and the Sunshine Band, etc., good luck getting a contract renewal. McL then chucked it all for acoustic Shakti and college/jazzbar/coffeehouse elites. This CD still has some scorching soloing, nice playing [esp. by Ponty who actually outdoes McL!] overall, but for the "real" MO - stick with the first two LPs, the Lost Trident Sessions, and the ego-clashes-on-parade MO Live CD.
Submitted by Nate (Boston, MA)
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 Not the Best MO, But the Best MO Music Ever
Please note that the reviewer above probably intended to rate this album with five stars, but the rating defaults to three. If one doesn't see the rating box, then the album winds up with a three-star rating. This album by the second incarnation of John McLauglin's Mahavishnu Orchestra (MO2) is the best of all time in my opinion. Though not quite up to the stellar level of MO1, MO2 is a great group, and with this album they have made music history. I've worn-out three vinyl versions of "Visions" and now have two CDs at different locations. If this is playing in my final moments on this earth, then I'll die happy.
Submitted by jmoriarty (Reading, PA, USA)
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