Birds of Fire
- Scores: Noise 2, Unease 1, Complexity 4 (each 1 to 5)
- Genre: Jazz, Jazz fusion
- Mood: blistering, intense, soaring
- Sound: odd time signatures, distorted guitar, violin, Moog, heavy rock rhythms, virtuosic ensemble
Birds of Fire is the second studio album by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, recorded in August 1972 at CBS in New York and Trident Studios in London and released in January 1973. John McLaughlin composed every track for a five-piece band of Jerry Goodman on violin, Jan Hammer on Moog and Fender Rhodes, Rick Laird on bass and Billy Cobham on drums and percussion. The tracks range from the 24-second "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" to the near-ten-minute "One Word", and "Miles Beyond" is dedicated to Miles Davis. A poem by Sri Chinmoy is printed on the back cover, and a quadraphonic mix was issued on LP and 8-track in 1973.
Track list
- Birds of Fire (5:50)
- Miles Beyond (4:47)
- Celestial Terrestrial Commuters (2:54)
- Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love (0:24)
- Thousand Island Park (3:23)
- Hope (1:59)
- One Word (9:57)
- Sanctuary (5:05)
- Open Country Joy (3:56)
- Resolution (2:09)