you know, you know

A staple of the fusion repertoire Mahavishnu Orchestra's Inner Mounting Flame is a must-own. It contains all of the ingredients that mark fusion as distinctive: electric instruments, odd meters, rich harmonies, high energy and meditative states. And McLaughlin's playing was much more raw back in the day.

The tune You Know, You Know is a fave of mine. It's basically this (at about an eighth note = 120):


With Jan doing most of the improvising (in his trademark guitaristic manner).

I bring up this tune because it's notable for being so simplistic -- you could imagine a tune with less elements (structually) but it's tough to do that and be this 'catchy'. Plus the 12 beats in the second measure allow for a lot of room improvisationally. Let it be inspirational to you when you compose...

Side note: it would be possible to see this tune as a measure of 9/8 and a measure of 15/8 (instead of 2 measures of 12/8) -- and it might make more sense that way -- but for me it's easier to count it (any tune) when the meter isn't changing.