Birds of Fire

It opens the album of the same name and, like every piece on it, was written by McLaughlin. The track was nominated for the 1974 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Kolosky called it a fusion classic in All About Jazz and wrote that McLaughlin "scares the hell out of his guitar with his melodic convulsions". He added that playing it loud is a sure way to send a musical neophyte fleeing. Sri Chinmoy's poem Revelation is on the back cover of the album.