John McLaughlin helped usher in the fusion movement with the blazing pyrotechnics of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, he also helped expose the masses to world music through the more acoustic (but no less frenetic) Shakti.
He revived Mahavishnu in 1984 after an eight-year sabbatical. It took a little longer to return to the scene of Shakti, with a 22-year break between the last recording project and an offshoot group called Remember Shakti in 1999. The concept then went dormant again in 2001 – until this year, when McLaughlin once again teamed up with fellow founding member Zakir Hussain for This Moment. It’s the first proper Shakti studio LP since 1977’s Natural Elements. This time around they are joined by vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram.
So what’s changed, besides the personnel? Nothing, and everything. For one thing, John McLaughlin utilizes both acoustic and electric guitars but the guitar synthesizer is prominent throughout, as on the opening “Shrini’s Dream.”
Dedicated to former Remember Shakti member U. Srinivas, who played mandolin on the late ’90s and early 2000s incarnation of the band and died in 2013, “Shrini’s Dream” veers from frantic violin to McLaughlin’s rapid-fire guitar lines, morphing briefly from frenzied world music to moody backgrounds reminiscent of the music of onetime Mahavishnu member Jean-Luc Ponty before returning to the mix of Indian/fusion music the band is adept at. All the while Hussain and Vinayakram are winding through various rhythms as counterpoint and balance.
On “Karuna” the guitar synth acts again as backing instrument, this time for violin. Rajagopalan comes across as sensitive and lyrical, less searing than his predecessors in both Shakti and Mahavishnu. Mahadevan’s wordless vocalizing on the tune ascends into the stratosphere before coming back to earth, while the percussion provides the grounding.
A hallmark of This Moment is the percussion exchanges between the instrumentalists and Mahadevan’s vocals. Alternating between the percussive konokol and wordless vocals, his voice is often the centerpiece of the tunes.
John McLaughlin is well-known for his restless approach – here electric, there acoustic, here Western, there Eastern. This Moment straddles many of those worlds. A worthy successor to its forebears, the LP is rewarding for those with open ears, while still a challenging listen for those not attuned to the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of Indian music.
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