 List Price: $18.98
Lowest Price: $12.39 
Album Description: 2008 release from guitar legend John McLaughlin. John has already said Floating Point 'may be the best record I ever made.' That's really saying something when you consider McLaughlin's prolific and trailblazing career. The guitarist and composer has appeared on some of the most important jazz-rock and world music albums in the last 40 years. For Floating Point, which was recorded in India, McLaughlin used several of the best Indian musicians in the world. McLaughlin calls these players the 'young lions' of India. They include keyboardist Loiuz Banks, drummer Ranjit Barot, electric sitarist Niladri Kumar, flautists Shashank and Naveen Kumar, percussionist Sivamani, vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, electric mandolinist U.Rajesh, and Hindustini slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya. Joining them were other Western stars, saxophonist George Brooks and bassist Hadrien Feraud. With a line-up like that, you would expect a very Indian experience. But, McLaughlin says not necessarily so. 'Now while this CD features predominantly Indian musicians, we are in quite another form compared to the group Shakti,' McLaughlin says. 'The music is for the most part 'Jazz-Fusion' if a label has to be put on it. But with the musicians involved in this project, it has also a 'world' kind of atmosphere.' McLaughlin adds, 'I really am happy with the outcome of this CD which actually came about quite spontaneously and without any real planning. You can hear in the music where I am in my development, and in which directions I'm moving. It was a real thrill to play with these players, and I offer my thanks to them for their unique contributions. I truly wish and hope that it brings something to the listeners. I also offer my deep thanks to them for their continued support to my dedicated work.' Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-06
When In Doubt Ask A Contributor
This Cd has certainly split the JMc fan body. Doubting my own prejudice I went for an insider view... After watching one of his concerts, I asked Debashish Bhattacharya what he thought. He said it was excellent and a very intelligent creation. Perhaps John has done a Miles. More likely he has done what great creators do. Moved on. Leaving the rest of us to catch up. Well are you ready to catch up? Rating:
Date: 2008-07-05
ENJOY THE FUN!
Wow! John McLaughlin's new music has brought a new meaning to the word "fusion". Those who ocassionally enjoy electric jazz-fussion music will find that Mclaughlin has again proved to be a beacon in the genre. Spiced with electric sitar & mandolin, Indian bamboo flute, Indian slide guitar, the incredible bass of Hadrien Feraud, and Indian percussion, there is plenty of fun to be had in both the playing and listening to John's new endeavers. There's no doubt that McLaughlin has grown and ripened both musically and personally (spiritually) as his creative career has unfolded. I robustly applaud his new music. I only hope to see him bring his new group back to Tucson, along with Zakirji, to ENJOY them live in concert! All arriving to the "floating point"... no doubt. Thank you and namaste John - we love you! Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-03
What was he thinking?
"This may be by far the most exciting album I've ever made"(paraphrased) What was he thinking? This does not even come close to his best work. I've been a JM worshipper for decades, but unless I'm missing something this is a mediocre performance. It's missing the fire he had on Industrial Zen. This cd sounds like a casual jam session to me. Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-28
go ahead john, go for the payday.
john, please dont resort to this type of slock, i mean realy, this sounds like that same impotent garbage that bob james puts out, all be it ,more chops,but at least 3 of the songs are getting close to that over produced smooth psuedo jazz , god i long for the days that john puts together an album with some bite,i mean the last album was a step in the right direction, but this is a travesty,and for him to pump this up like this is a slap in the face to a true mahavishnu fan, extrapolation, my goalsbeyond, shakti,miles albums ,lifetime,you name it. this guy may be the most important jazz rock guitarist of all time ,dimeola in recent years has produced much better quality music, it realy is a shame that john has degraded himself so much,now if you like over produced slick neofusion thats easily digested, then have at it ,you'll revel in it.ughh! Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-17
Worth getting
This album takes awhile to fully sink in (there's a lot going on), but I personally enjoy it more than Industrial Zen, even though it is in the same general sonic ballpark. It sounds more cohesive, to me. Working with a mostly Indian group of musicians in a 'fish out of water' jazz context seems to have inspired McLaughlin, since he plays some wonderful solos on this album.
Having said that, this is much more of a 'textural' album than a balls-out guitar album. If you want Mahavishnu-style intensity, get the live recording from the 2007 4th Dimension tour--that features a much more intense John McLaughlin than you'll find here. On Floating Point, John's solos are full of melodic invention, wonderful use of space, and yes, plenty of finger-twisting difficulty. But it's not going to tear your head off and isn't supposed to. Besides, didn't he already tear our heads off sometime around 1973? :)
The one downer on the album for me, as a guitarist, was John's choice of guitar synthesizer sounds. Unlike on Industrial Zen, John uses the guitar synth mostly just for solo parts (don't worry, he also recorded several of the solos with regular guitar sounds), leaving the synth background parts to keyboardist Louiz Banks. However, the synth sounds that John uses are too soft and indistinct to work in such a heavily percussive atmosphere as this album--to the point that many of his synth solos don't stand out very well against the background and don't have equal force when he's trading solos with other musicians. In quieter moments, his guitar synths do a lot better.
Had I produced this session, I would have had John try out more percussive, brighter synth sounds (which I admit can be problematic and glitch-prone to use with a guitar controller), or more likely mixed in real guitar sound along with his synthesizer sounds to provide more body and "snap." This seems like a technical point, but it really does impact my enjoyment of this otherwise splendid album, unfortunately. |
