[ AL ]
Di Meola
One Step Ahead of The Devil
“Flight Over Rio”
((( The Precisionist )))
dave.
“Return of the Elegant Gypsy” — Nearly 40 years after the release of Elegant Gypsy, and decades focused on featuring on the acoustic guitar, Al decided in 2015 to put a new band together, and do a Summer, Electric Gypsy Tour, on which he would play his 1958 (?) Les Paul guitar, and get back to his high-energy roots. Most shows closed with “Race With The Devil On Spanish Highway.” Since its release in 1977, “Race” has always been a fan favorite, and reached “platinum” status.
“Flight Over Rio” — Al Di Meola’s most popular solo album, Elegant Gypsy, opens with “Flight Over Rio,” followed by five compositions that could be called Electric Jazz Pop, at a time when Fusion music was played on the radio, alongside what’s called Prog Rock. Songs that could honestly be called “hits.” They are: “Midnight Tango,” “Mediterranean Sundance,” “Race With Devil On Spanish Highway,” “Lady of Rome, Sister Brazil,” and “Elegant Gypsy Suite.”
1977 — Di Meola’s second solo album, Elegant Gypsy, proved to be, by far, his most popular.
1980 — Friday Night In San Francisco, featuring Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco DeLucia, has been called the finest evening of acoustic guitar ever captured on record.
2002 —
Al Di Meola doesn’t always play well with others, but he always plays oh, so well.