Al Di Meola needs no introduction, and most of the music on this fine two-CD collection will be familiar to most guitarists as well. The only question is What’s new?
The 20 tracks here cover Di Meola’s recording career on Columbia, from Casino to Elegant Gypsy, Splendido Hotel to Tour de Force. There’s a sampling from each album and the different styles and phases of his musical development.
The new material here includes four tracks, “Medley: Short Tales Of The Black Forest/Fantasia Suite For Two Guitars,” “The Wizard,” “Al Di’s Dream Theme,” and “Theme To The Mothership.” All are live cuts and to true fans, worth the price of admission alone.
This article originally appeared in VG‘s May ’01 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
