This week's release does beg an explanation, especially for Forum regulars - our most active listeners.

We do have an extensive archive of Mahavishnu Orchestra material, with a large core of it coming from the band's 1972/1973 tour dates.  We picked the best of these and decided to present them all in one week, as a comprehensive review from their early years.  In fact we've added ten (not five) Mahavishnu shows this week; you can see all of them by searching on "Mahavishnu".

We understand that many Concert Vault regulars may not want to listen solely to Mahavishnu.  Their music can be intense - rewarding to some, "challenging" for others, especially in large doses. So we decided to "re-feature" five favorite shows that were among the first 300 concerts available on the Concert Vault when we opened it last November.  Many of our visitors who began listening more recently may not have heard these shows, and they're worth pointing out.  You may have noticed we changed the header on the home page to say FEATURED CONCERTS instead of NEW IN THE VAULT to be accurate to this.

I'd like to point out why we chose these five shows, as they're all special to me.

Bonnie Raitt.  We originally had only five songs from this concert, but recently found the full set of original master tapes.  All of these are now availabe, so in a sense it's a "new" show..  It's a remarkable show from one of our favorites.

Jimi Hendrix Experience.  The anniversary of Hendrix' death was yesterday, and this show (from his incredible run of six shows over three nights at Winterland) is stunning.

Harry Chapin.  As counterpoint to the others, this intimate show is a treasure. With extensive between track dialog, you get a fascinating glimpse into Chapin as performer, and a broad range of his material.

Cream.  Everyone at the Vault gets dizzy the first time they hear Clapton launch into his solo in Sunshine of Your Love.

David Allen Coe.  Yes, a little country, but this guy puts on a killer show.  It's always been a favorite around here.

As always, we hope you continue to enjoy all of these wonderful shows.

Cheers - Mr. PC