While 84-year-old guitar hero McLaughlin may have stopped touring, he is still creating new music, whether at his home studio in Monte Carlo or in more professional settings. This soundtrack album, recorded at London’s Eastcote Studios in May of 2019 for an American film that has not yet come out, has been released on Impex. And it is a superb offering, from sonic quality to packaging to the extraordinary performances by McLaughlin and his crew, including his 4th Dimension bandmates Gary Husband on drums and keyboards and Etienne Mbappé on electric bass, along with the powerful UK saxophonist Julian Siegel. McLaughlin’s character-driven tunes are based on atmospheres and detailed scenarios provided by director Jack Stallings. Pieces like the pensive “Curaçao Dream,” the lightly swinging “One Step Out,” the lyrical ballad “Nathaniel & Christine” (based on the Mahavishnu Orchestra tune “You Know You Know”), the crystalline “The End,” and the sublime guitar synth showcase “Christine” all reveal the guitarist’s more delicate side. But his signature fretboard fusillades are in full effect on the propulsive “The Scene,” the kinetic “DC Basketball,” and the slamming “The Beat Goes On,” a remake of the anthemic “Right Now” from Miles’ 1970 fusion classic, Jack Johnson.