''Birds of Fire'' is the second studio album by

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

band the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It was released on January 3, 1973, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and is the last studio album released by the original band line-up before it dissolved. As with the group's previous album, '' The Inner Mounting Flame'', ''Birds of Fire'' consists solely of compositions by John McLaughlin. These include the track "Miles Beyond ( Miles Davis)", which McLaughlin dedicated to his friend and former bandleader. The back cover of the album features the poem "Revelation" by Sri Chinmoy.

Release history

In addition to the standard two-channel

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

album there was also a four-channel quadraphonic version released in 1973 on LP and 8-track tape. The quad LP was encoded in the SQ matrix format. The first CD issue was in 1986. A

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed version of the album was released on CD in 2000 by Sony Music Entertainment. It features a new set of liner notes by '' JazzTimes'' critic Bill Milkowski, as well as photographs of the band. In 2015 the album was re-issued on Super Audio CD by Audio Fidelity containing both the stereo and quad mixes. The same content was re-issued on SACD in Japan in 2021 by Sony Music. The track "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters" appears on the six-CD box set '' Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology'', released by Smithsonian Folkways in 2011, covering the history of jazz.

Reception

Reviewing the album for '' All About Jazz'' in 2002, Walter Kolosky said of the title track:

"Birds of Fire," which opens up the album, is a fusion classic. John McLaughlin scares the hell out of his guitar with his melodic convulsions. If you ever want to frighten a musical neophyte, turn your stereo up really loud and play the cover tune – it's guaranteed to send him or her fleeing.

Track listing

All tracks composed by John McLaughlin.

Personnel

Musicians

* John McLaughlinguitars * Rick Lairdbass * Billy Cobhamdrums, percussion *

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores fo ...

keyboards,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

* Jerry Goodmanviolin

Technical

* Ken Scott, Jim Green

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Ashok (Chris Poisson)album design * Nathan WeissManagement * Pranavanandaphotography

Charts

References

External links

Sri Chinmoy Poetry: RevelationMahavishnu Orchestra – Birds Of Fire
at discogs.com {{Authority control Mahavishnu Orchestra albums 1973 albums Columbia Records albums Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio Albums recorded at Trident Studios