Mahavishnu Orchestra "Birds Of Fire"

"Birds Of Fire" broke new ground in the jazz fusion genre, featuring the incredible John McLaughlin on guitar. The group's second effort is the Mahavishnu Orchestra's definitive recording. The tempestuous mix of jazz, rock, and Eastern influences is at its height here, and all of the players in this notoriously ego-plagued group challenge themselves--and each other--to push the envelope. The themes, generally stated by McLaughlin and searing electric violinist Jerry Goodman, sound regal, unfolding in an elegant, magisterial way. Drummer Billy Cobham (another Miles alumnus) provides pounding polyrhythms over which McLaughlin and Goodman mix it up with keyboardist Jan Hammer. Hammer's synthesizer solos blazed a new trail for the synthesizer as a lead instrument, particularly in his guitar-like use of pitch-bend. The pastoral, acoustic strains of "Thousand Island Park" provide a brief respite before the listener is hurled back into the firestorm. "Hope" could be a distant cousin of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir," while the closing "Resolution" bears similarities to RED-era King Crimson, making it plain that "Birds Of Fire" takes both sides of the jazz-rock sound seriously.