Between Nothingness and Everythingness

Overall Album Score: 8.6 out of 10

They lose me in the last 20 minutes of this album, but overall, this is another fine instrumental jazz-fusion thingy from the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

And I'm not exactly disappointed with this, either. It's not like they lost their ability at all with this. It's just not impressing with me, or connecting with me like their untouchable Birds of Prey or even quite like Inner Mounting Flame. Part, if not all, of the reason for this has got to be the fact that they did this album live! (And, for the bloody record, Between Nothingness & Eternity doesn't count as a "live" album in the same sense of Live at Leeds and Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out seeing that none of these songs appear in studio albums ... so I get to score this like a regular album!)

Anyway, there are only three songs on here, and the first two songs are good enough to be considered excellent Mahavishnu tracks. "Trilogy" is my favorite (and ought to just have been separated into three tracks, but ... whatever). And, it also contains one of the most convincing moments of "space-rock" that I've listened to (albeit, I haven't exactly scouted such things out). "Sister Andrea" has a really great and memorable groove every once in awhile. Indeed, this might be one of the more memorable Mahavishnu songs just because of that groove! ... Part of that song doesn't quite strike me as anything, but ... it's all quite good overall.

"Dreams" really didn't impress me, though. It starts out sort of promising, because it features a very calm, soothing, and (as the title says) a dream-like state-of-things. However, when the song explodes, it doesn't strike me as being particularly emotional all the time ... nor does it give me images in my mind to play around with ... I gave the track an 8 because I was still quite impressed with the instrumentation of it (really ... if it gets much better than this, someone's going to have to pinch me or something), but ... hmmm ... this ain't no Birds of Prey, I hate to say.

Overall Album Score: 8.6 out of 10 (It all goes fine until we reach "Dreams," which significantly tapers off the album a bit ... They're still pretty much tops as far as instrumentation ability goes.)

Average Song Score: 8.8 (The songs are chock-full of Mahavishnu's brilliant instrumentation innovations ... and a few of them are even quite emotional. I was a bit disappointed with "Dreams," though ... it goes on for 21 minutes and it doesn't seem like it has much interesting to say.)

Album Tilt: 8.5 (Gets kind of dull in the latter half ... it's best listened to in the background.)

Artist Rating: 8.5 (The only real major artistic difference between this and Birds of Fire is that the songs are longer and a bit more boring. They're still masterful performers, though. The album's worth listening to just for that!)

Track Reviews

Trilogy: Sunlit Path / La Mere De La Mere / Tomorrow's Story Not the Same 9.5/10

GONGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! ... And after one minute of that, a completely Mahavishnu jam starts up. Fortunately, it is very much like we've heard from these guys in previous albums. It doesn't so much follow a tune, but they're rather like instrument conversation. Then, everything quiets down and another song-style pipes up (which I can only assume is the "La Mere De La Mere" portion of the song). This finally gives me at least some concrete evidence that The Mahavishnu Orchestra is that "space-rock" band people keep telling me about! (The song has a very open and spacey atmosphere, fully equipped with the occasional computer-ish blip or bleep.) This portion is very nice and inventive ... it is something very professionally done and easily enjoyable by anyone with half an imagination! Around the six-minute mark, it picks up pace (the violin goes wonderfully bonkers!!!) It's energetic, chaotic ... quite good, quite good. The 8 minute mark, we get more of this wonderful musical instrument conversations (and they're having a fight) that I've come to crave from this band since listening to their previous album! ... Brilliant! ... I'll never get tired of listening to this. ... And then they all sort of reach their climax with more blistering instrumentation ... And the audience cheers, and they grow quiet ... mumbling as if they were discontent ... and a brief explosion ... it's over.

Sister Andrea 9/10

An utterly splendid groove characterizes this song! ... Did so many Mahavishnu Orchestra songs ever have grooves? ... Not so much like this, anyway. It's really threatening and evil! ... Eeeeekkk!!! ... And then things get quieter and ominous (and the groove disappears). Things grow bleaker and lonely and desperate ... and then it grows into an entirely different groove that sounds like a culmination of its desperation! ... And then the sweet wicked groove starts up again ... and that violin thing goes nuts in the foreground. That thing goes insane for quite awhile ... and ... then things grow calm again. And then things grow nuts again ... The last three minutes of this, I can take it or leave it. Nevertheless, this is another super-duper song ...

Dream 8/10

A 21-minute song! ... Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkk!!! Well, it starts out very quietly. ... Just sort of piddling around with the acoustic guitar (though interestingly) and a scant few other instruments. I do find it a little bit boring, but their instrument virtuosity is well-noted and this is quite successful, in the artistic sense, an avant-garde musical painting of a "dream." It's all fairly minimal ... and the only way I can totally enjoy this it just to let myself become lost in it ... which is probably what it was meant for! And then things start getting a little bit nuts! ... And quiet again ... And loud again (around the 8.5 minute mark, seeming to be something like a traffic jam). To be frank, I'm not too excited about this song in particular. I don't get the whole emotion-thing like I did with previous Mahavishnu Orchestra songs! ... I mean, there's a little bit on here (and the instrumental innovation, again, is pretty much TOPS) ... but I'm not quite getting the same vibe! ... Eeeee!!! It just seems bland for a Mahavishnu song! ... I guess that's one of the drawbacks about doing this stuff live.

Send me a comment, man! Send it here!!