John Mclaughlin - 'Electric Guitarist' (1978) @320


John McLaughlin remains one of the more fascinating Miles Davis
alumni because, like John Coltrane before him, his growth as a
musician, band-leader, innovator and artist (believe me, they
are all separate things!) can easily be traced on record. Also,
like Coltrane, his advancement along those lines is steady and
phenomenal. This particular CD is a landmark because it is here
where all of these qualities first fuse as a complete, satisfying
and prodigious whole.
From his original, startling early work with Miles, to Tony Williams' Lifetime (an overlooked power-trio if ever there was one!) to Mahavishnu Orchestra, to his forays into Eastern music
and mysticism, this is where it all comes together for McLaughlin. It marks the first time that his astounding technical mastery emerges at the service of a highly ordered
musical intelligence, and not the other way around.
With the help of such friends as Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty,
Carlos Santana, Jack Bruce, Tony Williams, Patrice Rushin, David
Sanborn and others, McLaughlin weaves a program of personal,
astounding and beautiful music. Every tune represents a different marker along McLaughlin's personal musical journey, and each and every one of them is a gem. From the swaggering edge of "New York On My Mind," to the Latin-soul of "Friendship,"
to the exquisite beauty of "Every Tear From Every Eye," each tune
just gets better and better, just as McLaughlin did over the course of his career to this point. This is where we bid adieu
to McLaughlin, the enfant-terrible of jazz guitar and say hello
to McLauhlin the mature artist for the first time. And what an
artist he emerges as!!! This is one of the very few PERFECT jazz
albums ever made! There is no filler, no dead-weight, nothing on it anywhere that isn't of the first and highest order.
Get it!
If you listen to McLaughlin's version of “My Foolish Heart” from 1978's Johnny McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist, it's hard to logically explain how the same guitar player had also produced the sounds found on so many of his earlier records. It's hard to reconcile this tune with his approach on his debut Extrapolation, Miles' Tribute to Jack Johnson, Larry Coryell's Spaces, and various recordings by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. None of those earlier performances would have prepared you for McLaughlin's beautiful treatment of Victor Young and Nat Washington's jazz standard. His warm and serene arrangement sounds like the antithesis of what McLaughlin was known for.
Electric Guitarist was meant to be a comeback record for McLaughlin. Columbia Records was none too pleased that McLaughlin had produced three straight records with his Indian acoustic world music group Shakti. These records would eventually reach legendary status, but at the time they sold embarrassingly poorly. There was hope at Columbia that Electric Guitarist would bring John McLaughlin back to the top of the record sales heap. In the end, although it sold well, it did not sell as many records as Columbia had hoped.
Electric Guitarist features many of McLaughlin's contemporaries, including Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, Narada Michael Walden, Carlos Santana, Jerry Goodman, and David Sanborn. There is not one weak cut on the entire album. Electric Guitarist also marks the first recorded use of McLaughlin's scalloped fretboard electric guitar, an idea from his Shakti experience that gave him a brand new sound. McLaughlin was able to bend notes and even chords beyond limits. This technique opened up a whole new vocabulary for his compositions.
Key cuts to play really loud include a duet with Billy Cobham, ”Phenomenon-Compulsion,” and “Are You the One? Are You the One?,” featuring Tony Williams and Jack Bruce. This tune harkens back to the great Tony Williams Lifetime that featured McLaughlin, Bruce and the late Larry Young on organ. Even though, for obvious reasons, Young couldn't make this gig, he would have loved this tune. “Do You Hear The Voices You Left Behind,” based upon the changes of Coltrane's “Giant Steps,” is an unrelenting jazz force that McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette play for all they are worth.
Many all-star recordings do not live up to their promise. This album is not one of them. Johnny McLaughlin- Electric Guitarist was the last important recording of the initial jazz-fusion movement.
Released in 1978, Johnny McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist was really the first album, for me, which indicated just how varied John McLaughlin's talents really were. Sure, I had listened to Extrapolation, Jack Johnson, Larry Coryell's Spaces, a must have for all McLaughlin fans, Mahavishnu and Shakti. But none of those great albums prepared me for McLaughlin's lovely interpretation of the jazz standard "My Foolish Heart".
Electric Guitarist features many of McLaughlin's contemporaries including Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, Narada Michael Walden, Carlos Santana, Jerry Goodman, David Sanborn et al. There is not one weak cut on the entire album. Electric Guitarist also marked the first recorded usage of McLaughlin's scalloped fret-boarded electric guitar which gave him a brand new sound, inflections of which he maintains to this day - scalloped or non-scalloped. Key cuts to play really loud include "Phenomenon-Compulsion", a duet with Billy Cobham and "Are You the One? Are You the One?" featuring Tony Williams and Jack Bruce echoing Tony Williams Lifetime. And even though Lifetime's organist, the great Larry Young couldn't make the gig - he would have loved this tune.

Track List:
1. New York on My Mind - (5:45) (J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar; Jerry Goodman - violin; Fernando Saunders - bass; Stu Goldberg - electric piano, organ and mini-moog synthesizer; Billy Cobham - drums.
2. Friendship - (7:00) (J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar (2. guitar solo); Carlos Santana - electric guitar (1. guitar solo); Tom Coster - organ; Neil Jason - bass; Michael Walden - drums; Alyrio Lima - percussion; Armando Peraza - congas.
3. Every Tear from Every Eye - (6:50) (J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar; David Sanborn - alto sax; Patrice Rushen - piano; Alphonso Johnson - Taurus Bass Pedals and Bass; Tony Smith - drums.
4. Do You Hear the Voices that You Left Behind? - (7:39) (J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar; Chick Corea - piano, mini-moog; Stanley Clarke - acoustic bass; Jack DeJohnette - drums.
5. Are You the One? Are You the One? - (4:41) (J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar; Jack Bruce - bass; Tony Williams - drums.
6. Phenomenon: Compulsion - (3:21) (J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar; Billy Cobham - drums.
7. My Foolish Heart - (3:22) (V.Young & N.Washington, arr. by J.McLaughlin)
John McLaughlin - electric guitar
Recorded at Sound Mixer Studios (tracks: 1.3.6.7.) in New York and Devonshire Studios (tracks: 2.4.5.) in N. Hollywood, CA.
Recording dates: January 16 (2.), January 18 (5.), January 20 (4.), January 26 (1.), January 28 (3.), January 30 (6.), February 2 (7.), 1978.
Produced by John McLaughlin in association with Dennis McKay.
'Do You Hear The Voices That You Left Behind?' is dedicated to John Coltrane.