Shakti with John McLaughlin
Shakti
Formed 1975
Group Members John McLaughlin Zakir Hussain Ramnad V. Raghavan Lakshminarayana Shankar T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram
Genres Jazz
Styles Fusion, World Fusion
As jazz-rock fusion pioneer John McLaughlin delved deeper into Eastern spirituality and mysticism, he developed a corresponding interest in the music of South India. Following the collapse of the second version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1975, McLaughlin put together Shakti, an outfit dedicated to fusing high-energy jazz and Indian music. In addition to McLaughlin (who played acoustic guitar instead of his customary electric), Shakti featured violinist Lakshminarayana Shankar, tabla player Zakir Hussain, and mridangam players T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram and Ramnad V. Raghavan. The group's innovative self-titled debut was released in the summer of 1975, after which Raghavan departed, leaving them a quartet. Two further Shakti albums — 1976's A Handful of Beauty and 1977's Natural Elements — appeared before McLaughlin elected to move on to other projects. In 1999, McLaughlin reunited with Hussain and Vinayakram for a new double-disc album, Remember Shakti, which also featured bansuri master Hariprasad Chaurasia. — Steve Huey
src: AllMusic.com
Shakti with John McLaughlin
Artist Shakti
Album Title Shakti with John McLaughlin
Date of Release Jul 5, 1975 (release) inprint
AMG Rating
Genre Jazz
Styles World Fusion, Fusion, Post-Bop
Type live
Time 52:
Library View Click here to see this album in MARC format
Product Purchase Click here to buy this album
For his next act, the decibel champion of electric jazz shocked the world by unplugging and returning to South Indian music before an excitable audience at South Hampton College. Yet the alert McLaughlin follower will note that beyond the reliance upon South Indian instruments and scales, there are unbroken links to records like My Goal's Beyond and the high-speed electric music that McLaughlin was casting aside for now. McLaughlin called his new quintet Shakti, which means "creative intelligence and beauty and power" and the music here has all of that and something else, a ferocious streak inherited from the Mahavishnu days. McLaughlin ignites "Joy" by playing at a blazing speed, his cohorts L. Shankar (violin), R. Raghavan and T.S. Vinayakaram (mridangam), and Zakir Hussain (tabla) keeping up with the furious unison tempos with great dexterity and discipline, while a reworking of "Lotus Feet" forms a meditative interlude. Side two is taken up by a single lengthy raga-like track in which McLaughlin combines his rapid-fire Western manner with note-bending techniques clearly emulating a sitar, and the Indians get plenty of dueling room. In its way, this fire-eating acoustic music is just as energizing as the most electrified Mahavishnu flights. — Richard S. Ginell
1. Joy performed by John McLaughlin / Shakti - 18:15
2. Lotus Feet performed by John McLaughlin / Shakti - 4:46
3. What Need Have I for This/What Need Have I performed by John McLaughlin / Shakti - 29:03
John McLaughlin - Guitar, Guitar, Producer, Producer, Performer
Mike Berniker - Digital Producer
Zakir Hussain - Percussion, Tabla, Tabla
Larry Keyes - Digital Remastering
Ramnad V. Raghavan
Lakshminarayana Shankar - Violin, Violin, Vocals
Stan Tonkel - Engineer
T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram - Percussion, Vocals
John Ephland - Liner Notes, Liner Notes
T.S. Vinayakaram - Ghantam, Mridangam, Mridangam, Ghatam
1975 LP Columbia 34162
1975 LP CBS 34162
1991 CD Columbia CK-46868
CD Sony 46868
1995 CD Columbia 469905
1990 CD Columbia 46868
1990 CD Columbia 46868
1991 CS Columbia PCT-34162
1991 CS Columbia CT-46868
1991 CS Sony 46868
2001 CD Sony International 467905
src: AllMusic.com
Shakti
Shakti with John McLaughlin
1. Joy - (18:13) (J.McLaughlin/L.Shankar)
2. Lotus Feet - (4:44) (J.McLaughlin)
3. What Need Have I for This - What Need Have I for That - I Am Dancing at the Feet of My Lord - All Is Bliss - All Is Bliss - (29:03) (J.McLaughlin - L.Shankar)
Total time: 52:00
John McLaughlin - acoustic guitar
L. Shankar - violin
Zakir Hussain - tabla
T. H. Vinayakram - ghatam, mridangam
Ramnad V. Raghavan - mridangam
Recorded live at South Hampton College, Long Island, New York, July 5, 1975.
Produced by John McLaughlin.
src: http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/mclaughlin/disc/full/47.html
From walterkolosky@attbi.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:10 2002
Date: Thu, 01 Aug 2002 12:47:55 +0000
From: walterkolosky@attbi.com
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] JMMP#10 SELECTION !
It is early morning here in Natick. I have retrieved
the jazz hat from the cabinet. I am now mixing its
contents up. I am reaching in to determine what JMMP #
10 will be.....
JMMP # 10 will be SHAKTI (First Shakti album)
We will discuss and comment on SHAKTI for the next two
weeks. This marked quite a change in John's music at
the time...
Regards,
Walter
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From walterkolosky@attbi.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Thu, 01 Aug 2002 20:40:34 +0000
From: walterkolosky@attbi.com
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] JMMP # 10- SHAKTI (*First Album)
Creating the appropriate header.
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From mstaskau@qualcomm.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 08:35:20 -0700
From: Mark Staskauskas
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] JMMP # 10 - SHAKTI (*First Album)
This album is not only my favorite JM recording--it's also the most
exhilarating and deeply moving music by any artist that I've ever
heard. Many long-time One Word subscribers have heard me sing the praises
of this record before, so forgive me if I repeat myself here.
This album lacks the polish of the other two Shakti records...John
flubs a couple of notes here and there, and the sound quality isn't the
greatest. But I love the raw energy and the way John really gets to
stretch in his solos with an amazing variety of textures and styles. It's
a great showcase for all aspects of John's playing--unison runs, call and
response, comping, and just plain virtuosity.
Some observations on the tunes themselves:
Joy -- To me, this is the quintessential Shakti tune. After the opening
there is some powerful soloing by John and Shankar, with John's comping
driving the tune forward. The middle section, where John and Shankar trade
ever shorter solos based on the same sequence of notes, is great. I love
the part near the end of this section where John shortens the sequence to
three notes (and an audience member yells "yeah!!")--perhaps the most
delicious bit of improvising by John that I know of. The end of the tune,
where the opening theme is re-stated at breakneck speed, is just amazing--I
always feel a little out of breath after listening to it!
Lotus Feet -- I always found this tune a little curious--kind of a bonus
studio track amidst two longer live pieces. This version of Lotus Feet has
a very mournful feel, kind of like the opening of India from HoB. John is
once again beautifully supportive of Shankar.
What Need Have I For This... -- This tune is a great ride--29 minutes long,
but these are the fastest 29 minutes I know of--they always fly by. I
absolutely love John's opening solo--it just grabs me emotionally in a way
that is indescribable (soulful, plaintive, poignant, yearning, anguished,
ominous, gut-wrenching...but words don't come close to capturing the
feeling here). Someone once likened John's playing with the MO to
praying. I'm not a religious person, but this solo is kind of like a
prayer, and it often comes to my mind during times when other people might
pray.
After the opening solo John once again brilliantly plays behind
Shankar's solo, with some of his patented interweaving of multiple lines of
playing so it sounds like there are two guitarists. This is followed by
some of John's most exuberant and unrestrained playing on record...at one
point, his guitar sounds a little like a banjo. I could listen to John
play like this all day long.
I'm not a big fan of drum or percussion solos, but Vikku Vinayakram's
ghatam solo here is incredibly musical and really tells a story. I
remember seeing Shakti at the Beacon Theater in NYC as a college freshman
(they opened for Weather Report). We were all absolutely spellbound by
Vikku's solo, as he rapped away on the ghatam with his taped
knuckles...it's like we were hardly even breathing. When he finished, the
audience absolutely *exploded* with applause (just like on the
record)...the sense of release and exhilaration was like nothing I've ever
experienced at a live event.
Stas
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From rao_rk@hotmail.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 17:19:09 +0530
From: ragavendran k rao
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: Re: [OW] JMMP # 10 - SHAKTI (*First Album)
Guyz,
As for this album, I have yet another version of 'Joy' with me....that
starts in a much funkier way....and is groovy throughout....I have found
Shankar to be more profound in this recording I have...
I believe that this recording I have is not in any of the Shakti
releases....as I have all recordings with me....
Any views ?
goodwill,
----Original Message Follows----
From: Anant Sundaram
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: Re: [OW] JMMP # 10 - SHAKTI (*First Album)
Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 12:52:58 -0700 (PDT)
What a fabulous review, Stas. When I get home today, I
am going to put on 'What Need....' (and might even get
around to a review ....).
--- Mark Staskauskas wrote:
>
> This album is not only my favorite JM
> recording--it's also the most
> exhilarating and deeply moving music by any artist
> that I've ever
> heard. Many long-time One Word subscribers have
> heard me sing the praises
> of this record before, so forgive me if I repeat
> myself here.
>
> This album lacks the polish of the other two
> Shakti records...John
> flubs a couple of notes here and there, and the
> sound quality isn't the
> greatest. But I love the raw energy and the way
> John really gets to
> stretch in his solos with an amazing variety of
> textures and styles. It's
> a great showcase for all aspects of John's
> playing--unison runs, call and
> response, comping, and just plain virtuosity.
>
> Some observations on the tunes themselves:
>
> Joy -- To me, this is the quintessential Shakti
> tune. After the opening
> there is some powerful soloing by John and Shankar,
> with John's comping
> driving the tune forward. The middle section, where
> John and Shankar trade
> ever shorter solos based on the same sequence of
> notes, is great. I love
> the part near the end of this section where John
> shortens the sequence to
> three notes (and an audience member yells
> "yeah!!")--perhaps the most
> delicious bit of improvising by John that I know of.
> The end of the tune,
> where the opening theme is re-stated at breakneck
> speed, is just amazing--I
> always feel a little out of breath after listening
> to it!
>
> Lotus Feet -- I always found this tune a little
> curious--kind of a bonus
> studio track amidst two longer live pieces. This
> version of Lotus Feet has
> a very mournful feel, kind of like the opening of
> India from HoB. John is
> once again beautifully supportive of Shankar.
>
> What Need Have I For This... -- This tune is a great
> ride--29 minutes long,
> but these are the fastest 29 minutes I know of--they
> always fly by. I
> absolutely love John's opening solo--it just grabs
> me emotionally in a way
> that is indescribable (soulful, plaintive, poignant,
> yearning, anguished,
> ominous, gut-wrenching...but words don't come close
> to capturing the
> feeling here). Someone once likened John's playing
> with the MO to
> praying. I'm not a religious person, but this solo
> is kind of like a
> prayer, and it often comes to my mind during times
> when other people might
> pray.
>
> After the opening solo John once again
> brilliantly plays behind
> Shankar's solo, with some of his patented
> interweaving of multiple lines of
> playing so it sounds like there are two guitarists.
> This is followed by
> some of John's most exuberant and unrestrained
> playing on record...at one
> point, his guitar sounds a little like a banjo. I
> could listen to John
> play like this all day long.
>
> I'm not a big fan of drum or percussion solos,
> but Vikku Vinayakram's
> ghatam solo here is incredibly musical and really
> tells a story. I
> remember seeing Shakti at the Beacon Theater in NYC
> as a college freshman
> (they opened for Weather Report). We were all
> absolutely spellbound by
> Vikku's solo, as he rapped away on the ghatam with
> his taped
> knuckles...it's like we were hardly even breathing.
> When he finished, the
> audience absolutely *exploded* with applause (just
> like on the
> record)...the sense of release and exhilaration was
> like nothing I've ever
> experienced at a live event.
>
> Stas
>
>
>
-------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe one-word" to
> majordomo@cs.cf.ac.uk
> For other info send word "help" to
majordomo@cs.cf.ac.uk
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From munrostuart@hotmail.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 12:57:42 -0700
From: Stuart Munro
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: Re: [OW] JMMP # 10 - SHAKTI (*First Album)
>Mark wrote: This album is not only my favorite JM recording--it's also the
>most exhilarating and deeply moving music by any artist that I've ever
>heard.
I agree 100%....the recording stands as a testament to their phenomenal
energy and skills.
Stuart
_________________________________________________________________
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From sandyfreeze_ow@yahoo.ca Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 11:11:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Sandy Freeze
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] SHAKTI: Rap, see thee in blue
HellOW. Mark, & Stuart et OW-allies. This WOn't be a full review as
such, but if I say nothing else, so much the better. I've always said
this LP was the PROOF! Having listened to it yesterday,I dare to say 2
times, I'm tempted to say that as the third live performance of
McLaughlin's (after MD's Live Evil, and MO Bn&E) that I'd ever heard,
there is is a case to be be made for it, hands dOWn, as an all-OWt
fave. And, the day I bought it, I also bought "Land Of the Midnight
Sun", I think. (heh heh)
(!!!SNIFF!!!! I miss the OWld Sigma I had ,back then, that came close
to the Flattop sound of the younger McL's axe. A MOMENT/...)
[~ AHEM.~]
The three tracks really cover a variety of moods, and I'm still
wondering if ~"What Need Have I..."~ has a nod to "George Gershwin's
"Rhapsody In Blue" in the shifting tritone intro vamp. Generic fusion
allusion? Only MCL knOWs,and Raga wise, nice mode, too. Blues Third
tweaks, but ease off on the b5 and Ma6th, if ya please.
.... Em E7 B7 E7...? NAAAH!
Since the Nut position grips didn't offer all the sonorities;
here's a an elevated vamp simulation, ~knot~ where you'd expect, with
~E_B~ drone:
What need have I ?...
~` * * Pick and roll * `~
E|--r0+++++++r0+++|----------r0++++|E
B|--a0++++r0+a0+++|--r0++++--a0++++|B
G|a9++++++a13+++++|a13+++++a13+++++|G
D|m12+++++m12+++++|m13+++++m12+++++|D
A|Z10+++++Z11+++++|K12+++++Z1+1++++|A
E|Z0++++++Z0++++++|,---,---Z0++++++|E
~`, , , , `, , , , `~
... HUH?
Pluck\/ing tilde~n, Sandy
--- Stuart Munro wrote:
>
> >Mark wrote: This album is not only my favorite JM recording--it's
> also the
> >most exhilarating and deeply moving music by any artist that I've
> ever
> >heard.
>
> I agree 100%....the recording stands as a testament to their
> phenomenal
> energy and skills.
>
> Stuart
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe one-word" to majordomo@cs.cf.ac.uk
> For other info send word "help" to majordomo@cs.cf.ac.uk
=====
~` PosI PosII PosIV picK and Roll
E|r1++.\..r3++.\..r5++.\..|E
B|a1++..\.a3++..\.a5++..\.|B Sandy Freeze
G|m2++...\m3++...\m5++...\|G
D|----Z3++----Z5++----Z7++|D K\/k___r)a)m)
A|----Z3++----Z5++----Z7++|A
E|----Z5++----Z6++----Z8++|E
http://www.geocities.com/guitalife
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From walterkolosky@attbi.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 15:25:17 +0000
From: walterkolosky@attbi.com
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] 3 Day Warning - JMMP #10 Shakti Live
3 days left to comment on Shakti Live (Original Shakti)
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From walterkolosky@attbi.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 16:34:25 +0000
From: walterkolosky@attbi.com
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] JMMP # 10- SHAKTI (*First Album)
I think many of us have been in the position of trying
to turn a friend onto McLaughlin. Thus, it was so, on a
cold winter day in Boston back in 1978. The first tour
of the One Truth Band was in full swing and I couldn't
find anybody who wanted to go see the band with me.
Being a McLaughlin fan may have helped me be my own
person, but it also set me apart from most of my friends
who were listening to Zeppelin or Bad Company. Finally,
my friend Louie, who loved country rock, agreed to come
with me. He said he was going to be open-minded. Well,
long story short- when the crowd was asking for an
encore, my friend actually yelled out "NO! No! No!". He
hated the music so much.
Later on in my life I was able to turn many people on to
JM. But, earlier in my youth when it seemed more
important to me, I was invariably unable to do so. So,
you will understand the great tragedy of my Shakti story.
I made a deal with a good friend of mine that I would go
see Elvis Costello with him if he would come with me to
see Shakti. I went and saw Elvis. I actually liked him
because he had a high energy at that time and although
over the years I feel he was no big deal, I told my
friend at the time that I enjoyed the concert.
It was time for Shakti. I hope I have made it clear
that it was important to me that my friend like Shakti.
It was very important. It was strange in a way too,
because I had never seen JM acoustic and I had doubts
that he could be as good as he was on the JMMP # 10-
Shakti Live. Well, we finally were at the concert and
Shakti was blowing the place away! JM was BETTER than
on the record. The evening was electric!!!! At one
point, Zakir announced, "ladies and gentlemen, one of
the world's greatest guitarists, John McLaughlin". My
awed friend Chris turned to me at that moment and
said, "he's right".
Well, I was beside myself that a friend of mine finally
dug JM! I couldn't wait until we got back home and he
told all of our buddies, who were always putting me down
for being into Mahavishnu etc. On the way home, Chris
couldn't stop talking about how JM had to be the
GREATEST guitarist who ever lived. He was stunned.
Finally, we arrived at his house where a whole bunch of
our friends had gathered for the weekly card game. I
couldn't wait until Chris told them what awesome music
Shakti was and how JM was the best.
So, one of the guys asked Chris how the concert was?
Chris, in a very detached and calm voice responded, "it
was ok". I looked at Chris in disbelief. My heart
sunk. It was a tremendous betrayal:-) Now I knew he
was busting my balls, but he never corrected the
impression he left and to this day, over 25 years later,
we still joke about the "biggest betrayal of our
friendship". That is my Shakti story and I am sticking
to it.
My original review of the Shakti Album can be found at
http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/mclaughlin/disc/reviews/Shakt
i.html
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From walterkolosky@attbi.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 22:48:05 +0000
From: walterkolosky@attbi.com
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] TWO Day Warning JMMP #10 SHAKTI
2 days left to comment on Shakti's first album.
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From walterkolosky@attbi.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 21:41:49 +0000
From: walterkolosky@attbi.com
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] Last day for JMMP #10 - Shakti Live
A new album will be chosen from the hat on Aug 15.
Regards,
Walter
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From sandyfreeze_ow@yahoo.ca Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 12:18:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: Sandy Freeze
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] JMMP #10 Shakti
HellOW , One-word. JMMP, past the date of expiry?
Back in 1976, I bought this album on the heels of Inner Worlds. I
surly wouldn't have believed such acoustic guitar playing was possible,
without having My Goal's Beyond or the equally kindred meeting "Song To
John (Coltrane)Parts one and Two on Stanley Clarke's "Journey to Love".
The sheer density, that others might call speed, drives the engaging
sound on JOY, distinct from the get-go. The equal constraints and
demand of the "spiral" harmonies of this tune demonstrate imagination
on McLaughlin's and Shankar's parts .
Years later, I sheepishly tossed the opening riff at a young drummer
of East Indian parentage, at a jazz band rehearsal in his family home.
Surrounded by his vast percuusion arsenal, trap drums,tablas, djembegs
and all, the topic came up. He'd just played the SHAKTI, JOY on tape,
and I rolled a modest version of the first few bars from my guitar.
When I asked if he heard the other two LP's, his eyes absolutely
widened ,"there's two more?" and I happily loaned him them, of course.
"Lotus Feet" here, is not the steady ramble of the Inner Worlds
version, but it shOWs McLaughlin tipping the harmonies for a side view,
a deeper reflection. I am tempted to say this tune is about his wife,
whom he'd lost the love of, while on tour with M.O., adding to the
bittersweet legacy of the musician's lot. But that's just a hunch.
"What Need have I of this , What Need Have I Of That ,I Am Dancing
At The Feet Of The Lord , All Is Bliss, All Is Bliss...." The title
reminds me of another East Indian, an Electrical Engineering professor
named Balusubrahmanian who told us, a Numberical Systems classroom of
WASP-Scot-Irish, Franco- and East-Asian Canadians, just to call
him "Balu". It kind of served as a clue to the math at hand. (He
perished in the Air India bombing.)
The re-cyled "Marbles" riff here gives McLaughlin students their OWn
appreciation of thematic simplicity as a fount for dialogue.
SHAKTI. It still knocks me out. The bookend mate for My Goals Beyond ?
Put every other "Shakti" recording between these two.
OW-feeder, Sandy
=====
~` PosI PosII PosIV picK and Roll
E|r1++.\..r3++.\..r5++.\..|E
B|a1++..\.a3++..\.a5++..\.|B Sandy Freeze
G|m2++...\m3++...\m5++...\|G
D|----Z3++----Z5++----Z7++|D K\/k___r)a)m)
A|----Z3++----Z5++----Z7++|A
E|----Z5++----Z6++----Z8++|E
http://www.geocities.com/guitalife
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From rasibley@concentric.net Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 12:55:22 +0900
From: Rod Sibley
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: [OW] Late JMMP#10: Shakti
Hello to All,
SHAKTI with John McLaughlin
"Recorded July 5, 1975". Which of the following is "True or False?":
- John was still a Chinmoy disciple
- The original idea was to make "VotEB" a double LP: the second LP with Eve &
John on one side and some Indian musicians playing on the other.
- Columbia panicked and rejected the idea
- It was recorded before "Inner Worlds"
- It was released after "Inner Worlds"
- No scalloped neck/drone string guitar on the record; though John is pictured
with one on the front cover
- Five musicians listed as players, 4 musicians pictured on the record
- The "L." stands for Lakshminarayana
I saw the concert that supported this record. Shakti opened for Weather
Report who were supporting "Black Market". This was also the first WR tour
with Jaco. For some reason it didn't seem strange that John was sitting on
the floor playing with three Indian musicians. It really seemed like the
natural direction that John's music was supposed to take. John was
obviously very happy to be playing the music and thankful to be playing
with those musicians. I remember the concert, but this recording isn't what
brings back the memory.
Before I make comments about individual tracks, let me say that I have a
major problem with the sound of the guitar on this recording. Not the
guitar playing, which is excellent throughout, butthe sound of the guitar
itself. There are types of guitars that better suited for some styles of
playing than others. For me, Martin's were for strummin'. Since I'm nowhere
near the player of a Tony Rice or a Clarence White, I could never get a
Martin to match the sound that was in my head. One of the reasons I like
Ovation guitars is because the necks felt comfortable for fast playing and
it didn't sound like a folk guitar, ie: a Martin (how can it when half the
guitar is made of plastic?).
The guitar used on this recording was the one made by luthier Mark Evan
Whitebook. It looked similar to a Martin guitar. And though John may have
liked the Whitebook for whatever reasons, I don't think it sounds nearly as
good as an Ovation would have (which John endorsed at the time) given the
demands the music of Shakti required. The Whitebook guitar does not lend
itself to John's single-line lead playing. The Whitebook has a harshness in
the upper register; and the reason it sounds harsh is because the Whitebook
can't handle John's picking attack. *To me*, almost every note sounds like
the dead spots on a warped neck. Combine that with the string rattle on the
lower strings, and you have a very unpleasant sounding guitar.
A natural question that arises is "Okay smart-ass, if John usually
played Ovation's why didn't he play one for this record?". One answer: the
Whitebook is the guitar he wanted to play. My *guess* is that since John
was playing in an "acoustic group" with Shakti, he didn't want to
compromise the overall acoustic tonality of the band by using a
wood/plastic hybrid guitar. Now the entire issue of what something sounds
like is so subjective and individual in nature that it really isn't worth
debating. But the sound of the guitar does effect *my* overall impression
of this recording. I find the sound annoying and a detraction from the
great playing that John is doing. I think the Whitebook guitar was the
"wrong tool for the job" because the guitar is taking a beating and it
sounds like it. I believe that is a possible reason the Shakti guitars
didn't copy the Martin/Whitebook body style.
This recording isn't mandatory listening for me, so I only have it on
cassette. I'm sure it sounds better on other media. Briefly on to the
tunes...
'Joy': The usual response to seeing L. Shankar "live" for the first time is
"WHO the fuck is THAT on violin?!?!?". It's the same reaction when you
listen to him on this recording. No disrepect, but I've seen Goodman, Ponty
and Kindler with JMcL, and only Shankar made my jaw DROP...constantly.
Shankar rules! Guitar sound aside, John is playing with all-out abandon.
You can tell that his heart was here rather than with the final version of
the Orchestra. I haven't heard this tape in awhile, so it was good to hear
Johnny bending strings and riffin' without the Sony M7 muckin' up the
sound.
'Lotus Feet': I hate 'Lotus Feet', almost every version of it; though the
version with Chaurasia doesn't make me winch as much as the others. I
tolerate this version because they edited the crap out of it and the melody
isn't heard until the end of the track. It would have been interesting to
have heard the complete tape of the show. I make no apologies for disliking
'Lotus Feet', but I will always apologize to Ms Beasley for being so blunt
and tactless when talking about one of her favorite JMcL songs.
'What Need Have I For...Yadda Yadda Yadda': I didn't know that it was
possible to do those kind of things with your hands and fingers until I saw
Vikku and Zakir. Yeah, I'd heard a tabla before; but I never saw anyone
play one "live" until I saw Zakir. I still didn't know what a ghatam was
when I saw Vikku. But I knew he was playin' the shit out it. And I never
saw a mridangam played until Remember Shakti. Fact of the matter is that
while JMcL sparked my interest in Indian religion, it was Shakti that
sparked my interest in Indian music; moreso that the M.O.. Again, John and
Shankar get off some nice licks throught the extended piece. And the solos
and exchanges between Zakir, Vikku, and Raghavan are just amazing.
This recording captures a nice performance. I prefer the other Shakti
recordings simply because the guitar sounds better, but that's my hang-up.
This isn't the "ya gotta listen to this" recording that I expose the
Unenlightened to when trying to convert. But there is an uplifting spirit
on this recording. John is happy, and his playing will make you happy as a
result.
atb,
r
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From sandyfreeze_ow@yahoo.ca Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 13:38:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Sandy Freeze
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: Re: [OW] Late JMMP#10: Shakti : wood knot be wrung
HellOW OW'l Rod , OW'l Sibley-inkster.
I 've answered the SHAKTI ~T/F~ in the body belOW .
I agree on the guitar abuse, there is a poor response, out of the
taxed character of this flattop ,albeit, no one else would put so much
into the wood, as OW-er man John. It is one thing I forgot to mention,
that occurred to me as I listened again this week. Maybe a Gibson would
have served his blues-esqe plectrum attack better. There is a saying
about Martin being the Childe-ballad tradition's guitar ,and Gibson's
being the Blues guitar, that comes to mind. (from Joni Mitchell?)
The analogy might best be like computers, he needed a 56K model,
with his hard drive... :-) But the light strings were his Apparati
Operandi as well.
(It's hard to write about this when you're listening to JAZZ JUNGLE,
BTW, but there's some ~FIERCE~ stuff on SHAKTI that's equal, oh...! )
http://www.geocities.com/guitalife/innerworlds/ramdream2.html
Lotus Feet (IW)intro:
E|--------r0++|E {Play E|--------r0++|E
B|----a0++----|B 7 B|----a0++----|B
G|,---,---,---|G Times G|,---,---,---|G * Note Pulse In 3/4
D|m2++----K2++|D To } D|m2++K2++K0++|D
A|----K2++----|A _____ A|------------|A
E|K0++--------|E_______E|K0++--------|E_
Having a wonderful time, ViK\/ku were here, Sandman
--- Rod Sibley wrote:
>
> Hello to All,
>
>
> SHAKTI with John McLaughlin
>
> "Recorded July 5, 1975". Which of the following is "True or
> False?":
>
> - John was still a Chinmoy disciple ~F~
> - The original idea was to make "VotEB" a double LP: the second LP
> with Eve & John on one side and some Indian musicians playing on the
other. ~T~
> - Columbia panicked and rejected the idea~T~
> - It was recorded before "Inner Worlds"~T~
> - It was released after "Inner Worlds"~T~
> - No scalloped neck/drone string guitar on the record; though John is
> pictured with one on the front cover~T~
> - Five musicians listed as players, 4 musicians pictured on the
> record
> - The "L." stands for Lakshminarayana .....Duh? ~T~
>
> I saw the concert that supported this record. Shakti opened for
> Weather
> Report who were supporting "Black Market". This was also the first WR
> tour
> with Jaco. For some reason it didn't seem strange that John was
> sitting on
> the floor playing with three Indian musicians. It really seemed like
> the
> natural direction that John's music was supposed to take. John was
> obviously very happy to be playing the music and thankful to be
> playing
> with those musicians. I remember the concert, but this recording
> isn't what
> brings back the memory.
>
> Before I make comments about individual tracks, let me say that I
> have a
> major problem with the sound of the guitar on this recording. Not the
> guitar playing, which is excellent throughout, butthe sound of the
> guitar
> itself. There are types of guitars that better suited for some styles
> of
> playing than others. For me, Martin's were for strummin'. Since I'm
> nowhere
> near the player of a Tony Rice or a Clarence White, I could never get
> a
> Martin to match the sound that was in my head. One of the reasons I
> like
> Ovation guitars is because the necks felt comfortable for fast
> playing and
> it didn't sound like a folk guitar, ie: a Martin (how can it when
> half the
> guitar is made of plastic?).
>
> The guitar used on this recording was the one made by luthier Mark
> Evan
> Whitebook. It looked similar to a Martin guitar. And though John may
> have
> liked the Whitebook for whatever reasons, I don't think it sounds
> nearly as
> good as an Ovation would have (which John endorsed at the time) given
> the
> demands the music of Shakti required. The Whitebook guitar does not
> lend
> itself to John's single-line lead playing. The Whitebook has a
> harshness in
> the upper register; and the reason it sounds harsh is because the
> Whitebook
> can't handle John's picking attack. *To me*, almost every note sounds
> like
> the dead spots on a warped neck. Combine that with the string rattle
> on the
> lower strings, and you have a very unpleasant sounding guitar.
>
> A natural question that arises is "Okay smart-ass, if John usually
> played Ovation's why didn't he play one for this record?". One
> answer: the
> Whitebook is the guitar he wanted to play. My *guess* is that since
> John
> was playing in an "acoustic group" with Shakti, he didn't want to
> compromise the overall acoustic tonality of the band by using a
> wood/plastic hybrid guitar. Now the entire issue of what something
> sounds
> like is so subjective and individual in nature that it really isn't
> worth
> debating. But the sound of the guitar does effect *my* overall
> impression
> of this recording. I find the sound annoying and a detraction from
> the
> great playing that John is doing. I think the Whitebook guitar was
> the
> "wrong tool for the job" because the guitar is taking a beating and
> it
> sounds like it. I believe that is a possible reason the Shakti
> guitars
> didn't copy the Martin/Whitebook body style.
>
> This recording isn't mandatory listening for me, so I only have it
> on
> cassette. I'm sure it sounds better on other media. Briefly on to the
> tunes...
>
> 'Joy': The usual response to seeing L. Shankar "live" for the first
> time is
> "WHO the fuck is THAT on violin?!?!?". It's the same reaction when
> you
> listen to him on this recording. No disrepect, but I've seen Goodman,
> Ponty
> and Kindler with JMcL, and only Shankar made my jaw
> DROP...constantly.
> Shankar rules! Guitar sound aside, John is playing with all-out
> abandon.
> You can tell that his heart was here rather than with the final
> version of
> the Orchestra. I haven't heard this tape in awhile, so it was good to
> hear
> Johnny bending strings and riffin' without the Sony M7 muckin' up the
> sound.
>
> 'Lotus Feet': I hate 'Lotus Feet', almost every version of it; though
> the
> version with Chaurasia doesn't make me winch as much as the others. I
> tolerate this version because they edited the crap out of it and the
> melody
> isn't heard until the end of the track. It would have been
> interesting to
> have heard the complete tape of the show. I make no apologies for
> disliking
> 'Lotus Feet', but I will always apologize to Ms Beasley for being so
> blunt
> and tactless when talking about one of her favorite JMcL songs.
>
> 'What Need Have I For...Yadda Yadda Yadda': I didn't know that it was
> possible to do those kind of things with your hands and fingers until
> I saw
> Vikku and Zakir. Yeah, I'd heard a tabla before; but I never saw
> anyone
> play one "live" until I saw Zakir. I still didn't know what a ghatam
> was
> when I saw Vikku. But I knew he was playin' the shit out it. And I
> never
> saw a mridangam played until Remember Shakti. Fact of the matter is
> that
> while JMcL sparked my interest in Indian religion, it was Shakti that
> sparked my interest in Indian music; moreso that the M.O.. Again,
> John and
> Shankar get off some nice licks throught the extended piece. And the
> solos
> and exchanges between Zakir, Vikku, and Raghavan are just amazing.
>
> This recording captures a nice performance. I prefer the other
> Shakti
> recordings simply because the guitar sounds better, but that's my
> hang-up.
> This isn't the "ya gotta listen to this" recording that I expose the
> Unenlightened to when trying to convert. But there is an uplifting
> spirit
> on this recording. John is happy, and his playing will make you happy
> as a
> result.
>
> atb,
>
> r
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe one-word" to majordomo@cs.cf.ac.uk
> For other info send word "help" to majordomo@cs.cf.ac.uk
=====
~` PosI PosII PosIV picK and Roll
E|r1++.\..r3++.\..r5++.\..|E
B|a1++..\.a3++..\.a5++..\.|B Sandy Freeze
G|m2++...\m3++...\m5++...\|G
D|----Z3++----Z5++----Z7++|D K\/k___r)a)m)
A|----Z3++----Z5++----Z7++|A
E|----Z5++----Z6++----Z8++|E
http://www.geocities.com/guitalife
______________________________________________________________________
Post your ad for free now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
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From aksundaram@yahoo.com Tue Aug 20 10:45:18 2002
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 13:53:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anant Sundaram
Reply-To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
To: one-word@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
Subject: Re: [OW] Late JMMP#10: Shakti
--- Rod Sibley wrote:
> ....no apologies for disliking 'Lotus Feet', but I
> will always apologize to Ms Beasley for being so
> blunt and tactless when talking about one of her
> favorite JMcL songs....
Ms. Beasley graciously accepts the apology (every
single time)! :-)
src: One-Word Mailing List