frogman, he did not understand the "word" that McLaughlin had delivered when he had written it many years ago. And instead of "speaking" it as was intended he went into something of his own making that at times sounded like inappropriate and meaningless wandering.
In fact, I generally like Jean-Luc Ponti, and I very much like his performance in Mahavishnu's Visions Of The Emerald Beyond. But here - no.
There is a much better version of this composition where McLaughlin plays with his later Shakti group. Easy to find on youtube.
This is a complex composition that has many subtleties, you can't just come out on stage and play it. Even Mclaughlin himself couldn't.