As of 1976, Jean-Luc Ponty's variations on the Mahavishnu Orchestra theme were still fresh and imaginative, cast in a distinctively different, more lyrical, more controlled framework.
For Imaginary Voyage, Ponty's instrumental lineup is identical to that of Mahavishnu -- electric violin, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums -- but he turns the emphasis on its head, with all commands coming directly from the violin (his) and less competitive crossplay emanating from his colleagues.
For starters, "New Country" is a lively jazz-rock hoedown, one of those periodic C&W side trips that some fusioneers attempt for a lark, and "The Gardens of Babylon" is a wonderfully memorable tune, the beginnings of which grow out of "New Country." The last half of the LP is taken up by the title composition, a strong four-part suite that hangs together with barely a snag in interest over its 20-minute span.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New CountryJean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 2 | The Gardens of Babylon | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | Wandering on the Milky Way | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 01:49 | 4 MB | 6 MB |
| 4 | Once upon a Dream | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Tarantula | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 6 | Imaginary Voyage Part I | Jean Luc Ponty | Play | 02:22 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 7 | Imaginary Voyage Part II | Jean Luc Ponty | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Imaginary Voyage Part III | Jean Luc Ponty | Play | 05:26 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | Imaginary Voyage Part IV | Jean Luc Ponty | Play | 08:01 | 18 MB | 45 MB |
| 38 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 218 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Craney | Percussion |
| 2 | Tom Fowler | Bass, Bass (Electric) |
| 3 | Bill Harvey | Artwork, Design |
| 4 | Larry Hirsch | Engineer |
| 5 | George Piros | Mastering |
| 6 | Jean-Luc Ponty | Composer, Keyboards, Organ, Primary Artist, Producer, Synthesizer, Violin, Violin (Electric), Vocals |
| 7 | Daryl Stuermer | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 8 | Burt Szerlip | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 9 | Allan Zavod | Keyboards, Piano |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |