10 Best Instrumental Rock Music Albums Of All Time
6. The Inner Mounting Flame - The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Formed in New York City, 1971, jazz-rock fusion band The Mahavishnu Orchestra contained within its ranks a ridiculous amount of talent. Supergroups, as we know, don't always live up to their potential, by TMO certainly did, releasing a string of hugely enjoyable and highly influential instrumental albums.
Crucially, the band never succumbed to show-boating or self-indulgence. They went through several line-up changes, but arguably their debut, Inner Mounting Flame (1971) displays the strongest. We have John McLaughlin, the man who gave guitar lessons to Jimmy Page. McLaughlin was a key part of the best of English music throughout the 1960s, jammed with Jimi Hendrix, and played on some of Miles Davis' landmark albums.
The exceptional Rick Laird, who worked with many of jazz's finest, provides bass. The great fusion drummer Billy Cobham, who also worked with Davis, takes the sticks, virtuoso Jerry Goodman plays violin and no less than Jan Hammer (who will always be remembered for his work on Miami Vice) plays keys. The incendiary results are simply extraordinary.