Pryso, you were very lucky to see them live and perform their best. I read a number of interviews with McLaughlin. After a certain point in time the first Mahavishnu toured all over the world too much. They had to play the same tunes sometimes every other day or even more often, were very tired of everything including each other, virtually had no time to rehears, little time for life outside stage and studio. The characters were also not really compatible, Goodman and Hammer had their own ambitions and challenged John all the time. No wonder, the band didn't last. The second Mahavishnu was different, John himself called it true Mahavishnu Orchestra. Perhaps, but still only one great album - the Visions.
