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EXPLAINED: The mahavishnu orchestra | Rare Historical Photos

"The band that knocked me over was the Mahavishnu Orchestra." Prog takes a look inside Bill Oddie's Record Collection

From being wowed by US fusion instrumentalists to being honoured on a Soft Machine album, Bill Oddie's record collection tells some tales...

Louder

“My friends wanted to check out, get stoned, escape. I wanted to sift through my consciousness and see what was beyond”: Psychedelic substances led Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan to the Mahavishnu Orchestra

The vocalist found inspiration in John McLaughlin’s ability to make different pieces feeling like different drugs

Louder

“He was a guy in my neighbourhood who played... I was scared to say it at the time, but he played at the level of John McLaughlin!”: Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid pays tribute to a lost genius

“He should have been much more known than he was”

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“I’m in cricket gear and a duffle coat, side parting, being all spiritual. And people wonder why I’ve been stylistically challenged ever since!” Level 42’s Mark King saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra on colour TV and a fashion crime followed

The future bandleader wasn’t even a bassist when John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer and co burst into his young life on the Isle of Wight

Louder

“There were arguments. But they weren’t personal – they were musical. They helped make it what it is”: How Yes defined themselves with Fragile, before success went to their heads

The arrival of Rick Wakeman, the freedom to be adventurous and the discovery of Roger Dean led to the creation of a prog landmark in 1971

Louder

“A lot of dreams that came to fruition in the 70s were born in the 60s. The Mahavishnu Orchestra was just one. Shakti was another”: John McLaughlin doesn’t know why his music sold so well. In fact, he knows he knows nothing

The jazz rock pioneer on being fast and loud, walking away from success, and why a musician is actually exploring the meaning of life

Louder

"It shimmers, it shakes, it grooves, and most importantly, it rocks": Mahavishnu Orchestra navigate new musical worlds on The Inner Mounting Flame

Mahavishnu Orchestra's The Inner Mounting Flame was the first jazz-rock album that found favour among significant numbers of rock aficionados

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“I turned up at George Martin’s office with a diabolically bad demo – but he could see there was something there”: How Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow triumphed against the odds to change instrumental guitar forever

50 years on, Blow by Blow remains an inspirational force – a turning point for Beck and guitar-led music in general

Guitar World

"Towards the end it was not pretty. I scraped myself off the walls of insanity. I was barking like a dog": the last days of Deep Purple

On July 19, 1976, Deep Purple officially split up. The ending was horrible, marked by addiction and jealousy

Louder

Billy Cobham: “It was testing the waters of rock and jazz!"

Jazz fusion drummer extraordinaire Billy Cobham recalls his time with Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra and beyond...

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