The Inner Mounting Flame was the first album to have the power of hard rock and the improvisational aspects of jazz. It was the debut studio album by American jazz-rock fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra, recorded in August 1971, and released in November of the same year by Columbia Records. The album featured all original material written by guitarist John McLaughlin.

Track 1 “Meeting of the Spirits” starts off with a tight groove where the music is structured around and kicking things into gear with Billy Cobham’s bursting between cymbal hits and drum fills. John McLaughlin creates the atmosphere with his double neck guitar. Jan Hammer interjects with dissonant chords on keyboards, filling the entire piece with “bigger than life” energy. Further into the track, John Goodman plays a majestic violin melody as a prelude to John McLaughlin’s fiery solo. This sets the tone for the entire album. Every track is filled with energy and is played seamlessly with a “raw” spontaneous essence.

On track 3, “The Noonward Race,” the band plays a rhythmic refrain. Cobham is hitting just slightly ahead of the beat, giving a raw intensity to this track . . . almost like a live, non-rigid “natural” performance. The sound of  the Mini Moog adds to the expressive style on the album by changing the conventions and using interesting electronic sounds with complex jazz instrumentation. The entire album is mind-blowing.

There is a bigger-than-life essence to this quintet of “musical explorers” that is superbly jazz-rock. The delicate (acoustic) piece, “A Lotus on Irish Streams,” is a collection of neo-classical vignettes. But “The Noonward Race,” “Vital Transformation,” and “Awakening” are fueled by Cobham’s seething intensity on his kit, coupled with McLaughlin’s distorted and raging guitar lines – garnering the attention of hard rock fans. The piece “The Dance of Maya” consists of mixed meters and arpeggios.  And the ominous “You Know, You Know” features Cobham on the drum, helping to shroud these mysterious musicians who comprise The Mahavishnu Orchestra . . . an ensemble that was clearly ahead of its time!

Band Members:
John McLaughlin – guitar
Rick Laird – bass
Billy Cobham – drums, percussion
Jan Hammer – keyboards, organ
Jerry Goodman – violin
Additional personnel Don Puluse – engineer

Track Listing:
Side one
Meeting of the Spirits 6:52
Dawn 5:10
The Noonward Race 6:28
A Lotus on Irish Streams 5:39

Side two
Vital Transformation 6:16
The Dance of Maya 7:17
You Know You Know 5:07
Awakening 3:32
Noonward Race (live) 15:03