Birds of Fire Audio Fidelity

Emboldened by the popularity of Inner Mounting Flame among rock audiences, the first Mahavishnu Orchestra set out to further define and refine its blistering jazz-rock direction in its second - and, no thanks to internal feuding, last - studio album. Although it has much of the screaming rock energy and sometimes exaggerated competitive frenzy of its predecessor, Birds of Fire is audibly more varied in texture, even more tightly organized, and thankfully more musical in content. A remarkable example of precisely choreographed, high-speed solo trading - with John McLaughlin, Jerry Goodman, and Jan Hammer all of one mind, supported by Billy Cobham's machine-gun drumming and Rick Laird's dancing bass - can be heard on the aptly named "One Word," and the title track is a defining moment of the group's nearly atonal fury…

The first recording of the second Mahavishnu Orchestra was a real stretch for John McLaughlin, an encounter with Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra. The union wasn't taken seriously at the time, and it ended up harming the reputation of Thomas - a remarkably adventurous young conductor who defied the stuffy classical powers-that-be and thus probably delayed his eventual rise to the top - more than McLaughlin. But those with ears, then and now, beheld a remarkable series of pieces that neatly juxtapose and occasionally combine the combustion of McLaughlin's group with rich, tasteful symphonic statements orchestrated for McLaughlin by Michael Gibbs…

The Collection: An Adventure In Sound is a unique compilation conceived and produced by Audio Fidelity to showcase the superb sound quality of their 2-track stereo, Super Audio Compact Disc and 4.0 releases. It truly takes the music and artists here to a new sound level almost as if you're listening to them for the first time! Audio Fidelity has taken fourteen classic evergreens from the world of rock, jazz, soul and even big band based on the dynamics of each recording. From Miles Davis and Carlos Santana to "Peter Gunn" and "7 Screaming Diz-Busters," The Collection begs you to go ahead and turn up the volume and test the limits of your system. All of the selections have been remastered from the original stereo and multichannel masters.

The Top 100 '80s Rock Albums span a series of genres as startling and varied as the era's neon-flecked fashions.No one was immune to the early-decade emergence of new wave, from up-and-coming acts to legacy groups – many of whom began incorporating the then-new sound into their bedrock approach.Meanwhile, classic rock and subsequently metal began a transformation into mass acceptance when the edges were smoothed out to form arena rock and hair metal, respectively. The arrival of roots, thrash, and world music influences kept things interesting, along the way. All of it made selecting the period's best releases both intriguing and deeply challenging.Check out the list below, as Ultimate Classic Rock takes a chronological look at the Top 100 '80s Rock Albums.