John McLaughlin

Two droning, Indian-influenced pieces start out this 1971 release from the bona fide guitar god. From there McLaughlin rearranges some jazz standards and delivers a stunning original. Though he plays acoustic guitar (read: no signature sound of distorted guitar flames), anyone interested in supernatural guitar playing and the early days of jazz fusion needs to hear this.

John McLaughlin's second and last album for Douglas–he's signed to Columbia now–is as
different from his first, Devotion, as day is from night. The earlier recording was
super-amplified and thundering, with Buddy Miles flailing away at the drums and McLaughlin
proving, with tasty lines and sonic textures, that heavy can be musical. My Goal's Beyond is
an acoustic album, with one side devoted to eight short pieces for solo guitar, a... More >