SHAKTI — Shakti with John McLaughlin (1976-1991) RM | Serie Columbia Jazz Contemporary Masters | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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 John 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 at the moment. 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 Lakshminarayana Shankar (violin), Ramnad V. Raghavan and T.H. Vinayakram (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  
Tracklist :
1 Joy 18:15
John McLaughlin / Lakshminarayana Shankar
2 Lotus Feet 4:46
John McLaughlin
3 What Need Have I for This/What Need Have I for That/I Am D ... 29:03
John McLaughlin / Lakshminarayana Shankar
Credits:
Ghatam, Mridangam – Vikku Vinayakram
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Mridangam – Ramnad Raghavan
Tabla – Zakir Hussain
Violin – Shankar

SHAKTI WITH JOHN McLAUGHLIN - A Handful of Beauty (1977-2005) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Shakti headed for the safer confines of a London recording studio on its second album, minus R. Raghavan and minus some of the volatile energy that they generated on their debut record. They were, however, a more integrated, more subtle ensemble now, exploring quieter, more lyrical corners of their East-West fusion, with L. Shankar's spectacular violin and Zakir Hussain's tabla taking the solo foreground as much as, if not more than, McLaughlin's acoustic guitar. With the exception of an arrangement of a traditional South Indian piece "Kriti," McLaughlin and Shankar contribute all of the compositions, which lean even more heavily toward South Indian music with reminders of McLaughlin's Western roots. As a whole, this is less accessible to McLaughlin's jazz-rock flock than the first Shakti album, but still fascinating for contemporary listeners with a yen for world music, as well as curious stragglers from the classical Indian world dominated by Ravi Shankar (another indefatigable champion of East-West fusions). by Richard S. Ginell

Tracklist:

1. La Dance Du Bonheur 4:48

 (J.McLaughlin-L.Shankar)

2. Lady L 7:23

 (L.Shankar)

3. India 13:31

 (J.McLaughlin-L.Shankar)

4. Kriti 2:58

 (Traditional South Indian Composition arr. by J.McLaughlin-L.Shankar)

5. Isis 15:11

 (J.McLaughlin-L.Shankar)

6. Two Sisters 4:41

 (J.McLaughlin)

Credits

Acoustic Guitar, Producer – John McLaughlin

Ghatam, Mridangam – T. H. Vinayakram

Tabla – Zakir Hussain

Violin – L. Shankar

SHAKTI WITH JOHN McLAUGHLIN - Natural Elements (1977-1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third and final Shakti recording from the '70s. The songs here are shorter than those on Shakti and Handful of Beauty, but no less impressive. The novelty of combining Eastern and Western musical styles had worn off and McLaughlin sounds comfortable. This allows for memorable compositions and interchanges, rather than the blistering virtuosity that characterized the first two releases. From the intense ("Daffodil and the Eagle") to the joyful ("Happiness Is Being Together"), Natural Elements stands as a milestone in McLaughlin's illustrious career. by Robert Taylor

Tracklist:

1 Mind Ecology 5:47

2 Face To Face 5:57

3 Come On Baby Dance With Me 1:56

4 The Daffodil And The Eagle 7:00

5 Happiness Is Being Together 4:27

6 Bridge Of Sighs 3:52

7 Get Down And Sruti 7:00

8 Peace Of Mind 3:22

Credits

Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – John McLaughlin

Ghatam, Percussion [Nal], Kanjira [Kanjeera], Jew's Harp

 [Moorsing (Juice Harp)], Vocals – T.H. Vinayakram

Tabla, Timbales, Bongos, Dholak, Percussion [Nal], Triangle, Vocals – Zakir Hussain

Violin, Viola, Vocals – L. Shankar