dreadpirateroberts A kind of preoccupation with places of extreme heat is clear from Al Di Meola's song titles and his general sound, adding to the Latin feel of much of his music. But his is not an urban Latin like Santana's can be, and is instead located more in the natural world.

Here on 'Splendido Hotel' he once again brings forth his speed and familiar motifs, but expands his sound on a double album, which attempts a little bit of everything. Once again his cast of supporting musicians has been expanded to include multiple rhythm players, several keyboard players and a small string section. Is it all completely successful? Not every song no.

'Alien Chase on Arabian Desert' starts off with some sci-fi keyboards before covering similar territory as his other albums, opening with a deceptive medium pace before unleashing bursts of speed. It's one of the more 'rockier' piece here, along with 'Dinner Music of the Gods' or 'Ali Di's Dream Theme' with is signature lead line. Elsewhere he is more calm, with a larger proportion of acoustic based numbers. 'Silent Story in her Eyes' is similar to 'Dark Eyed Tango' in feel and tone, while 'Roller Jubilee' has a sunny, happy pop feel and is a welcome change. 'Two to Tango' is another duet with Chick Corea on acoustic piano, and while it works and is one of my favourite moments, it doesn't stand out in context of this more sprawling album.

Deeper into side two are another pair of pop-sounding songs, a nice reading of 'Spanish Eyes' that features Les Paul and the 80s pop of 'I Can Tell' which has not aged well. 'Isfahan' is probably the most adventurous track on the album, but it doesn't quite live up to its promise. An eerie choir leads into strings and guitar, which then move into something close to tone-poem territory. A Corea composition, it is definitely an interesting step for Al Di Meola, who is stretching out on this album, but it doesn't quite have everything it needs somehow.

Another good album from Di Meola, with some superb tracks mixed amongst a lot of familiar territory and half-successful experiments.

FunkFreak75 Al Di's fourth studio album as a bandleader performing and arranging on his own (mostly) compositions. The virtuosity is still at its peak, the choices of song varieties sometimes leaves a little room for investigation.

1. "Alien Chase On Arabian Desert" (8:59) such a proggy start grâce de Philippe Saisse.The crystalline clarity of Al's guitar tones (and their rendering by the engineer) is always something to applaud. Drummer Robbie Gonzalez and percussionist Eddie Colon are sure ensuring that this is a dynamic song. Interesting bass chord play from Tim Landers- -all the while Al trades off multiple stunning guitar riffs and solos between his multiple guitars and guitar sounds-- especially from those Egyptian/Spanish-sounding acoustic guitars. Impressive but, in the end, a little too wild and disjointed for my tastes. (17.75/20)

2. "Silent Story In Her Eyes" (7:35) multiple tracks of acoustic guitars playing within each other's domain leads to a wonderfully-tropical feeling ambiance. It doesn't hurt that Mingo Lewis, Anthony Jackson, Chick Corea, and Peter Cannnarozzi are helping out Al, Robbie, Phillippe, and Eddie. Awesome earworm melodies and guitar playing. There is just something wonderful about the seaside resort feeling being conjured up by this Caribbe-style music. If there is anything weak about this song it would be Anthony Jackson's clavinet-like sound given his bass (not his playing). But this is definitely Al showing his absolute mastery of melody at the same time as being an absolute virtuoso of his instrument. A top three song. (14.75/15)

3. "Roller Jubilee" (4:44) Phillippe Saisse and Al duelling on marimba and celesta, respectively, syrupy melodies and a surprising disco rhythm track from Steve Gadd and Anthony Jackson and the other keyboard players and percussionists. Sounds like The Beach Boys' "Kokomo" song. At the same time, I cannot find fault with either the composition or performances; it's just the style that stretches credibility for the J-R Fuse domain. Oh, and did I mention that Al Di Meola is a mighty impressive guitar player? (9/10) 4. "Two To Tango" (4:13) Chick Corea's second appearance on this album, here playing his piano strings (muting them) in duet with Al's steel stringed acoustic guitar--definitely exploring the tango form. One of those songs that helps me appreciate how the Tango is often included within the umbrella of classical musical styles. (8.75/10)

5. "Al Di`s Dream Theme" (6:50) a bit of a return to the delicious mood of the tropical cabana life of "Silent Story in Her Eyes"--at least for the opening 90-seconds: then it all goes funk conga-line dancing with some flaming electric guitar soloing alternating with some off-setting/balancing Moog work from Jan Hammer. If this is supposed to represent one of Al's dreams, it was truly a crazy, jumpy-staccato dream. Most of Al's extraordinary guitar reaches, runs, and flourishes are by now so rote and almost expected as to render them kind of boring. Oh well. Not every song but such a dynamic and talented artist can be ground-breaking and totally original. (13.125/15)

6. "Dinner Music Of The Gods" (8:33) another song whose rhythm construct feels forced, basic, and unfit for an Al Di Meola display. Also, I do not like this "distant" sound effect Al has chosen (predominantly) for his electric guitar. Some cool interplay between keys and percussion in the third minute before Al can figure out how best to play off of Anthony Jackson's bass around the four-minute mark (the beginning of the best section of the song). Great performances top to bottom in the fifth minute. I even love Phillippe Saisse's harpsichord playing off of Al's steel-string acoustic in the sixth minute, I'm just not sold (or enjoying) that bass riff perpetuated by Anthony Jackson over and over. This unknown drummer named Robbie Gonzalez sure is doing a nice job on this oddly-metered and -syncopated song. Not a pretty or melodic song compared to some other beauties but definitely a rollicky display of stellar musicianship. (18.25/20)

7. "Splendido Sundance" (4:51) No longer can Al find a guitarist good enough to match wits with, so he plays with himself--on several tracks. This would definitely have been a great song to do in the famous Trio format (as it was done in 1980, only never released until 2022). This version is much better. (9/10)

8. "I Can Tell" (4:01) an odd opening with the pop-jazz rock keyboard and funk bass opening. Then singing! Al can sing (sounding and engineering a bit like Narada Michael Walden). And he plays the drums! Not the greatest but not bad. (8.66667/10)

9. "Spanish Eye"s (5:11) opens like a Jimmy Webb song performed by Glen Campbell and Chet Atkins. (But it's Lester!) Interesting and delightful from an historical value. (Lester could play!) Again Steve Gadd is relegated to an odd job. (What a waste.) (When I saw Al and Jan Hammer on this tour Steve was by far the most impressive thing in both bands.) The classic song's music is, of course, a mere gimmick to setup Al and Les' interplay. A nice display of guitar virtuosity. Thank you, Al! (9.3333333/10)

10. "Isfahan" (11:35) opening with a children's choir singing a cappella (with pristine sound capture and engineering) for 100-seconds before a group of chamber strings enters to prep us for some of Al's acoustic guitar play. Though playing on his favored steel-stringed axe, the style he's using is at first quite different than what we've heard from him before: more Moorish than Spanish. But then, it is, apparently, Chick's song, which would explain a lot. I really like this song for its musical divergence from the rest of Al's stuff but it does diminish it a bit knowing that it's not his song; why didn't Chick just save this song for release on one of his own albums? (A version of it does exist on Chick's 1985 release Septet, but it's 13:47 long, considered "Third Stream" music (meaning it's a fusion of jazz with classical music or orchestration), and performed with flute, French horn, and string quartet (and very beautiful). This one is nice, displaying a side of Al that we don't get to see enough of (so far) but not as beautiful as Chick's fully-realised rendition of his composition. (18/20)

11. "Bianca`s Midnight Lullaby" (1:54) a pretty little ditty that doesn't sound like you'd play it in your child's bedroom but, rather, on the summer porch outside her bedroom window. (4.5/5)

Total Time: 68:26

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of guitar virtuosity on display within some pretty great compositions--especially "Silent Story in Her Eyes": one of my all-time favorite Al Di Meola songs. And don't miss getting to know a little of Les Paul's genius and talents on "Spanish Eyes" as well as Chick Corea's beautiful "Isfahan" composition.

Sean Trane ADM’s fourth album was a double album, but only containing a meagre 60 minutes of music, was supposed to be an ambitious departure of style compared to his first three solo efforts. In a sense, SH accomplishes that, straying from his usual sound, and losing himself a bit in the process as well, IMHO! Not only does ADM seem to touch a bit of everything, but due to the album’s “double” offering (although it’s more like 1,5) but also diluting his “propos” way too much. In a way, he (ADM) was right to try to change because his constant drive to fame, glory and prizes & awards and his quest to become the fastest guitarslinger was verging the ridiculous, culminating in his sorry performance, crushed by the two giants McLaughlin and DeLucia in that San Francisco album.

Offering much variety through his acoustic playing and his fierier electric playing, this album dishes every single possible style of DiMeolized music, from the most attractive jr/f he had us used to, the FM Steely Dan-esque fusion to the tackiest muzak with some overdrawn string sections passages and other semi-Latino influences. This huge mish-mash pot pourri of such distant styles is downright directionless, purposeless and frankly more boring than anything else. Sure, there are the odd bits of ADM brilliance (but nothing new under his Midnight Sun) that stop this album from sinking/stinking such as Dinner Music Of The Gods or the title track. On the whole, this album makes me yawn much more than smile, and even when the second option is there, I’m not sure it is the way Al would’ve hoped for.

This then-young fan must say that, by the time of this album’s release, he had almost turned his back on ADM and his supposedly Latin lover romantic looks and musical pretensions and shoddy artwork to go along, but then again in 79-80, it was that whole JR/F scene that had lost all impetus and momentum and was starting to sound horribly cliché, but ADM was at the head of the pack, leading the race towards senility and reaping nothing but cold shoulders, devoid of the expected laurels and award medals to cover them up. For unconditional fans. .