New Mahavishnu Video Surfaces !

As if Boomer and John playing wasn't enough, a new video of the M.O. 1 from the 1972 French TV broadcast at ChateauVallon has surfaced. This is something us collectors have been trying to locate for decades, but assumed the tapes were long lost.

Don't know how much if any more, exists or anything but we are attempting to contact the poster and get as much info as possible, and hopefully, the rest of the broadcast.

I have never seen this before but Gary Husband said he saw this on TV when it was broadcast, so it defiinitely happened and existed. At the time, we had some doubts about what Gary said, so Gary - I apologize ! LOL

Here it is kiddies ! Note Boomer smoking his pipe while they are tuning !

If anyone can come up with more info or a DVD copy of this, send me an email. And I don't mean a copy off youtube. I've already done that . LOL


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHL-0ua3a0










Peace, TED

Yes French TV Color - Amazing
I wonder if John would wish this on a Official DVD?


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Outtasight
Colin.

Nice, and clear too.

Very nice, Ted.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
I wonder if Boomer still has that clear set of Fibes drums????

Woody wrote:Very nice, Ted.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
I wonder if Boomer still has that clear set of Fibes drums????

He told me on his old site, that those Fibes were the loudest drums that he ever played. Because I had asked him, how did he like them.

When I took drum lessons from Alan Dawson he was a Fibes endorser, also.

I believe Boomer has told us in the past that he no longer has that set of Fibes, Woody.


And any release would have to be signed off on by all five members, colin, not just John. And that's IF any more footage exists, which I hope it does.





Peace, TED

You know,

I'm not a nostalgic kind of guy really and I tend to like the more modern approach in today's fusion. But I certainly acknowledge, respect and am thankful for this ground breaking material that was created and performed by this group. I especially like this particular tune, "Meeting of the spirits", is it?

I think for part of the same reason that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album was so successful, the timing was right and the planets were all aligned for this music, as well as the rest of the standard setting, fusioneers. This will always be a treasure for the true music lovers. It's a time and sound that is long past. But thank God we still have the memories, along with the recorded audio and video that stimulate those memories.

John, Billy, Jan, Rick, Jerry..... Thank you!

Ted E. Bear wrote:
As if Boomer and John playing wasn't enough, a new video of the M.O. 1 from the 1972 French TV broadcast at ChateauVallon has surfaced. This is something us collectors have been trying to locate for decades, but assumed the tapes were long lost.

Don't know how much if any more, exists or anything but we are attempting to contact the poster and get as much info as possible, and hopefully, the rest of the broadcast.

I have never seen this before but Gary Husband said he saw this on TV when it was broadcast, so it defiinitely happened and existed. At the time, we had some doubts about what Gary said, so Gary - I apologize ! LOL

Here it is kiddies ! Note Boomer smoking his pipe while they are tuning !

If anyone can come up with more info or a DVD copy of this, send me an email. And I don't mean a copy off youtube. I've already done that . LOL

Peace, TED

Hi Ted,

I saw this thread and your first posting.

Quite something to see this fresh old footage, I'm sure everyone feels the same.

However this is not the footage I ever spoke about. I never saw this before. I believe what I DID speak once was the other half an hour portion of the (now famous) London 1972 video.

Let me clarify...

This was something I did not view personally at the time, although a close friend of mine did. According to him the two half hour shows - (either "Sounds For Saturday", or more likely "In Concert") were shown a week apart.

Why they were edited the way they were is pretty confusing. The OTHER half - no-one seems to know anything about - featured the FULL LENGTH Meeting Of The Spirits (complete with one AMAZING guitar solo by John), and The Dance Of Maya - again, full length. (You'll notice the guitar solo was cut out of the version we all know.)

The reason I know this - for sure! - is because my close friend (guitarist Steve Topping) taped both half an hour shows (with a mic in front of the TV) on a very early cassette recorder. And I knew the cassette very well! Sadly, I know longer have access to the cassette. I don't know what happened to it.

Another tweak on this story is that I have another friend (and large Mahavishnu fan) who went personally to the BBC in search of these videos. He was aware of both half hour shows from me, and he asked someone he'd befriended there if they could have a good root around and see if any of this video still existed. I believe his contact came through with an actual video copy of the half hour we all have seen, but claimed this one was all he could find. That's sad... but it was great because I believe my friend was one of the first to ever gain that video. I often wonder if most of the copies we see today stem from his discovery (since I certainly made a great deal of copies for others after I obtained my copy!)

The major thing that's sad is that this performance is actually probably my favourite Billy playing of all time. Knowing the cassette as I did, very well, I know there were just these amazing versions of Meeting and Dance Of Maya.. and it would have been SO so great had that other half hour been found. The stupid BBC being what it is though, I can only imagine how much great music has been either lost or destroyed from their archives over the years.

But trust me Ted. It existed. I know!!

One other clue - for whoever is very familiar with that whole half hour footage. Check the images as the closing titles scroll the screen at the end. They are not images from any part of that half-an-hour video!!!

Anyway, I hope all this clears up my story.

Best,

GH

Hi Gary,

thanks for clarifying things for me. I guess I got the two videos confused . I have no doubt what you're saying is the gospel truth. It just makes it all the more frustrating to think of all the stuff that's been edited out , or lost, or whatever which we're never going to see.


I'm curious as to what your take was on the Montreux jam with You Know You Know by Billy and John. For me, the mere fact that they played together onstage was monumental. they could have played Mary Had a Little Lamb and it would not have mattered to me. LOL You Know , YOU Know is a difficult piece to count because of the added bits in the B Part and not having Rick to anchor those parts down made it all the more difficult. And to try and solo against it when you haven't played the piece in 37 years together with no rehearsal, if front of a large crowd who were there to see Roxy Music, showed tremendous courage.
How did it appear to you ?


Already got my tickets to see you at Town Hall on Nov 13th and am really looking forward to it ! Continued success on the tour !




Peace, TED

Thanks Ted,

Well for what my opinion is worth on it, I was just knocked out to see that Billy and John both evidently ... and at last! ... found it in themselves to overcome whatever the difficulties or differences have been between them for many years and even be in the same room(!) Never mind play together! This just represents a pretty monumental turning point because as I understand it they really haven't even spoken for many years... which, in view of the sheer magic that once existed between them as musicians, has been a terrible shame.

I don't know what may come of it - if anything. Many still hope for a Mahavishnu reunion, although I have to say I personally don't really, at all. I think what that first band had was so much about the time and who they all were then, as men, and subsequently as musicians, and subsequently as a group. I don't really feel any of them are even remotely similar as people, or musicians, today. Plus, musically, Mahavishnu was a pretty dramatic experience - there was a violence to it - unbelievable passion, emotion, drive, intensity and reach, and without even just those elements - not to mention the sheer endurance required to physically play like that - the Mahavishnu music simply wouldn't be Mahavishnu music. I'm very happy with the records the group did - WHAT they did, in their time as a group ... and I still, today, love all three of those records. I'd rather it get left at that. I don't feel John's the nostalgic type anyway. He's not that kind of artist, and anyway I really don't believe he's remotely interested in any such prospect.

But hey, who knows!!!!????

I found it a very touching thing to see those two get together again for a minute. That was a nice thing. Nice to see it.

Best,

GH

Regarding what you actually asked me about, (sorry!), yes, You Know You Know. I don't actually find the piece a particularly complex structure to improvise with especially, but it's one of those tricky ones. I think it IS a piece you REALLY have to concentrate with. All the band members actually.

Yeah, .. I think it's one of those tunes!!

For me, Billy so eloquently performed this piece both on the Inner Mounting Flame record, AND the London 1972 video ... where, on the latter, he even manages to deliciously "stretch" the pulse back a little (and then forward again in the nick of time!) in parts of his solo sequences on the tune. Some unbelievable Billy Cobham artistry and mastery right there, for me!

GH

Having just watched the Montreux video again, it's amazing to me that despite all the caveats (no rehearsal, borrowed instruments, last-minute, etc.), the innate connection between Boomer and John is still so strong. Listen to the way Boomer responds to John's first riff with an immediate fill. Sure "one" was a bit elusive for both, but the spontaneous energy between these giants crushes any technical shortcomings.

I don't know if any M.O. reunion is possible but the musical exploration between Boomer and John is so significant that I would venture to say it is imperative they share the stage again.

Hello Seigfried ! Nice to hear from you again ! Hope all is well !


Gary, thanks so much for your eloquent and thoughtful responses. Your words have great weight for two reasons: you are a master player on two instruments, and you know both these musicians personally and as bandmates. And I would have to agree with everything you stated.

The fact that Billy and John were together again is what gladdened my heart after all these many years. My hopes are like everyone's : that there would be a one-time reunion concert that could be recorded for posterity much like RTF just did. While I agree with you that even if they did, it likely would not measure up to the intensity level of the original performances, I do think it still would be something spectacular. The players can still play , but the main obstacle is that Jan Hammer simply does not want to play anymore. With anybody, doing anything. Even though they could still do it with Stu Goldberg, it would not have the same impact as with Jan.

But there is always hope ! And as Boomer always says to me " Let's see what tomorrow brings ".


Peace, TED

sduraybito wrote:Having just watched the Montreux video again, it's amazing to me that despite all the caveats (no rehearsal, borrowed instruments, last-minute, etc.), the innate connection between Boomer and John is still so strong. Listen to the way Boomer responds to John's first riff with an immediate fill. Sure "one" was a bit elusive for both, but the spontaneous energy between these giants crushes any technical shortcomings.

I don't know if any M.O. reunion is possible but the musical exploration between Boomer and John is so significant that I would venture to say it is imperative they share the stage again.

Who would you pick for Bass?

Rick is not going to do it, so no Rick.

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Outtasight
Colin.

Colin wrote:Who would you pick for Bass?

Well, er, I would sort of leave that to them. But if they asked me, I would suggest someone who they've both played with, can stary out of the way like Rick did and is "simpatico."

Kai Eckhardt comes to mind but I'm not sure of all that's gone on between them.

How about Will Lee?

Actually Rick very much wants to do it . He has said so.



Peace, TED

sduraybito wrote:

Colin wrote:Who would you pick for Bass?

Well, er, I would sort of leave that to them. But if they asked me, I would suggest someone who they've both played with, can stary out of the way like Rick did and is "simpatico."

Kai Eckhardt comes to mind but I'm not sure of all that's gone on between them.

How about Will Lee?

Yes Kai
or Alphonso Johnson.

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Outtasight
Colin.

Ted E. Bear wrote: Actually Rick very much wants to do it . He has said so.



Peace, TED

That just leaves Jan?
Who may have changed his view


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Outtasight
Colin.

I used to say Big Money would do this.

But with this Depression
Money is not around
so it is down to who you know - that counts
so much more , and how they feel etc.


Eagle DVD/CD .


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Outtasight
Colin.

AS you say it's down to Jan at the moment. It's not about money because there have been offers . Jan appears to be perfectly content with life right now and devotes his time to his studio work and helping his son with his musical career. He also has a health issue that keeps him close to home.

It would be great if he would change his mind and agree to play one show for whatever reason .




Peace, TED