Devotion

This album was recorded at the Plant Studios, New York City, close to the period when McLaughlin had been jamming with Jimi Hendrix, Larry Young, Miles Davis and Dave Holland. This was just after he left Miles’ group, but before Mahavishnu Orchestra started, and the music captures this moment perfectly. Using a backing band of organist Larry Young, bassist Billy Rich and Buddy Miles at the time of his Band of Gypsy’s peak on drums, the rhythm section is rock hard, with no horns or violins getting in the way. ‘Devotion’ contains some McLaughlin ideas that he’d use for his Mahavishnu Orchestra albums in the near future, so it’s interesting to hear them in this context. This is mostdefinitely a gem of the psychedelic era.