AL DI MEOLA — Elegant Gypsy (review)

Album · 1977 · Fusion

4/5 · 2025-04-25
FunkFreak75

Guitar master Al Di Meola's sophomore release as a band leader and his most highly-acclaimed album of all-time.

1. "Flight Over Rio" (7:16) a song whose first 90-seconds always felt to me as if the band were being forced to play through a blizzard; it feels almost artificially slowed down! By contrast the second motif that starts at 1:38 is more humanly paced--enough so that Al is able to show his seemingly-superhuman powers and prowess on his axe. Hearing this song brings to light the fact that I"ve never really liked the sounds projected from the MiniMoog: I guess they're just a little too unnatural for my tastes. (This also makes reminds me of the fact that I've never been much of a fan of Jan Hammer--ever.) Weird song. (13/15)

2. "Midnight Tango" (7:28) a murkily-engineered song that always felt to me as if Al was pandering to the new wave of radio- and adult-friendly Smooth Jazz audiences. It's nice as elevator music. it's not until the first riff of Al's fiery electric guitar leap out from the dross of everything behind it at 4:15 that I finally find myself sitting up with any kind of hope. Alas! That one little riff, as magnificent as it is, is not enough to save the song--even when played over and over ? and over and over. Nor is the oddly-tacked on Latin percussion party at the end. (13.125/15)

3. "Mediterranean Sundance" (5:14) the world's introduction to the fiery genius of Flamenco master Pace De Lucia. What an extraordinary piece! (So which one of The Trio is passion, which one fire, and which one grace?) If I have one complaint of this song it's of its length: a have always felt that it's too long, that the novelty of these guys flying around their fretboards in their friendly duel is just a bit overwhelming. (9.5/10)

4. "Race With Devil On Spanish Highway" (6:18) a song that takes an unnecessarily long time to develop and reach its form and ease. (3:18, to be exact.) Nice instrumental skills on display but, to my mind, that is not reason enough for a "song" like this to exist. All flash and glitz, no guts or beauty. (8.666667/10)

5. "Lady Of Rome, Sister Of Brazil" (1:46) acoustic guitars (12-string and steel-string) in duet. I've always had quite a soft spot for this little one. (4.75/5)

6. "Elegant Gypsy Suite" (9:16) an interesting mix of acoustic instruments (guitars and percussion) and electric. Once again Steve Gadd is relegated to things I consider far beneath him--at least until 90-second mark. Does anyone else out there find Anthony Jackson's "tone-destabled" bass sound annoying? Al is extraordinary no matter what he's doing but I'm never convinced that any of the other musicians or sounds are right for this. As a matter of fact, I can't help wondering if Al's solos alone wouldn't be enough to carry an audience into heaven. More mosquito-annoying MiniMoog to take us into another super-slowly developing motif (one filled with Latin charm and gorgeously seductive melody--if only he'd stay there!) A song"suite" that never really seems to reach its potential. (17.75/20)

Total Time: 37:18

By the time I heard this album I'd already been familiar with Carlos SANTANA, John McLAUGHLIN, and RETURN TO FOREVER, so I was primed for some amazing guitar pyrotechnics--which this album (and Al's predecessor, his solo debut) more than provided. While many people here on PA revere the work in the 1970s of keyboard wizard Jan HAMMER, I've never really been drawn in by his playing, his choice of sounds or his compositions, so this album loses a little on me when I can compare it to Al's contributions to RTF (which had Chick COREA, Stanley CLARKE and Lenny WHITE), Lenny WHITE (which had Onaje Alan GUMBS), or Stomu YAMASH'TA's GO (which had Steve WINWOOD and Klaus SCHULZE). The acoustic guitar duet with Paco DE LUCIA, "Mediterranean Sundance" (5:14) has always been a favorite of mine, and "Elegant Gypsy Suite" is impressive no matter how you look at it. The other songs are impressive compositions, technically amazing and performed at the highest level but have lost some of their lustre over the years. "Midnight Tango" is elegant and beautiful but seems a bit simple and immature now. It is, however, brought up a notch by Lenny's wonderful drum play. The album is very well recorded, mixed and engineered though at times it feels a bit sterile (and others murky), but it is undoubtedly a wonderful representative of a (then) young genius showing his precocious talents.

I'm going to buck tradition here and claim my undying allegiance to Al's debut album over this one: despite Al's prodigious and unarguable talent, the music here just feels too showy, too scattered and afraid to commit to anything much less reach for its true potential.

B/four stars; an excellent j-r fuse album for any prog lover's music collection but more to serve as a showpiece, not for the enjoyable musical listening experience.