Frank Zappa about John McLaughlin (Interview 1973)

[alvarhanso]

One doesn't become guitarist for Miles Davis by being conventional, unsurprising, and just having the technical ability to move his fingers really fast. At 80 years old, McLaughlin literally just finished his last tour a few days ago, and was just in the US reunited with Shakti, and still has incredible command of the guitar. Fluidity, speed, tone, and note choice all still incredible. I still vividly recall many looks of awe and surprise on the face of Jimmy Herring as he and McLaughlin traded licks on Mahavishnu material on their double bill tour in 2017, still one of the greatest nights of music in my life.

[AW-krfl]

I don’t think the guy in the audience understood what John McLaughlin was doing. He’s one of the most innovative guitarists of all time. The fact that he plays lightning fast is irrelevant.

[Jellybeantiger]

McLaughlin has technicality but his beauty is his taste on the instrument and reaching the inner soul.
His guitar playing moves me and his tone has always been organic.
Timeless.

[robertkrohn]

Funny to hear McLaughlin get thrown into the category of he just “moves his fingers fast.” He’s always incredibly musical!

[christophercole]

McLaughlin surprised me from the first notes of “Birds of Fire, ” when I first heard him in 1972, and never stopped. His speed combined with sophisticated chordal patterns and irregular meters gave him an unequalled range of expression. Sometimes his guitar tone was a bit harsh for my tastes, and some songs were a bit too outre to be beautiful, but he certainly opened wide new vistas of musical exploration. Zappa could also play fast, but not with the same command of scales and modes as McLaughlin, and despite his great talent as a composer and comedic lyricist, Zappa’s guitar work never really “surprised” and delighted me anywhere near as much as McLaughlin’s.

[pdxfun]

Frank was a high level intellectual. He taught himself to read, write and orchestrate his ideas . He may never get the status as some but his output, originality and commitment to learn and grow, is unique.

[AMAR-ymsz]

John McLaughlin doesn't just play fast or just scales. In his prime, he played intricate and fast. For me, he has been the Miles Davis of guitar.

[ganazby]

Frank was absolutely blown away by The Mahavishnu Orchestra, so let’s keep some perspective here. And indeed, their influence can be heard on certain Zappa albums. Zomby Woof, anyone?

[SandyBlJ]

Besides his impressive skills, John McLaughlin is an amazing creative musician. I saw him live, many years ago (in the '80s), and I still remember how impressed I was by his guitar performance. I was watching him and listening to him, and my jaw was literally dropping, not just because of his technique, but mainly, because of his richly creative musical ideas. It was a fascinating concert (above and beyond "surprising"). Of course, I love John McLaughlin's studio albums; watching him live was even more impressive.
Frank Zappa was a great musician, John McLaughlin is also a great musician. I have no intention to rank them (who's the better between them?). It's not needed; enjoying their music and recognizing their greatness is all that's needed.

[t.seank.]

Zappa’s band mates have stated (as have other bands such as YES) that seeing Mahavishnu Orchestra live was revelatory for them and you can see that reflected in their writing.

Albums like Close to the Edge clearly show the influence of Mahavishnu, who had opened some shows for Yes the year before.

[jamesmichael]

Frank Zappa was an exceptional man, of the highest order intellect. A review of McLaughlin, his musical career, and where he took his music, would lead me to believe someone stating that he simply moved his fingers fast did not comprehend the music he was listening to or the artist John McLaughlin.

[yurib]

Anyone that has never been surprised by john McLaughlin’s musical adventures, innovations, and accomplishments is probably not aware of how many times he has shifted gears during his career. From Georgie fame to zakir Hussein to miles to paco to Santana, Egberto gismonti, jack bruce, James Taylor, sting… the list is endless… Man I begin to quiver when I ponder it. I’m quiverin’ so hard

[sledzeppelin]

It’s 2023 and I’m 46. Im a massive Zappa fan and a big McLaughlin fan. I’ve listened to both since I was a teenager. At this time, Zappa is still the more interesting guitar player and musician. Maybe in the future I’ll feel differently, maybe I won’t.

[ozziejones]

To describe john Mclaughlin that way is crazy.

[MissaChickapea]

Art is not a contest and critics are a dime a dozen there is no greatest of all time it is what it is let people like what they want it won't hurt you to be understanding.
Peace

[phillipschuman]

Here is John McLaughlin 'returning the favor' to Frank (from Zappa's Wiki page):

"Zappa's guitar style was not without its critics. English guitarist and bandleader John McLaughlin, whose band Mahavishnu Orchestra toured with the Mothers of Invention in 1973, opined that Zappa was "very interesting as a human being and a very interesting composer" and that he "was a very good musician but he was a dictator in his band, " and that he "was taking very long guitar solos [when performing live]—10–15 minute guitar solos and really he should have taken two or three minute guitar solos, because they were a little bit boring."

Meanwhile, Jeff Beck and Pat Matheny said JM was the best guitarist alive, and many other great guitarists cite JM as an important inspiration:

McLaughlin has been cited as a major influence on many 1970s and 1980s guitarists, including prominent players such as Steve Morse, [22] Eric Johnson, [23] Mike Stern, [24] Al Di Meola, [25] Shawn Lane, [26] Scott Henderson, [27] and Trevor Rabin of Yes.[28] Other players who acknowledge his influence include Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, [29] Paul Masvidal of Cynic, [30] and Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan.[31] According to Pat Metheny, McLaughlin has changed the evolution of the guitar during several of his periods of playing.[32]

McLaughlin is considered a major influence on composers in the fusion genre. In an interview with Downbeat, Chick Corea remarked that "what John McLaughlin did with the electric guitar set the world on its ear. No one ever heard an electric guitar played like that before, and it certainly inspired me. John's band, more than my experience with Miles, led me to want to turn the volume up and write music that was more dramatic and made your hair stand on end."

[WeazelJaguar]

My very first concert, 1972, was John opening for Frank, at Maple Leafs Gardens, Toronto.
Both were equally AMAZING!!!

[thomassonefors]

Hey Y'all, Zappa doesn't speak of John McLaughlin, somebody else brings him up as an example and then Frank talks about the athletism of musicianship and that it has its own value whilst what he prefers is the much harder task to "surprise HIM out of his chair", the only one in this video who talks about McLaughlin is a young guy 1, 25 min into the video. Frank Zappa replies NOT obout John.

[jamescampbell]

Been listening to John Mclaughlin & the Mahavishnu Orchestra since `Inner Mounting Flame` was released in 1971.Never felt as if he was preaching in any sense, just great rock/jazz fusion.

[Jack-vyuo]

I saw the both of them on a double bill in 73.Both were amazing both had killer bands, both had violins in the group.