Al di Meola might not necessarily be a household name or have his foot up on rock n roll’s stage monitor. But what a guitarist.
For me, it’s his electric guitar work in the 70s that stands out, as brilliant as his more acoustic flamenco records might be. There are 3 places you should go to hear Al. One is on Return To Forever records 1974-77, his first 3 solo albums 1976-79 and Stomu Yamashta’s Go projects in 1976 and 77.
This output lands him squarely in the fusion shredder role that was so prominent around this time. His solos are often incredibly dramatic and fast, especially on the Go live album where he’s teed up to really let loose.
In amongst the blizzard of notes is a huge sense of melody and drama with each not played very precisely and cleanly. It’s an easy artform to mock but incredibly hard to play this well.
On Elegant Gypsy, his second solo album, the impression is of an acoustic guitarist being handed a Les Paul and a 100 watt amplifier and told to get on with it. The result is a Spanish-influenced album played at speed and volume. I’ve never heard anything like it and it was popular enough to get to #58, its follow-up Casino made #52, his highest chart placing. He never charted in the UK though.
I don’t think he’s in this for easy success though. He rode the mid-70s fusion wave for all it was worth though but gives the impression of being a guitar aesthete. He was on Rick Beato’s channel being interviewed and he was clearly very serious about his art.
If you’ve managed to sidestep him until now, check out those 70s records for a more jazz-rock driven, amplified sound before you graduate to later acoustic works of which there are many.
photo:
Al Di Meola with Chick Corea in Rochester, New York, 1976
Tom Marcello
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