5/20/2018 John McLaughlin - Original Album Classics - 5CD-BOX
2007
1/2
John McLaughlin - Original Album Classics - 5CD-BOX 2007
This second box in Sony's German Original Album Classics series
focuses on five titles from JohnMcLaughlin's solo years immediately
following the breakup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
- - -
John McLaughlin became absorbed in his acoustic playing with his
Indian classical music based groupShakti (energy). McLaughlin had
already been studying Indian classical music and playing the veena
forseveral years. The group featured Lakshminarayanan L. Shankar
(violin), Zakir Hussain (tabla),Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram
(ghatam) and earlier Ramnad Raghavan (mridangam). The grouprecorded
three albums; 'A Handful of Beauty' (1977), 'Shakti' (1976), and
'Natural Elements' (1977).Based on both Carnatic and Hindustani
styles, along with extended use of konnakol, the band
introducedragas and Indian percussion to many jazz aficionados.
In this group McLaughlin played a custom-made steel-string
acoustic guitar made by Abe Wechter andthe Gibson guitar company
that featured two tiers of strings over the soundhole: a
conventional six-stringconfiguration and seven strings strung
underneath at a forty-five degree angle - these were
independentlytuneable 'sympathetic strings' much like those on a
sitar or veena. The instrument's vina-like scallopedfretboard
enabled McLaughlin to bend strings far beyond the reach of a
conventional fretboard.McLaughlin grew so accustomed to the freedom
it provided him that he had the fretboard scalloped on hisGibson
Byrdland electric guitar. (wikipedia)
- - -
John McLaughlin - Original Album Classics 1976-1979(5CD
Columbia, Sony, BMG 2007)
CD1 Shakti - Shakti 1976CD2 Shakti - A Handful of Beauty 1977CD3
Shakti - Natural Elements 1977CD4 John McLaughlin - Electric
Guitarist 1978
CD5 John McLaughlin - Electric Dreams 1979
