He is 84! What an incredible man. A legend.

Inner Mounting Flame was a crazy important album for me.

One of the most important guitarists in improvised fusion music of the past 6 decades

McLaughlin absolutely revolutionised the guitar world at least three times, every time guitar wasn't what it had been before. Mahavishnu, Shakti, Friday Night in San Francisco.

Little Miss Valley - the tune here - is a light hearted tribute to the blues, Miles Davis and a bit of advanced jazz stuff that John has lived by for 65 years.
This tune came out decades ago and he has played in several ensembles including The 4th Dimension Band cos its fun but its so twisty that it can go "outside" whenever he or the soloists want to. Thats the Blues Scale but more with that Gmaj chord in there it expands the possibilities.
Listen to Miles, Coltrane, and some of the great old jazz players they have tracks like this - this is a homage to them. Recall we are watching Eric Claptons show - John is paying honour to the blues so much here. Hes not playing Mahavishnu or Shakti because thats not the audience or event!
John is one of the most innovative and brilliant musicians of the last 60 years. His body of work is unparalleled and at 84 now he can play what he wants. My favourite musician for 45+ years....

The greatest “wow factor” for me about McLaughlin is not his guitar playing, but rather his sense of time and his composing skills.

The white clothes, the lion's mane hair, the crazy guitar lines - could only be JM!

He planned on surprises!

Nice analysis keeping up with him.

He is very inspirational. He shows that if you live a clean and spiritual life , you can make it into your eighties with your facilities- including his tremendous technique.

From CROSSROADS 2026 - https://youtu.be/x26IODn_iuE?si=XlVXeTrhROx56DqR...Marcus King with his Dad playing a strong "Blue Ridge Mountain Moon." From 17:14-22:47
Good vocal tension at the top (unsure if deliberate or result of monitor situation)...deep pocket in this one. Love how Marcus cranks his Dad's amp at 19:07...where Marvin proceeds to melt faces with intent. Fat sound from his Orange Amp. Perfect pace to that solo as it arcs at 19:30ish...leading to a slick pass over to Marcus where he eases in with a slick vibrato lick before dropping a the figurative match. Honey drip ending at 22:47.

Takes a lot of balls to play with probably the driest and most unforgiving tone imaginable.

JM could play a used-up tube of toothpaste and still sound amazing.

I’ve been watching with my jaw open since I  was 16 listening to John McLauglin and  Mahavushnu Orchestra. I should close my jaw🤪

Great job breaking this down! Much of what is played by great players is hard to put into words...which is why we love it. John McLaughlin is one of those great players!

If you've yet to discover it, his trio "Live at the Royal Festival Hall" is desert island tier.

He may not have the insane speed he had back in the day, but he’s still  fast as hell, and making interesting, unusual note choices, while just screwing around with some other monsters.

it was noah that was in the robert johnson sessions with eric , nathan was having a video call and he just just a baby

Would love to see John come back to do a tour with this band...so danged good.

Great video, as usual ! 👏👍
At Crossreads 2026 I heard the Joe Bonamassa-Eric Gales-Marcus King trio : huge ! Voodoo Child when Gales' wah-wah pedal failed may deserve a video.
Thank Michael for all you give us. 🙏

He was surprisingly leaning a lot on those distorted power cords 10 years ago when he toured Mahavishnu with Jimmy Herring.

Such a cool vibe from the maestro at age 84! I got a copy of “Birds of Fire” in 8th grade that changed my life forever and instantly made me into a massive fusion fan. I was fortunate enough to see him twice in concert - once with his solo group The 4th Dimension in 2013 and with a supergroup of Return to Forever with Chick Corea, Victor Wooten, and Lenny White in 2016. John is the best at what he does because he’s the ultimate blend of virtuosity and humility.