Editorial - By Arend, Jun 12, 2005 12:00 AM
Tone Center, Mike Varney’s fusion-only label, is not only helping to keep the genre in good shape—it’s pumping it full of steroids. Last year the label released A Guitar Supreme: Giant Steps in Fusion Guitar. Such guitarists as Mike Stern, Larry Coryell, Eric Johnson, Steve Lukather, Greg Howe, Jeff Richman, Frank Gambale and others paid stringed tribute to the spirit of John Coltrane. This time around John McLaughlin and the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra receive the treatment. Many of the same guitarists appear on this very impressive and important release. The music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, first played over thirty years ago, provides the perfect material for some of today's greatest guitarists to test their mettle.
