Track Listing

1. Trilogy: Sunlit Path/La Mere de la Mer
2. Sister Andrea
3. Dream

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23245 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Customer Reviews

Blistering fusion, faster than the speed of light
You can call this album the live version of "The Lost Trident Sessions," the third Mahavishnu studio album for Columbia, unreleased until 1999. Recorded in New York City's Central Park, August 5, 1973, when they were the loudest and fastest band on the planet, it is the last recording (available) with the original line-up.

"Trilogy" is a good song--a nice composition with mellifluous harmonies. McLaughlin's distorted broken chords sound wonderful; the initial exhange in "The Sunlit Path" between him and Jan Hammer's Rhodes offer much more than just speed. There's a delicacy to this first part of "Trilogy" that I find absolutely charming. The second part, "La Mere de la Mer," is equally enchanting--what a wonderful theme, played on the violin, and followed by some really impressive but controlled drumwork. The last part, "Tomorrow's Story Not the Same" (and it's nice to see they corrected the spelling--"Trident" spells it "tommorow"), is a hard rocker with the double bass, and Goodman soloing while Hammer, McLaughlin, and Laird repeat the melody as a rhythm. Then, Hammer and McLaughlin get it on with the Moog and the guitar, and that's always good. What a trip.

"Sister Andrea," a standard jazz-rock-fusion tune (and as a composition therefore uninteresting), written by Jan Hammer, is one of those songs written to showcase the soloing talents of Hammer, Goodman, and McLaughlin. Especially Goodman seems a bit lost among all this violence and fury (and using a wah-pedal doesn't help him much here), but the emotional highpoint of the song, McLaughlin's solo, which doesn't even seem to need the band behind him (in fact, the spatial vista opened up by the band not playing a real 'tune' behind him reminds me of Miles Davis), is incredible, and reaches a height he couldn't even begin to aspire to on the studio album--I'm glad to have this song played live; the speed, the distortion, the arpeggios, and the gut-wrenching dissonances are amazing.

I like "Dream" much better as a composition. There's a mystery to it, a quietness that I'm surprised they managed to convey in an outdoor show. McLaughlin starts off acoustic; Goodman really comes out nicely in the song's first part. When they pick up the second, faster, theme, beautiful and violent things start to happen, beginning with Hammer on the Rhodes, in an almost free-jazz exercise, until the trademark Mahavishnu melody line--fast and furious, and elegant. The development of this song is great, even when it slipts into the standard groovy repetitive theme halfway through, featuring Goodman again, thoroughly in charge. They really get it going here, as tight as on any studio recording: this is a seemingly superhuman effort. And I love the end, with the single notes from McLaughlin screaming out from a quiet passage, leading into yet another, final, explosion.

Of course, it's not just the three big guys--Laird is solid on the bass, and more inventive than people tend to give him credit for, but then, it can't be easy to play behind the trinity. And Billy Cobham, I love Billy Cobham. He's a beast on the drums, with a violent beauty and unsurpassed skills in his line of work. I wonder about that ride cymbal of his: it sounds absolutely beautiful, and I've never heard one like it.

This is a great album. The sound may not be perfect, one of the songs may be an average composition, but the skills displayed here are about more than technical proficiency. These guys are at the top of their game in Central Park, and their game dazzles me every time.

Incredible Live Playing
This album absolutely floored me. It's hard to believe anyone could play at the incredible level of intensity and virtuosity as displayed on this recording. It surpassed what I had thought even MO themselves were capable of. Sure, the extended compositions ramble in a few places and the sound is adequate but not first rate. But the playing!? Holy cow!!! The duet between McLaughlin and Cobham during "Dream" will make your jaw drop, as will many other incredible moments on this CD. If you have other MO albums and debating whether this one is worth having, then wonder no more. If you are new to MO this is the one record of theirs you *must* have. ("Birds of Fire" comes a close second). "Between Nothingness and Eternity" is unmatched for sheer intensity, power and masterful playing by any band on any record at any time in history. A very bold statement, yes, but true nonetheless-hear for yourself.
Highest recommendation!

unbeatable orginal lineup
This album represents the only live recording of the original and unparalleled Mahavishnu lineup. Whereas later incarnations of the band lose the fire and raw energy of the first two albums, this album captures the band at its improvisational peak. I have trouble with later MO releases as McLaughlin is the only original member--they seem more solo albums than collaborative projects.

Anyway, the only reason this album didn't garner 5 stars is its wandering nature. On the first two studio releases (Inner Mounting and Birds), McLaughlin and Co. played tight compositions that were well organized and diverse. As complex and layered as Mahavishu's music is, it always walked a fine line between multifacted sophistication and improvisational chaos. On Nothingness, the band in their extended live versions tend to fall onto the chaotic side of that line, and the notes start running together. Otherwise, this is a great album.

Interesting side note: the studio versions of these tracks, available for the first time on the Lost Trident album, are superb, and not surprisingly, shorter and more coherent. The Nothingness album is much easier to enjoy once one has absrobed the studio versions, in my opinion.