Overorchestrated and Ostentatious

Review Score: (6/10)
I tried, I really tried to get into this album. I listened to it over and over, but couldn't get past the heavy overdone orchestral arrangements by Michael Gibbs. There certainly are bits and pieces of the album that show flashes of McLaughlin's brilliance, especially on "Smile of the Beyond," and "Wings of Karma," which also feature some fine violin-work by John-Luc Ponty, who is consistently excellent in this album. Gayle Moran, whose work I have always enjoyed, does some fine work, especially in "Power of Love" and "Vision is a Naked Sword." Her soaring, ethereal, sweet vocals and keyboards, are underutilized in "Apocalypse." Her efforts in "Visions of the Emerald Beyond," and her albums with Chick Corea and Return to Forever, are better examples of her craft than this album.

Michael Walden is merely adequate on drums and percussion, seeming to strain to keep up with what is, for the most part, diluted playing by McLaughlin, or trying to emulate, unsucessfully, Billy Cobham's style. I found his playing to be especially distracting in "Vision is a Naked Sword." On bass, Ralphe Armstrong is barely adequate, if not forgettable.

Would I recommend this album? Yes, but maybe only to hard-core Mahavishnu Orchestra fans. "Visions of the Emerald Beyond" is a far superior album from this version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, successfully integrating more subtle orchestrations with McLaughlin's melding of classical, Indian, rock, and jazz influences.

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