MrPaulCaruso:

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".

Greetings Mahavishnu Orchestra fans,

I just wanted to pop in to address an issue that will inevitably surface. You'll notice that among our new Concert Vault additions is a MO show from the 1975 era of the group, an era that lacks accurate online documentation for the most part. When I first encountered a batch of 1975 MO tapes, most dated from the April/May tour when they were performing on the same bill with Jeff Beck's incredible "Blow By Blow" band, I was quite surprised that they were not performing latter era material. I immediately questioned whether these master tapes were labelled accurately and I have no doubts that scholars of this band will do the same.

While it's absolutely true that Mahavishnu Orchestra performed a concert at Washington DC's Lisner Auditorium in 1973, we *think* the recording we feature here is not that show. I was initially surprised that the 1975 group would focus on material from the 1972/73 era, but that is what they apparently did here. I'm merely speculating, but I think this approach of playing the more familiar material may have been in an effort to reach these audiences of Jeff Beck fans. I know some will question the dating accuracy of this show, and we are open to scholarly opinions and appreciate any help you can offer on this one.

[THIS SHOW HAS NOW BEEN IDENTIFIED AS 12/2/73 IN WASHINGTON, DC -- ONE OF THE LAST PERFORMANCES BY THE ORIGINAL LINEUP. THIS, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER CORRECTIONS WILL BE FORTHCOMING - BIG THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE HELPED SO GREATLY!]

I've been a fan (and collector) of Mahavishnu Orchestra for several decades and count myself lucky to have caught the original lineup on three occasions during the 1972/73 era, but working directly with this incredible Mahavishnu Orchestra archive has been an eye-opening experience both in terms of the performances and in terms of what a profound effect this band had.

I hope you have just as much fun listening to these truly riveting performances. MrBB