• Audience 9.1 - For the people in the know, you can’t really top this. It’s rare, it’s great, and now it exists. Frighteningly precise “mechanical jazz” for lack of actual descriptions, I mean, they had to make up a new word in order to categorize this band’s music!  For those who don’t know, dive in man, the water is freezing cold! MAGMA Théâtre du Taur, Toulouse November 9, 1972 TT 2:10:10 hrs CD 1: 01 -Instrumental (2:58) 07 -Dotz Hundin (14:33) 06 -Ündïa (6:15) 04 -Ki Ïahl O Lïahk (9:19) 05 -Piano Solo (8:04) 06 -Sowiloï (Soï Soï) (11:21) 07 -Korusz (14:56) [seamless transition] (67:27) CD 2: 08 -Korusz (Suite) (9:15) 09 -Korusz (Fin) Et Présentation Des Musiciens (1:25) 10 -Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh (38:16) 11 -Klaus Kombalad (4:45) (53:42)
  • Soundboard 9.6 - I was unfamiliar with this band, so listening to this stuff was a real eye (and ear) opener for me. They are quite good!  The sound quality is excellent as is the mix. Everything was in the best place for maximum enjoyment. Highly recommended. Magnum Birmingham NEC 12-April-88 1.Back to Earth 2.Vigilante 3.Start Talking Love 4.On a Storyteller's Night 5.Wild Swan 6.Lonely Night 7.Days of No Trust 8.Midnight 9.Just Like an Arrow 10.Kingdom of Madness 11.The Spirit 12.Sacred Hour Time: 56.19
  • Audience 9.4 - Having listened very critically to this performance, I offer the following conclusion: BRILLIANCE. Simply put, this is a mature John McLaughlin leading an ensemble through a series of confident, muscular, thought-provoking pieces of jazz-rock music that goes into many more places than the old band ever did. Does that mean it's all fire and speed? No, it's really not, although there are places where it is appropriate and the band goes there...with the utmost confidence. Bravo to John McLaughlin for knowing the strengths of his band and really allowing all of them to shine. Very mature and a positive outcome was the result. Great recording too! Mahavishnu Bottom Line New York City, NY August 14, 1985 Early Show Disc 1 01 Tuning 02 Radio - Activity 03 Clarendon Hills 04 Nostalgia 05 East Side West Side 06 Jonas Hellborg Solo - Little Wing Disc 2 07 Living In The Crest Of A Wave 08 Flight Of The Falcon 09 Nem Um Talvez 10 Just Ideas - Jozy 11 Pacific Express - Gottlieb Solo 12 Unknown title - Are You The One? Are You The One?
  • Soundboard 9.5 - Incredible! Sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Wow! Mahavishnu Orchestra 11/9/72 Community Theater Berkeley, CA Disc 1: 1. -Birds of Fire 2. -Miles Beyond 3. -You Know, You Know 4. -Dream Disc 2: 1. -One Word 2. -The Dance of Maya 3. -Sanctuary 4. -A Lotus On Irish Streams 5. -Vital Transformation
  • Soundboard 9.3 - The entirety of the early and late shows is here in soundboard quality. Amazing, what else can you say? Mahavishnu Orchestra Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA 1973-03-11 early Disc 1 01. Meeting of the Spirits 02. Open Country Joy 03. Noonward Race Disc 2 04. One Word 05. Hope 06. Awakening Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA 1973-03-11 late Disc 3 01. Birds of Fire 02. Miles Beyond 03. Dream (Part 1) Disc 4 04. Dream (Part 2) 05. One Word 06. Sanctuary 07. The Dance of Maya 08. Vital Transformation Billy Cobham - drums Jerry Goodman - violin Jan Hammer - keyboards Rick Laird - bass John McLaughlin - guitar
  • Soundboard 9.4 - Both shows exceptional quality, and performances are pretty exemplary. In fact, during the introduction to the Buffalo show a point is made regarding the last performance there at the venue that it was not their best due to an illness with a band member and that this show would be no such thing. I guess they wanted to make a clear statement. Mahavishnu Orchestra 1973-01-27 Century Theater, Buffalo, NY Disc 1 001. Greetings>Moments of Silence 002. Birds of Fire 003. Open Country Joy 004. Dawn Disc 2 005. Dance of Maya 006. Sanctuary 007. One Word 008. Hope 009. Celestial Terrestrial Commuters Mahavishnu Orchestra 1973-05-09 Morris A Mechanic Theater Baltimore MD Disc 3 010. Birds Of Fire 011. Open Country Joy 012. Noonward Race 013. You Know, You Know 014. The Dance of Maya 015. Vital Transformation Billy Cobham - drums Jerry Goodman - violin Jan Hammer - keyboards Rick Laird - bass John McLaughlin - guitar
  • Soundboard 9.4 - A very cool, immediate and high impact sound and vibe…and the band, My God! Not all of their shows had that insane intensity and sharpness…sometimes they wandered and lost focus but not here…no way.  This…is…amazing!  Play this for your kids’ friends when they try to impress you with some new flavor of the month band they are into. Ha! Mahavishnu Orchestra Adelbert Gymnasium Case Western University Cleveland, OH February 17, 1973 Disc 1 Birds Of Fire > Open Country Joy Hope > Awakening Miles Beyond Disc 2 One Word Sanctuary > The Dance Of Maya Vital Transformation John McLaughlin - Electric Doubleneck Guitar Rick Laird - Electric Bass Jerry Goodman - Electric Violin Jan Hammer - Keyboards Billy Cobham - Drums
  • Los Angeles 1972 FM Broadcast 9.0 - This is a fine tape for the vintage, sounding maybe a little “dated” after all it’s older than most of the people who plan on listening to it!  But, if you remember the band like it was yesterday, expect to be transported back in time with this show.

    Seattle 1973 Audience 8.8 - A fine tape, that brightens up as it goes and becomes a real charmer. The separation of instruments is really good, and that nice, tight, reverb after drum hits gives you a good sense of the hall.

    Mahavishnu Orchestra The Forgotten Tapes II 1975 Disc 1 Whiskey a Go Go Los Angeles, Ca. March 27, 1972 (1st set) 1. -John talks - Meeting of the Spirits 2. -Miles Beyond 3. -The Dance of Maya 4. -Band intros 5. -A Lotus On Irish Streams 6. -The Noonward Race Disc 2 Paramount Theater Seattle, WA 1973-11-17 01. Intro 02. Meeting Of The Spirits 03. Trilogy 04. Sister Andrea Disc 3 05. Dream 06. Sanctuary 07. One Word 08. Hope Band Members: John McLaughlin - guitar Jan Hammer - keyboards Jerry Goodman - violin Rick Laird - bass guitar Billy Cobham - drums

  • Stockholm 1975 FM Broadcast 9.2 - Clear and bright, the only thing my ears notice that could detract is the slight overcrowding in the upper mid frequency but typically that only seems to happen when there’s furious on stage jamming (which I guess when it is this band, that is a lot), but this is minor, this is a great recording and a pleasure to listen to!

    Millersville 1975 Audience 8.9 - This is a hot tape! Maybe lacks a little mid-band clarity, but this, again, is kind of being nitpicky seeing as how there’s a lot of soundboard tapes of this band (not so much from ’75 though). This show has seen very little circulation, if any at all, but it deserves to be in every collection and thankfully it is presented here alongside another great sounding show. Yes!

    THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA The Forgotten Tapes 1975 Disc 1 KULTURHUSET STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 1975-02-07 1. -Eternity’s Breath 2. -You know, you Know 3. -Sanctuary Disc 2 1. -Introduction 2. -If I can See - Be Happy 3. -Cosmic Strut 4. -Vision Is a Naked Sword Disc 3 State College Millersville, PA. April 19, 1975 01. -Eternity's Breath Pt's 1 & 2 02. -Sanctuary 03. -Vision Is A Naked Sword 04. -Introduction LINEUP: John McLaughlin: el-guitar Ralph Armstrong: el-bass Michael Walden: drums Phil Herschey: cello Bob Knapp: tp, flh, fl, perc Russell Tubbs: as, ss, perc Jean Luc Ponty: el-violin, violin Carol Shive, Steven Kindler: violin

  • FM Radio Broadcast 9.4 - A very “close room” sound, like they are playing in a tiny studio so the sound is very intense and right up front. Great! Jabberwocky New York City, NY, USA November 4, 1971 01 Intro (1:02) 02 Miles Beyond (13:09) 03 Dream (16:25) 04 Vital Transformation (11:54) 05 Dawn (17:17) 06 Sanctuary (7:44) 07 Awakening (10:22) TT - 77:56 John McLaughlin - Lead Guitar Rick Laird - Bass Guitar Jan Hammer - Keyboards Jerry Goodman - Violin Billy Cobham - Drums
  • Mahavishnu Orchestra Central Park 1972 Audience 8.6 - A somewhat percussive recording that has loads of middle band punch making for a sound that contains fierce kinetic energy. The performance is astounding, the recording adds an element of immediacy, with the drums especially sounding like they are placed right next to you. Very cool. Mahavishnu Orchestra Munchen 1972 Professional TV audio 9.3 - This is a nice one, and it is not suffering from TV compression although the “atmosphere” here is somewhat muted as if it was in a studio setting and not live in front of an audience. Either way, no bother, it’s great. Mahavishnu Orchestra Disc 1 Central Park N.Y.C. New York, U.S.A. August 8, 1972 touring "birds of fire" 1. -Meeting Of The Spirits 2. -You Know, You Know 3. -Dream 4. -One Word 5. -Resolution (Jack Bruce) Central Park Cont'd 1. -Dawn Disc 2 Kongreßsaa Deutsches Museum München, Bayern, Germany August 17, 1972 1972-08-17 FM broadcast 2. -Meeting of the Spirits 3. -You Know, You Know 4. -Band Intros - The Dance of Maya Disc 3 1. -One Word - Resolution 2. -A Lotus On Irish Streams 3. -Awakening John McLaughlin: guitar Jan Hammer: keyboards Jerry Goodman: violin Rick Laird: bass Billy Cobham: drums
  • Audience 8.7 - A good clear recording!
  • Soundboard 9.3 - All shows excellent! When you combine brilliant musicianship with highly innovative music at a time when it was still accepted, and toss in a liberal amount of improvisation, you will get Mahavishnu Orchestra. Mahavishnu Orchestra "Three In '73" 1973-08-14 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville IL Billy Cobham - drums Jerry Goodman - violin Jan Hammer - keyboards Rick Laird - bass John McLaughlin - guitar Disc 1 01. -Birds of Fire 02. -Sister Andrea 03. -Hope - Awakening 04. -Open Country Joy 05. -Dream 06. -Celestrial Terrestrial Communters Disc 2 Montreal Forum, Montreal, Canada 13 July 1973 01 -Introduction 02 -Meeting of the Spirits 03 -Miles Beyond 04 -Steppings Tones 05 -Sister Andrea 06 -Dream 07 -I Wonder - Awakening (beginning) Disc 3 Montreal Cont'd 01 -Awakening (Part 2) 02 -Awakening (Part 3) 03 -Awakening (Part 4 - conclusion) 04 -Meeting of the Spirits 1973-11-07 Palace Theatre NY NY 05. Dream 06. Sister Andrea 07. Hope - Celestial Terestrial Commuters
  • Audience 8.7 - Proper live recording from the audience, probably authorized by the band, sounds professional (may be a Soundboard but very hard to tell).
  • Audience 7.8 - Too bad this is not better quality because certainly it demands the attention of music collectors being one of the few times Jeff Beck jammed live on stage with John McLaughlin. I mean, you have to believe Jeff was pushed to try things he hadn’t even thought of yet, so to get to hear all that is a real treat regardless of the average audio quality. I should be specific and tell you that indeed you will hear all the guitars reasonably clear as those instruments thankfully come through the best.
  • Soundboard 9.4 - Fans of Frank Marino rejoice! Fantastic quality and BLAZING riff bashing by one of rock’s most criminally underrated axemen. Riff’s are certainly bashed but the classy jazz tinged scales that he tosses out with finesse really impresses. Get it now!
  • Audience 9.5 - Tremendous and powerful with a great tonality (much better than Frank’s 70’s tone in my opinion). A well rounded set, full of exquisite ensemble playing, tight and nimble riffing and mature, expressive solos.  Fantastic!

  • Radio Broadcast 8.5 - This is a big upgrade to what you may have heard before. Music is total mind frying acid induced psychedelia ala Hendrix. KILLER MAN!
  • Soundboard 9.4 - Terrific performance as usual by the criminally underrated master Frank Marino. This one will please all fans for sure. Graffiti Showcase Pittsburgh,Pa. 9/24/91 Disc 1 01-The Answer 02-Midnight Highway 03-King Bee Back Door Man 04-Dragonfly 05-Free Disc 2 06-Poppy 07-Strange Dreams 08-Wall Came Down 09-Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame 10-Johnny B.Goode/Who Do You Love/Bass Solo
  • Soundboard and Audience 8.7 – 8.6 – 8.4  - The first two discs are soundboard but show signs of age and lack brightness although both are clear. Disc 1 sounds like it was broadcast over the air, and is slightly better than disc 2. Disc 3 is an audience recording that sometimes peaks in volume causing some high end distortion (mainly present in the cymbal crashes) but is not bad overall.

  • Audience 8.3 - Tape limitations, some occasional phasing, but far out stuff and enjoyable!
  • Audience 8.4 - I would call this a very decent recording, with bass and guitar being pretty defined, which is great because I enjoy hearing distinctive bass notes. The drums are not as well defined, but they are there and come more to the fore during Red House. This is a highly recommended show, and he really pays homage to Hendrix at this gig. Mahogany Rush Winterland, San Francisco, CA March 30, 1975 Band line up Frank Marino : guitar, vocals Jimmy Ayoub : drums Paul Harwood : bass Total Time = 42:46 01 A New Rock-n-Roll 02 Red House 03 Talkin 'Bout A Feelin > Mona 04 Johnny B. Goode 05 Purple Haze -- tape cut @ 1:03 & drop out @ 1:51 -- 06 Star Spangled Banner 07 Voodoo Chile
  • Soundboard 9.0 - A rare show featuring Quicksilver guitarist John Cipollina.
  • Stereo Soundboard 9.6 - A fantastic and interesting tape, the live mix sometimes pans in stereo giving it a unique flavor. The drums and keyboards are placed superbly in the mix, vocals very strong, but it does lack some low end, not that it is thin or too bright, that is not the problem here at all it’s just that I think the bass may have been so loud through the P.A. that it didn’t need to pass through the board feed so you do hear it but it’s not super deep. Still, a great one for the collection and certainly if you like hard psychedelic rock but the kicker here is the appearance on 4 tracks by John Cipollina.

    Man Keystone Berkeley, CA August 9, 1976 Disc 1 01. -Let The Good Times Roll 02. -7171-551 03. -A Hard Way To Die 04. -The Welsh Connection 05. -Something Is Happening 06. -The Ride And The View 07. -You Are Out Of Your Head 08. -Born With A Future Disc 2 09. -C'Mon 10. -Many Are Called But Few Get Up 11. -Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You* 12. -A Hard Way To Live* 13. -Romain* 14. -Bananas* * with John Cipollina

  • John Miles Boston 1977 Audience 9.0 - A very well captured document, in fact the entire evening was recorded making for one very special listening experience. Talk about a time capsule!  Sound is excellent, putting you right up close and hearing pretty much every nuance of the music. Lovely! Gary Wright Boston 1977 Audience 9.0 - Excellent audio features a great atmosphere and decent, warm, and inviting tones of sound wafting overhead and funneling into your brain. Includes opening act and headlining act, great job by taper! Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Boston 1977 Audience 9.0 - The headlining act for the evening, they did not disappoint! A great capture here, pulls you right into the action, you hear every note in detail…a night to remember! An Evening At The Music Hall 1977 Disc 1 JOHN MILES Music Hall Boston Mass April 2nd 1977 1 -Intro 2 -House on the Hill 3 -Pull the Damm Thing Down 4 -Stand Up (and Give Me a Reason) 5 -Music 6 -High Flyer 7 -Slow Down THE BAND John Miles lead vocals keyboards guitar Bob Marshall bass Barry Black drums Gary Moberley keyboards Disc 2 GARY WRIGHT Music Hall Boston Mass April 2nd 1977 1 -Tune Up 2 -My Love Is Alive 3 -Water Sign 4 -Better By You Better Than Me 5 -Light Of Smiles 6 -She's Her Own Victim 7 -Time Machine 8 -I Don't Know 9 -Phantom Rider 10 -Blind Feeling 11 -Dream Weaver 12 -Are You Weeping 13 -Can't Find The Judge 14 -I'm Alright THE BAND Gary Wright Vocals Keyboards Peter Reilich Moog Bass Richard Baker Keyboards Art Wood Drums Hiroshi Upshur Piano Clavinet Betty Sweet Vocals Lorna Wright Vocals Disc 3 MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND Music Hall Boston Mass April 2nd 1977 1 -Waiter There's A Yawn In My Ear 2 -On The Road To Babylon 3 -Spirit In The Night 4 -Father By Day, Father By Night 5 -Captain Bobby Stout 6 -Blinded By The Light 7 -Instrumental 8 -Drum Solo 9 -Drums and Keyboards 10 -Mighty Quinn THE BAND Chris Hamlet Thompson lead vocals rhythm guitar Manfred Mann keyboards backing vocals Dave Flett lead guitar Colin Pattenden bass Chris Slade drums backing vocals

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