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Birds of Fire
was the highly succesful follow-up to The
Inner Mounting Flame
and actually reached the Top Twenty of the Billboard Rock Charts. Such a
success was unheard of for an instrumental album. Birds of Fire
was marked
by the appearance of Jan Hammer's moog synthesizer and the more up-front
performance of Billy Cobham especially so on the very realized tune
"One Word".
The moog allowed the band to have a fuller sound and made the band sound like
more than the sum of its parts. McLaughlin's playing seems to have more
melodic direction in the sense of its context within the more cohesive
compositions. The selections ranging from the all-out sonic attack of the
title cut to the anthem-like strains of "Resolution" and "Hope"
make this album a
stimulating listen. Play this album loud and contemplate others who made the
Top Twenty Billboard that year such as....The Carpenters.
Walter Kolosky
smsi@attbi.com
Walter Kolosky is a businessman and jazz fan who lives in South Natick,
MA, USA
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