Mahavishnu in Bloomington, MN

John McLaughlin
resurrected the esteemed old
Mahavishnu Orchestra
for his mid-'80s quintet, even getting old mate
Billy Cobham
to fill the drum slot on the band's first album. But this is an entirely different conception than any of the '70s
Mahavishnu
outfits. The sound is cooler, less strident, more thoroughly dominated by advanced
electronic
textures -- including a sleekly elegant digital guitar played through a Synclavier. Instead of a violin,
Bill Evans
contributes some swirling and sometimes
bop
-flavored work on saxes, and
McLaughlin
gets mobile but not overly combustible support from keyboardist
Mitch Forman
and bassist
Jonas Hellborg
. The homages continue; the opening of
"Nostalgia"
is exactly that, a throwback to
"In a Silent Way"
as filtered through digital gear. While this is undeniably
prog
-minded, beautifully played electric music, it is not terribly absorbing; the quality of the material and the intensity level aren't too high. ~ Richard S. Ginell