Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds Of Fire
Album Review of John McLaughlin's Jazz-Rock Fusion Group
Jul 21, 2009
The group, led by John McLaughlin on electric guitar, with Jerry Goodman on violin, Jan Hammer on keys, Rick Laird on bass and the electric Billy Cobham on drums, had achieved such success and admiration that by 1972 they were being supported by acts such as The Eagles and Aerosmith, and headlining venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York.
They released Birds Of Fire to great success in early 1973, but the pressures of constant touring led to the line-up's disintegration by year's end.
Jerry Goodman's dramatic violin drives Birds Of Fire's opening cut, pushing the beat along and providing McLaughlin the space to let loose on his electric guitar. The frenetic pace of the track successfully reflects the image of birds in motion, with a pinch of filmic melodrama added to it.
Miles Beyond
'Miles Beyond', a tribute to Miles Davis, with whom McLaughlin had worked on seminal fusion records such as Bitches Brew and A Tribute To Jack Johnson, is propelled by dynamic interplay between Billy Cobham, another Davis alumni, on drums and McLaughlin. The two push each other to take the sound towards a more rocky, Hendrix-esque area than most fusion bands would attempt. 'Miles Beyond' also references 'Mademoiselle Mabry', a track from Davis' 1968 Filles De Kilimanjaro.
Jan Hammer's Moog playing is given its first extended stretch of solo space on 'Celestial Terrestrial Commuters', although the track is overshadowed by the high-end, bordering on distortion competition between McLaughlin and Goodman's violin. The clash between the rock and classical sound gives the Mahavishnu Orchestra an unusual sound, yet one with its emphasis on rock and excitement was akin to the sound of the era.
The more subdued 'Thousand Island Park', an impeccable piece of musicianship with McLaughlin moving on to acoustic guitar, Hammer on to grand piano and Rick Laird on to upright bass, is the only acoustic cut on Birds Of Fire, but is more impactful for its solidarity.
The importance of Goodman's violin to the sound of early Mahavishnu Orchestra is proven on 'Hope', an imposing and foreboding piece which Goodman dominates. The extended jam 'One Word' demonstrates the tightness the Mahavishnu Orchestra had achieved after a year of near-non-stop touring.
Mini-Moog
Cobham's double bass drums and Laird's bass offer the melodic triumvirate of McLaughlin, Goodman, and Hammer to experiment and play off one another. Hammer's introduction of the mini-Moog on Birds Of Fire provides another interesting sound for the group to play with, and the concentration and ear for sound of all three is in evidence. Cobham too is given a chance to display his lightning hands and stretch out on 'One Word'.
The atmospheric 'Sanctuary' allows Jan Hammer to experiment with the sounds and possibilities provided by his mini-Moog, reflecting the musical interest in the instrument seen in the works of near-contemporaries such as Spirit.
Grateful Dead
'Open Country Joy' references the sound of the Grateful Dead's American Beauty album for its folk-tinged opening, before the Mahavishnu Orchestra turn up the pace and volume, rocking out. Within an instant, the extremely proficient musicianship of the group drop the tune back into folk territory, with Goodman's violin even reflecting country music.
Birds Of Fire then closes with the aptly titled 'Resolution'. A stomping procession, with an expert building of interest of tone, the track does not reach the heights produced elsewhere on the record, but acts as a fitting summation of their ideas and talents, Cobham's lightning drums being the last sound heard as the record fades.
Birds Of Fire sold in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States, and reached the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100, a reflection of the record buying public's acceptance of instrumental music in the early 1970s. The record was the last proper studio recording of the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, although McLaughlin would record later albums such as Apocalypse with different members.
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